| abstract
| - Trevor Hoffman is a former major league baseball player.
- Originally drafted by the Cincinnati Reds as a shortstop after leading the University of Arizona team in hitting in 1988 with a .371 batting average, 35 points better than teammate J.T. Snow in 1989, Hoffman was converted to a pitcher in 1991 after batting .212 with 23 RBI in 103 games while playing short and third for Single-A Charleston (then a Cincinnati Reds minor league affiliate). The move, suggested by Charleston manager Jim Lett, was so successful that in his first season on the mound, Hoffman threw a total of 47⅔ innings at Cedar Rapids and at Double-A Chattanooga, and had a 1.89 ERA and 75 strikeouts. Hoffman proved to have such a live arm that he was taken by the Florida Marlins in the 1992 expansion draft and a year later was involved in the five-player trade that sent slugger Gary Sheffield from the San Diego Padres to Florida during the infamous 1993 fire sale. Hoffman is the only prospect acquired from the fire sale to develop into a legitimate star despite the Padres dumping players of the caliber of Sheffield, Fred McGriff, Bruce Hurst, and Craig Lefferts among others. Hoffman is one of only two currently active players in Major League Baseball remaining from the Marlins' 1993 inaugural season (the other being fellow relief pitcher David Weathers). During the strike-shortened 1994, Hoffman first took over closer duties, replacing Gene Harris. Although at the time Tony Gwynn's flirtation with batting .400 was the only truly positive note in that terrible season for the Padres, in retrospect Hoffman's 20 saves and ERA of 2.57 portended a brighter future for himself and the team. 1995 was a step backwards and remains Hoffman's worst non-injury year as a closer, with an ERA of 3.88; though he had 31 saves, Hoffman also finished with 7 blown saves. The next two years showed great improvement and first achieved Hoffman larger notice. Both years he pitched over 80 innings, with 111 strikeouts, averaged approximately 40 saves, and had ERAs of 2.25 and 2.66. In 1996, at Los Angeles, Hoffman defeated the Dodgers to the clinch the NL West. The 1998 season was arguably Hoffman's best. He had a career-high 53 saves and a career-best 1.48 ERA. His 53 saves that year tied the NL single-season record set in 1993 by the Cubs' Randy Myers. His numbers got him into the Cy Young race that year, but he lost to Tom Glavine of the Atlanta Braves, despite receiving 13 first-place votes to Glavine's 11. Hoffman is the only pitcher to ever receive the most first-place votes and not win the Cy Young. Hoffman didn't go unrecognized for his achievements in 1998, however. He won the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award and the The Sporting News Reliever of the Year Award. Hoffman led San Diego to the 1998 World Series but lost against the New York Yankees. It was during this year that Hoffman began entering save situations in Padres home games with AC/DC's "Hells Bells" playing over the public address system. Hoffman followed his 1998 performance by averaging over 40 saves over the next four years (40, 43, 43, 38). His 1998 and 1999 seasons were rewarded with a four-year contract for 2000-04 worth $32 million. Further, his career was beginning to be followed on a national stage and compared to other greats including Dennis Eckersley. Hoffman broke Eckersley's record for most saves with one team (320) in 2002. Significantly, Sports Illustrated dedicated their May 13, 2002 issue to Hoffman calling him the greatest closer in MLB history (see image above). On May 6, 2005, Hoffman recorded his 400th save against the St. Louis Cardinals and became the third pitcher in Major League history to reach the milestone, following John Franco (424 saves) and Lee Smith (478 saves). On August 24, 2005, Hoffman passed Franco for second place on the all-time saves list with #425 after the Padres beat the Houston Astros 7-4. Against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Hoffman clinched the Padres to the post-season. 