The ninth inning in baseball isn’t just the final frame—it’s where legends get forged or failures get etched into memory. That bullpen phone rings and suddenly a relatively unknown athlete shoulders the weight of eight innings of work. The stadium transforms into something akin to the final battle scene in “Avengers: Endgame”—everyone holding their breath.
Once upon a time, closers were baseball’s afterthoughts—failed starters sent to pasture in relief roles. Now? They’re specialized weapons commanding multi-million dollar contracts and entrance music that makes WWE wrestlers jealous. (And thank goodness for that, because watching managers handle bullpens in the 1970s was comparable to using a smartphone with oven mitts on.) The modern closer doesn’t just preserve wins—they preserve sanity for fans whose hearts couldn’t handle more drama.
24. Francisco Rodriguez
Few baseball entrances rival Francisco Rodriguez’s arrival – a 20-year-old postseason phenomenon emerging from nowhere during the 2002 playoffs similar to a surprise character in a hit TV show’s final season. K-Rod, with a wicked slider and competitive fire, collected 15 saves with a microscopic 0.27 ERA during the Angels’ championship run – a baseball supernova announcing his presence.
What followed was a career of excellence and reinvention. In 2008, Rodriguez shattered Bobby Th# Last Call: The Ninth Inning Maestros Who Changed Baseball
The ninth inning in baseball resembles that final scene from “The Dark Knight” – chaos looms, tension builds, and everyone waits for a hero to emerge. Relief pitchers step onto the mound when games hang in the balance, turning 25 anxious teammates into celebrators with just a handful of pitches.
Nobody dreamed up the modern closer role overnight. It evolved organically, similar to how smartphones transformed from clunky bricks into pocket computers. Once considered baseball’s leftovers, closers now command multimillion-dollar contracts and shape championship dreams.
23. Dave Righetti
Dave Righetti enjoyed a 16-year MLB career spanning the 1980s to 1990s, a period when specialized relief roles were just emerging. He won Rookie of the Year in 1981 with a 2.05 ERA for the Yankees as a starter. After moving to the bullpen in 1984, Righetti found his true calling. In 1986, he led the league with 46 saves and a 2.45 ERA, setting what was then an American League record. He later saved 24 games for the Giants in 1991. His devastating slider became his signature pitch, particularly effective against left-handed hitters. Righetti won two Reliever of the Year Awards and finished with 252 saves, pioneering the starter-to-closer transition that many pitchers would follow.
22. Roberto Hernandez
Baseball’s nomads rarely find consistent success, yet Roberto Hernandez turned his baseball passport – stamped by 10 different teams – into a masterclass in adaptability. While other relievers broke down, Hernandez logged an iron-man-worthy 1,010 appearances across 17 seasons, resembling a well-constructed Spotify playlist – consistently delivering quality when called upon.
The numbers tell a story of quiet excellence: 326 saves, three seasons leading the league in games finished, and a stellar 1996 campaign featuring 38 saves and a 1.91 ERA. When the White Sox emerged as contenders in the early 90s, Hernandez provided ninth-inning stability that managers dream about, proving that baseball’s most valuable closers aren’t always the ones making headlines.
21. John Wetteland
October baseball separates the merely good from the immortals, and John Wetteland’s 1996 World Series performance belongs in the clutch-performance hall of fame. Wetteland saved all four Yankees victories against Atlanta, earning World Series MVP honors with the steely nerve of a bomb disposal expert. His road began in Montreal, where he saved 37 games for the 1992 Expos.
Wetteland’s arsenal centered around a fastball-slider combo that made batters feel like they were trying to hit a bouncing pea with a toothpick. After leading the AL with 43 saves in 1996, he took his talents to Texas, continuing his dominance through 2000. By career’s end, his 330 saves topped all relievers during the 1990s – a decade when specialized closers became essential to winning teams.
20. Éric Gagné
Some baseball performances burn so bright they leave permanent imprints on fans’ retinas. From 2002-2004, Eric Gagné made Dodger Stadium feel like a nightly season finale – when “Game Over” flashed on the scoreboard and Guns N’ Roses blared, 50,000 fans knew what was coming. The bespectacled Canadian converted an otherworldly 84 consecutive save opportunities.
