Trevor Hoffman

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Trevor Hoffman bigraphy, stories - American baseball player

Trevor Hoffman : biography

13 October 1967 –

Trevor William Hoffman (born October 13, 1967) is an American former baseball relief pitcher who played 18 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1993 to 2010. A long-time closer, Hoffman pitched for the Florida Marlins, San Diego Padres, and the Milwaukee Brewers, including more than 15 years for the Padres. He was the major leagues’ first player to reach the 500- and 600-save milestones, and was the all-time saves leader from 2006 until 2011.

Hoffman played shortstop collegiately at the University of Arizona and was drafted in the 11th round by the Cincinnati Reds. After not having much success batting, Hoffman was converted to a pitcher, throwing up to 95 miles per hour (mph). The Marlins acquired him in the 1992 expansion draft, and he pitched in Florida until he was traded to the Padres mid-season in 1993 in a deal that sent star Gary Sheffield to the Marlins. Hoffman recorded 20 saves in 1994 in his first season as Padres closer, and in the following years, he became the face of the franchise after Tony Gwynn retired. He collected at least 30 saves each year for the next 14 years, except for 2003 when he missed most of the year recovering from shoulder surgery. After San Diego did not re-sign him, Hoffman pitched two years with the Brewers before retiring in 2010.

Hoffman was selected for the All-Star team seven times, and twice he was the runner-up for the National League (NL) Cy Young Award. He retired with MLB records of fifteen 20-save seasons, fourteen 30-save seasons (including eight consecutive), and nine 40-save seasons (including two streaks of four consecutive). He also retired with the highest career strikeout rate of any reliever.Minimum 1,000 innings pitched Though he entered the majors with a powerful fastball, an injury after the 1994 season permanently sapped Hoffman’s fastball velocity and forced him to reinvent his pitching style; he subsequently developed one of the best changeups in baseball. Hoffman’s entrance at home games accompanied by the song "Hells Bells" was popular with fans. He becomes eligible for consideration for Baseball Hall of Fame induction starting in 2016.

Notes

Accomplishments

Awards and honors

Award/Honor Time(s) Date(s)
MLB Delivery Man of the Month Award 4Most times won May 2005, September 2006, May 2007, May 2009
Hutch Award 1 2004
Lou Gehrig Memorial Award 1 2006
National League All-Star 7 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2009
National League Pitcher of the Month 2 May 2005, May 2009
National League Rolaids Relief Man Award 2 1998, 2006
National League saves champion 2 1998, 2006
Sporting News Reliever of the Year Award 3 1996, 1998, 2006

Active records

Statistics as of 2011 season

MLB Records
Accomplishment Record Refs
Regular season
Most career saves in National League 601 title=Saves Records |work=Baseball-Almanac.com |url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_saves.shtml |accessdate=September 28, 2011}}
Most consecutive seasons with at least 40 savesTied for most times with Francisco Rodríguez 4 (1998–2001, 2004–07)
Most seasons with at least 30 savesTied for most times with Mariano Rivera 14 (1995–2002, 2004–09) last=Carig |first=Marc |title=The Yankees This Week: Mariano Rivera drawing skepticism |date=August 14, 2011 |newspaper=The Star-Ledger |url=http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2011/08/the_yankees_this_week_mariano_1.html |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/60zsLnOgN |archivedate=August 17, 2011}}
Most seasons with at least 40 saves 9 (1996, 1998–2001, 2004–07)
Most career strikeouts per nine innings by a reliever 9.36
Most career games pitched with one team in National League 902 title=Games Pitched Records| work=Baseball-Almanac.com| url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_gam.shtml| accessdate=March 1, 2011}}