2006 was a year of several milestones, including one significant disappointment for Hoffman. He was the losing pitcher in the 2006 All-Star Game, despite having two strikes with two outs on eventual MVP Michael Young. On the positive side, August 20 marked Hoffman's 776th outing for the Padres, breaking the Pirates Elroy Face's major league record for most relief appearances with one club, according to the Elias Sports Bureau [1]. Even more significantly, on September 24, Hoffman became the all-time Major League saves leader by saving his 479th career game in a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, surpassing Lee Smith's record. Hoffman ended the season against the Arizona Diamondbacks in 4 straight clinching playoff appearances. On April 29, 2007, Hoffman pitched in his 803rd game for the Padres, breaking the record for games pitched for any one team. The record was previously held by both Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators and Elroy Face of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hoffman ultimately pitched 902 games for the Padres - exactly 100 more than the previous record. On June 6, 2007, at PETCO Park, Hoffman recorded his 500th career save against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He struck out Russell Martin looking, with a fastball, to secure the 5-2 win for the Padres. Hoffman is the only pitcher in history to log 500 saves. On July 1, 2007, Hoffman was named to the NL All Star Team for the sixth time in his career, along with teammates Jake Peavy and Chris Young. On September 8, 2007 (against the Colorado Rockies) Hoffman struck-out his 1000th hitter, a feat matched by only 7 other relief pitchers. On September 27, 2007 (against the Pittsburgh Pirates) Hoffman picked up his 40th save of the 2007 season. This is his ninth season with 40 saves, another Major League record. On October 1, 2007, in the Padres' tie-breaker wild card game against the Colorado Rockies, Hoffman blew a save and his team's 8-6 lead in the 13th inning. He took the loss when he allowed the game-winning run to score on a sacrifice fly. During Spring Training 2008, Hoffman repeatedly told the sports press that he was looking forward to vindicating his lost save against the Colorado Rockies. On April 1, 2008, during the second game of the season, Hoffman recorded his first save of the 2008 season against the Houston Astros.
- miniatur|Trevor Hoffman miniatur|Trevor Time in PETCO Park, San Diego Trevor William Hoffman (* 13. Oktober 1967 in Bellflower, Kalifornien) ist ein US-amerikanischer Baseballspieler. Er spielte 1993 bis 2008 bei den San Diego Padres als Closing-Pitcher,Bevor er zu den Milwaukee Brewers wechselte. Hoffman wurde 1989 von den Cincinnati Reds als Shortstop gedraftet, zwei Jahre später aber zum Pitcher umfunktioniert. Bis 1992, als von den Florida Marlins eingestellt wurde, spielte er in einem Minor-League-Team der Reds in Charleston. Mitte der Saison 1993 wechselte er zu den Padres. In seiner Karriere hat er zur Zeit ein Sieg/Niederlagen-Verhältnis von 49-54, einen sehr guten ERA von 2,71 und erreichte am 6. Mai 2004 in St. Louis gegen die Cardinals seinen 400. Save, was vor ihm nur Lee Smith (478 Saves, nicht mehr aktiv) und John Franco (424 Saves) gelang. Am 23. September 2006 gelang Hoffman beim 2-1 Heimsieg gegen die Pittsburgh Pirates Save Nr. 478, der ihn mit Smith gleichziehen ließ. Nur einen Tag später, am 24. September 2006, passenderweise beim letzten Heimspiel der regulären Saison, ging Trevor Hoffman als bester Closer aller Zeiten in die Geschichtsbücher ein, als er, wie tags zuvor, beim Stand von 2-1 im 9. Inning ohne größere Probleme den Pittsburgh Pirates ein weiteres mal die Tür vor der Nase zuschlug. Der Jubel bei Mitspielern und Fans im ausverkauften PETCO Park kannte keine Grenzen. Als sein unverkennbares Markenzeichen hat sich der Song Hell's Bells von AC/DC etabliert, der bei seiner Einwechslung gespielt wird. Hoffmans Changeup-Pitch gehört zu den allerbesten in der Liga. Trotz seines Blown-Save im All Star Game 2006 genießt Hoffman den Ruf als womöglich bester Closer jemals, der womöglich nur mit Mariano Rivera noch zu vergleichen wäre. Als einer der wenigen professionellen Baseballpitcher gelingt es ihm trotz nachlassender Wurfgeschwindigkeit (von weit über 90 mph auf etwa 85 mph) im Alter nicht nur sein Niveau zu halten, sondern sich sogar noch einmal zu steigern.
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