Gagné’s 2003 campaign rewrote the closer record books: 55 saves in 55 chances with a 1.20 ERA and 137 strikeouts in 82.1 innings, earning a Cy Young Award that relievers typically have as much chance of winning as a sloth has of winning the Kentucky Derby. His circle-change made All-Stars look like first-day Little Leaguers. Though injuries limited his career to 187 saves, Gagné’s supernova peak remains the standard for relief dominance.
19. Troy Percival
Baseball history overflows with failed position-player-to-pitcher experiments, yet Troy Percival’s metamorphosis from minor league catcher to elite closer worked out better than most Marvel character origin stories. The Angels converted him in 1991, and by 1996, Percival was bringing 98-mph heat with the controlled fury of someone who’d spent years watching pitchers from behind the plate.
For nine seasons, Percival served as Anaheim’s ninth-inning security system, averaging 35 saves annually. The four-time All-Star cemented his legacy during the 2002 World Series run, recording seven saves with a 2.79 ERA as the Angels captured their first championship. His 358 career saves rank 13th all-time, proving that sometimes baseball’s best closers aren’t born – they’re rebuilt from other positions.
18. Jeff Reardon
They called him “The Terminator” decades before robot-assassins from the future became Hollywood cliché. Jeff Reardon earned the nickname by stomping to the mound with mechanical precision, unleashing 98-mph fastballs when such velocity still dropped jaws. In the mid-1980s, Reardon’s heat felt about as fair as bringing a flamethrower to a water gun fight.
Montreal fans witnessed his emergence as an elite closer when he led the league with 41 saves in 1985. After terrorizing National League hitters, Reardon brought his dominance to Minnesota, saving 103 games over three seasons and helping transform the Twins from basement-dwellers to World Series champions. By career’s end, Reardon had compiled 367 saves, establishing himself as a pioneer who transformed closing from an afterthought into an art form.
17. Robb Nen
Sometimes baseball brilliance comes with a tragic final act. Robb Nen sacrificed his career for a shot at World Series glory, pitching through a shoulder injury during the 2002 postseason that ultimately ended his playing days. Nen delivered with a 0.00 ERA in the World Series, but the Giants fell just short against the Angels, and one of baseball’s most devastating sliders disappeared forever.
Before that bittersweet finale, Nen had established himself as the game’s model of consistency. From 1996 to 2002, he averaged about 40 saves per season with the methodical excellence of a Swiss watchmaker. His slider – a pitch that moved so violently it seemed to violate physics – left hitters looking awkward as middle schoolers at their first dance. Though his career ended prematurely at 314 saves, Nen’s willingness to sacrifice his arm for team success represents both the dedication and fragility of baseball careers.
16. Tom Henke
In the pantheon of underappreciated baseball excellence, Tom Henke might be the patron saint. While flashier closers dominated headlines, “The Terminator” quietly assembled one of the most efficient closing careers ever seen. Standing 6’5″ with distinctive oversized glasses, Henke transformed the mound into his personal laboratory of pitching domination.
The numbers whisper of unheralded greatness: 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings when such rates were rare, a career 2.67 ERA, and 311 saves. Henke saved 34 games in 1987, then reached his pinnacle in 1993 with 40 saves for Toronto. His career concluded with a mic-drop season for the 1995 Cardinals – 36 saves and a 1.82 ERA before walking away on his terms. His clutch genes showed brightest during Toronto’s 1992 championship run, helping deliver Canada’s first World Series title.
15. Jonathan Papelbon
Jonathan Papelbon entered games with all the subtlety of a fireworks display on the Fourth of July. His entrance to the Dropkick Murphys’ “Shipping Up to Boston” turned Fenway Park into baseball’s most intimidating ninth-inning environment. From his major league debut, Papelbon showed the confidence of a heavyweight champion, setting a Red Sox rookie record with 35 saves in 2006.
What made Papelbon exceptional wasn’t just his split-fingered fastball that disappeared faster than free food at an office party – it was his October ice-cold veins. His MLB-record 25 consecutive scoreless postseason innings stands as one of baseball’s most overlooked clutch performances. With 368 career saves, a 2.44 ERA, and 10 strikeouts per nine innings, Papelbon eventually led both the Red Sox and Phillies in career saves.
