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Trevor Hoffman in 2006?
Hoffman article - a few days old
Padres hope to keep Hoffman a top secret
San Diego Padres GM Kevin Towers turns his back, closes his eyes or just walks away every time this guy comes into the game.
In 1998, Trevor Hoffman saved 53 games and helped lead the Padres to the World Series, where they were swept by the Yankees.
By Tom DiPace, Sports Weekly
The rest of America is sleeping.
Sure, you know all about Yankees closer Mariano Rivera and his brilliance throughout the years. You are well aware of all the saves racked up by former Mets closer John Franco. Lee Smith, Goose Gossage and Bruce Sutter were household names, too.
But Trevor Hoffman, closer of the Padres?
Raise your hand if you live east of the Mississippi and have seen the man pitch, let alone realize that he's on the verge of passing Franco for second place on the all-time saves list.
Hoffman, you see, does most of his work while everyone else is in bed. Padres games don't even start until 10 p.m. ET. So by the time he comes in to close games, it's often around 1 a.m.
Even if you wanted to stay up, you couldn't see him anyway. Their games are shown only on a San Diego cable network and aren't part of DirecTV's baseball package.
"Nobody ever sees us play on TV," laments manager Bruce Bochy. "This guy is going to go down as one of the greatest closers of all time, and there are people that still don't know him because they've never seen him. It's amazing.
"Really, it's sad."
Towers, who has been general manager of the Padres for the past 10 seasons, obviously knows him quite well. He loves the guy and has been to most of his games. But to be honest, he hasn't seen him pitch either.
"I bet I haven't seen him pitch live in about 10 years," Towers says.
You're kidding, right?
"No, and I don't plan to," Towers says. "Everybody talks about how great it is to hear Hell's Bells and his entrance into the game, but as soon as he is about to toe that rubber, I'm gone."
Something personal?
"No, I'm just superstitious. Very superstitious," Towers says. "The way I look at it, he's been successful. We've been successful. I've been successful. So why screw with it?"
When Hoffman enters the game, Towers will either walk down to the clubhouse, turn his back and watch the game on TV in his suite or close his eyes and listen to the crowd noise.
It has been this way for Towers every game since the 1996 season. Considering that Hoffman has amassed 423 career saves, including 30 this season, Towers has missed 367 saves.
"I may not be watching him live," Towers says, "but I know that he's a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He's one of those guys that pretty much has got you beat when you step onto the field. He's the most consistent closer you'll ever find."
Hoffman could surpass Smith's record of 478 saves next season. He is 37 and does not throw 94 mph anymore. But with his uncanny control and devastating changeup, Hoffman is still lethal.
Hoffman has converted 27 consecutive save opportunities through Sunday, the longest active streak in baseball. He has blown only two saves this season and has an 89% success rate (423 of 473) in his career, the highest by any closer with at least 200 saves.
But he is the reason the Padres are in first place. He is the reason the Padres will win the NL West, and the reason the Padres could be a dangerous first-round opponent.
"I wouldn't even want to think about where we'd be without him," Bochy says. "And I don't want to ever think about what it'd be like in the future without him."
The Padres may soon find out.
Hoffman is a free agent after the season, and his agent, Rick Thurman, wants to make Hoffman the highest-paid reliever in baseball.
"Why not? Check out the numbers," Thurman says, noting that Hoffman has 57 more saves than Rivera since becoming a full-time closer in 1994. "Mariano is an amazing pitcher, but Trevor is not only a great pitcher, but he has the intangibles you don't see with many players.
"Trevor is in a different stage of his life, too. He loves San Diego. He loves the coaching staff and the front office. But it's not the end-all. This time, they're going to have to take care of him.
"If they keep him, they're going to have to make him the highest-paid closer."
And if the Padres don't keep him, the Dodgers might want to steal him, uncertain whether Eric Gagne will be back from Tommy John surgery.
"It's gone through my mind that I could be leaving," Hoffman says. "I'd love to tell you I'll be here for the next three years, but with (CEO) Sandy Alderson coming in, we know he has a history of not wanting to go with multiyear deals with older players, particular pitchers. We'll see. But I really don't want to see me in another uniform."
The Padres are cautiously optimistic they can reach a deal, but there have been no negotiations.
"This guy wants to remain a Padre," Towers says, "and we want to keep him here. Hoffy is like (Tony) Gwynn. Even though he had brief stints in Cincinnati and Florida, I can't imagine him in any uniform but ours. He's one of those guys that pitches for the name in front his jersey, not the name on the back. There's not that many of those guys out there."
The only question is what uniform he might be wearing as he closes in on 500 saves.
"I know how lucky I've been to have one of the greatest closers of all time," Bochy says. "Being down in San Diego, we can have some pretty well-kept secrets.
"But as long as we can keep him, I'd be happy to keep that secret to ourselves."
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Bob Nightengale writes about the major leagues for USA TODAY Sports Weekly. You can e-mail him at: bnightengale@usatoday.com.
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Originally Posted by padrefanforever
