Give him credit....

On June 10th reader Charlie Morgan from Detroit, MI sent in the piece on “Hoffman vs. Rivera.”

Earlier today, Josh Bolan posted “Turn out the lights and Let’s go home” on current top closers featuring Joakim Soria.

On the topic of top closers…….. I don’t think that Eric Gagne ever got proper recognition for the run of unparalleled success he put together earlier this decade. In fact, I’m certain of it. We’ve lived in this Mariano Rivera world for so long now that I think our judgment is a bit clouded.

Thanks to the research provided by ESPN’s Jayson Stark and published in 2004, here are some notable facts that help put his performance into perspective.

• In the 23-month period in which Gagne was blowing no saves, all other slightly more human, relievers combined to blow 969 saves. In fact, there were 28 blown saves just against the Dodgers during the streak.

• The five closers with the next-most saves during the streak -- John Smoltz, Billy Wagner, Eddie Guardado, Mariano Rivera and Keith Foulke -- blew a combined 34 saves while Gagne was blowing zero. That breaks down this way:

Smoltz 69 of 74
Wagner 63 of 68
Rivera 70 of 77
Foulke 58 of 66
Guardado 65 of 74

• So if the best relievers on earth were blowing 34 saves during this streak, just imagine how many some of the more mortal relievers were blowing. These guys blew the most saves during Gagne's streak:

14 Danys Baez
12 Francisco Cordero
12 Jason Grimsley
11 Armando Benitez
11 Damaso Marte
11 Tim Worrell

• How overpowering was Gagne during this streak? Incredibly, he totaled more saves (84) than he allowed hits (71). (See the recent post on Joakim Soria.) Next-best on Planet Closer (but not even close) during the same stretch were Smoltz (83 H - 69 SV), Wagner (77-63) and Guardado (79-65).

• This guy was so unhittable, a hitter was three times more likely to strike out against Gagne during the streak than he was to get a hit. (Strikeout-to-hit ratio: 207 whiffs, 71 hits). The only other closer with even twice as many whiffs as hits in that span was Wagner (158 strikeouts, 77 hits).

• Speaking of unhittable, Gagne had one stretch during the streak (July 27’03-Aug. 14’03) in which he made 10 straight appearances without giving up even one hit. He made another (May 31’03-June 12’03) in which he made eight straight appearances without giving up a hit.

He steamrollered 25 consecutive hitters without a baserunner in the July-August streak, and 24 in a row in the May-June streak. Ridiculous.

• Even though almost half of Gagne's saves came in games the Dodgers won by a run (40 of 84), he was so untouchable that just once did he come within 90 feet of blowing a save. The only time during the streak that the other team even got the tying run to third base was Sept. 18’03, when Arizona did it.

• Gagne faced the minimum number of hitters in nearly half of his 84 saves (40 of 84, 48 percent).

• Gagne allowed one hit or none in 92 percent of his saves (77 of 84) -- and gave up zero hits in an amazing 60 percent of them (50 of 84).

• Strikeout machine that he was, Gagne punched out at least one hitter in 77 of the 84 saves.

He whiffed three hitters or more in 16 of them (19 percent).
He recorded every out on a strikeout in 14 of them (17 percent).
He struck out every hitter he faced in seven of them (8 percent).
And ohbytheway, in one stretch, he struck out at least one hitter in 35 straight trips to the mound.

• But in the meantime, his strikeout-walk ratio was an insane 207-34. And only once (April 17’03, vs. LA) did he walk more than one hitter in any appearance.

• Not many strikeout pitchers in the history of baseball were also as pitch-efficient as this guy. Gagne got through nine saves in the streak (11 percent) in 10 pitches or fewer. And only twice did he throw more than 25 pitches in a save.

• Think this guy got a little stoked when the game was on the line? During just the save opportunities in the streak ...

His ERA was 0.82.
He struck out 14.3 hitters per nine innings.
He gave up only 4.1 hits per nine innings.

He allowed just three homers (to Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and Pedro Feliz).
He totaled many more saves (84) than baserunners (61).
He racked up almost 100 more strikeouts (139) than hits (43).
And of the 23 runners he inherited in those games, none of them scored.

Stark recited even more unbelievable Gagne statistics but I think by now you get the point. - Blake Kearny

Blake Kearny is a retired baseball scout from Los Angeles, California. He currently runs a baseball school for children in Los Angeles.