"A New York Treasure" --Village Voice

Curtain Call?

There’s a good piece by Tyler Kepner on Trevor Hoffman today in the Times:

“The hitters are going to let you know,” Hoffman said. “They’re talking awfully loud right now. But I still feel I have something in the tank.”

[Photo Credit: The Brewers Bar]

Tags:  trevor hoffman  Tyler Kepner

Share: Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via email %PRINT_TEXT

8 comments

1 Mattpat11   ~  May 27, 2010 1:48 pm

I'll maintain that I've never seen a worse big name big game closer. When the chips were down, you just knew Hoffman was going to blow it, and that's why he doesn't even sniff the Hall of Fame if I had a vote.

But he has always seemed like a great guy, and that's why I think its best for him to just retire rather than keep embarrassing himself.

2 vockins   ~  May 27, 2010 2:28 pm

[1] Armando Benitez?

3 vockins   ~  May 27, 2010 2:29 pm

[2] I'll grant that might not be very "big name," but the dude was around for a while.

4 RagingTartabull   ~  May 27, 2010 2:33 pm

yeah don't sell Armando short

and by all accounts Hoffman is really one of the nicest guys in the game, so I do legit feel bad for it to be ending like this. He doesn't belong in the same sentence as Mo, but over the last 15 years for better or worse he's probably been the second best closer in baseball.

5 williamnyy23   ~  May 27, 2010 2:45 pm

[4] I know some have tried to argue that Hoffman was at least on the lower rung of Mo's level, but no one belongs in the same stratosphere as the great one. If you use WPA as a barometer (sticking with the meteorological imagery), Mo has Hoffman beat 48.9 to 33.4, and that’s without counting post season.

6 RagingTartabull   ~  May 27, 2010 2:58 pm

[5] of course, I agree 100%. There is Mo, and then theres everyone else. I'm just saying that for their era Hoffman is most likely the best of "everyone else"

Since '95-'96, in the NL there really hasn't been anyone thats been as consistently effective as Hoffman. Gagne had his moment, but it was really only 2 years. Nen was money but was finished by injuries by the time he was 32. If you're talking strictly NL, he's been the best of his generation

7 Ken_P   ~  May 27, 2010 5:01 pm

I think Hoffman is clearly the best human closer of the last 20 years. Mo, until proven otherwise, is not human.

8 Crazy8Rick   ~  May 28, 2010 12:19 pm

Mo is definitely the man. Greatest closer of ALL TIME!!!!

feed Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via email
"This ain't football. We do this every day."
--Earl Weaver