14. Dan Quisenberry
While most 1980s closers were trying to blow fastballs past hitters, Dan Quisenberry was playing an entirely different game. His submarine delivery dropped lower than streaming service prices during a competitive promotion, releasing a bowling ball sinker that generated more ground balls than a landscaping crew. In an era obsessed with power, Quiz brought finesse and precision.
His dominance speaks through the numbers: leading the league in saves five times in six years, finishing with 244 career saves and a 2.76 ERA. His 1983 masterpiece (45 saves, 1.94 ERA) remains one of the greatest relief seasons ever. Quisenberry’s fifth-place Cy Young and eighth-place MVP finishes that year signaled a watershed moment when baseball began recognizing that ninth-inning specialists could be as valuable as any starter.
13. Aroldis Chapman
Baseball’s velocity revolution has a defining moment: a sweltering San Diego night in 2010 when Aroldis Chapman unleashed a 105.1 mph fastball that broke both radar guns and conventional wisdom about human limitations. The Cuban Missile didn’t just throw hard – he redefined pitching physics, making triple-digit readings routine when they had previously been rare.
By 2012, Chapman had evolved from curiosity to closer, striking out hitters with the ruthless efficiency of a delete key clearing an inbox. His 2014 campaign bordered on video game territory: 106 strikeouts in 54 innings, an absurd two K’s per inning. With 325 career saves, 1,219 strikeouts, and a crucial role in the Cubs’ drought-ending 2016 World Series victory, Chapman’s legacy extends beyond velocity – he helped usher in baseball’s modern power-pitching era.
12. Joe Nathan
The best baseball stories often involve detours, and Joe Nathan’s path from college shortstop to elite closer reads similar to a career GPS recalculating after several wrong turns. The Giants initially converted Nathan to pitching as a minor leaguer, then after a mediocre starting stint, Nathan found bullpen magic in Minnesota, where he transformed into one of history’s most reliable ninth-inning specialists.
From 2004-2009, Nathan quietly assembled a stretch of dominance that statistical models adore. His 89.1% career save percentage stands among the highest for pitchers with 200+ saves – essentially, when teams handed Nathan a lead, they could start planning their victory handshakes. His 377 career saves rank tenth all-time, built on a devastating slider-cutter combination that right-handed batters couldn’t solve. Six All-Star selections and a career 2.87 ERA solidified Nathan as the model of consistency.
11. Hoyt Wilhelm
Before specialized closers, setup men, and bullpen carts, there was Hoyt Wilhelm – baseball’s original relief pioneer who treated established pitching roles with all the reverence of a toddler approaching a carefully built block tower. His knuckleball – fluttering towards home plate with the unpredictable path of a butterfly in a tornado – allowed him to pitch effectively until age 49.
Wilhelm’s 1952 rookie campaign reads like fiction: 71 appearances, a 15-3 record, and a 2.43 ERA when relievers were treated as baseball’s forgotten stepchildren. The first pitcher to appear in 1,000 MLB games, Wilhelm collected 228 saves before anyone considered the statistic worth tracking. His versatility seems alien to modern baseball – in 1959, he started 27 games, finishing with a 15-11 record, 2.19 ERA, and 13 complete games. Wilhelm didn’t just precede the modern bullpen era; he helped create it.
10. John Franco
In a world dominated by fire-breathing right-handed closers, John Franco brought southpaw subtlety to ninth innings like a jazz musician at a heavy metal concert. The Brooklyn-born closer possessed nerves as steady as his native borough’s iconic Bridge, relying on a changeup that disappeared more mysteriously than contestants on early reality TV shows.
Franco’s longevity defied conventional wisdom about relief pitcher shelf lives. His 424 saves still rank seventh all-time and stand as the most by any left-handed pitcher in history. More impressive was his adaptability – leading the league in saves three separate times spanning eight years (1988, 1990, 1994) when most relievers flamed out after brief peaks. A four-time All-Star, Franco remains the Mets’ all-time saves leader, bringing hometown heroics to Shea Stadium for 14 seasons.
9. Kenley Jansen
Baseball’s history brims with failed experiments, but Kenley Jansen’s transition from failed minor league catcher to elite closer worked better than any laboratory breakthrough. The Dodgers spotted something in Jansen’s arm that suggested his future lay in preventing runs, not calling them. The conversion began in 2009, and by 2012, Jansen had saved 25 games, then 28 in 2013, before a breakout 44 in 2014.
