Trevor Hoffman of the San Diego Padres earned his 300th career save on Aug. 15 when he closed out the Padres’ win against the New York Mets. Here are the 14 pitchers to reach that mark, listed with the number of games it took them to hit 300 saves.
%% RELIEVER GAMES
Dennis Eckersley 499
Trevor Hoffman 553
John Wetteland 553
Rick Aguilera 614
Randy Myers 627
Tom Henke 628
Bruce Sutter 661
John Franco 670
Jeff Montgomery 690
Lee Smith 697
Jeff Reardon 711
Goose Gossage 757
Doug Jones 781
Rollie Fingers 824
%%
Reversal of fortune
The Oakland A’s were 8-18 on May 1 but have gone 65-37 since then and lead the Boston Red Sox for the American League wild-card slot. The A’s could become only the seventh team to make the playoffs after its record had fallen at least 10 games below .500.
%% YEAR TEAM WORST RECORD DATE FINISH
1914 Braves 26-40 July 5 Won World Series
1951 Giants 2-12 April 29 Lost World Series
1973 Mets 53-66 Aug. 17 Lost World Series
1974 Pirates 18-32 June 7 Lost LCS
1984 Royals 40-51 July 18 Lost LCS
1989 Blue Jays 12-24 May 14 Lost LCS
%%
Going back a century
The Seattle Mariners could become the first major-league team in 99 years to play an entire season without losing three consecutive games. So far this year they have had back-to-back losses 10 times but have avoided three straight. The last team to go an entire season without losing three in a row was the 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates. That season, the Pirates had consecutive losses just 11 times, finishing with a 103-36 record and the National League title.
AUGUST COMPANY
With his three home runs Wednesday, Sammy Sosa became the fifth big-leaguer to post two three-homer games in one month.
%% HITTERS TEAM DATE
Johnny Mize Cardinals July 1938
Willie Stargell Pirates April 1971
Doug DeCinces Angels Aug. 1982
Carlos Delgado Blue Jays April 2001
%%