Jansen’s cutter – reminiscent of Mariano Rivera’s – carved through batting orders with surgical precision. Four All-Star selections and two Reliever of the Year Awards validated what Dodger fans witnessed nightly as “California Love” blasted through Chavez Ravine. By breaking the Dodgers’ all-time saves record and ranking second in postseason saves (20), Jansen cemented his legacy. His career demonstrated remarkable staying power – leading the league with 41 saves in 2022 – en route to 441 career saves, fourth all-time.
8. Bruce Sutter
When baseball historians debate game-changing innovations, Bruce Sutter’s splitter deserves mention alongside the forward pass and three-point shot. In the late 1970s, while most relievers relied on fastball velocity or breaking balls, Sutter unleashed a pitch with the deception of a world-class poker player. His split-finger fastball approached the plate looking identical to a fastball before diving underneath swinging bats.
The impact was revolutionary. Sutter earned 31 saves in 1977, won the Cy Young Award in 1979 (when relievers almost never received such recognition), and led the league in saves five times in a six-year span. His peak coincided perfectly with relief pitching’s transition from afterthought to weapon. With exactly 300 career saves, six All-Star selections, and four Reliever of the Year Awards, Sutter’s Hall of Fame plaque represents more than individual achievement – it commemorates the moment when baseball fully embraced the modern closer role.
7. Billy Wagner
Billy Wagner obliterated baseball’s size-to-velocity correlation charts similar to how a tornado disregards property lines. Standing just 5’10” in a realm where 6’4″ power pitchers dominate, Wagner generated fastball velocity that physics equations struggle to explain. His left arm whipped through his delivery like a bullwhip, consistently hitting 100 mph when such readings still caused radar guns to blink in disbelief.
The numbers reflect dominance that Hall of Fame voters initially overlooked: 422 saves (sixth all-time), a stunning 2.31 ERA (lower than Rivera’s), and a strikeout rate of 11.9 per nine innings. Wagner maintained excellence across his entire career, saving 37 games with a 1.43 ERA in his final season at age 38 when most relievers have surrendered to Father Time. His seven All-Star selections represent a career that defied conventional wisdom about what physically makes an elite closer.
6. Rich “Goose” Gossage
Before specialized closers became baseball’s norm, Rich “Goose” Gossage redefined what a relief pitcher could be – part firefighter, part intimidator, and entirely formidable. With a Fu Manchu mustache that would make Sam Elliott envious and a fastball that terrified veteran hitters, Gossage didn’t just finish games; he ended them with exclamation points. His entrance from the bullpen carried the tension of a final boss appearing in a video game.
Gossage dominated when relievers worked for their saves – regularly pitching multiple high-stress innings rather than clean ninth innings. His 1975 campaign with the White Sox (26 saves, 1.84 ERA in 141.2 innings) represented a workload that would cause today’s agents to threaten lawsuits. Gossage led the league in saves three times during an era when bullpen specialization was emerging. His eight All-Star selections and 310 career saves earned him a plaque in Cooperstown, but his legacy lives in the memory of hitters who faced his intimidation-fueled dominance.
5. Lee Smith
For nearly 13 years, Lee Smith stood as baseball’s all-time saves king – a 6’6″ monument to reliability whose career spanned the transition from multi-inning firemen to specialized one-inning closers. Smith’s journey began with the Cubs, where his intimidating presence resembled a skyscraper suddenly transported to the pitcher’s rubber. His stare alone could freeze runners at first base.
From 1983 to 1995, Smith averaged 35 saves per season with the consistency of a Swiss timepiece. He led the league in saves four times, peaking with 47 in 1991 for St. Louis. Smith’s durability proved remarkable – pitching effectively for eight different teams while maintaining his closer role at each stop. His seven All-Star selections and four top-ten Cy Young finishes demonstrated the growing respect for elite relievers. Upon retirement, Smith’s 478 saves stood as the all-time record, and his 2019 Hall of Fame induction acknowledged what hitters knew decades earlier – when Lee Smith emerged, the game effectively ended.
4. Dennis Eckersley
Baseball’s greatest career reinventions rarely happen after decade-long stretches of success, yet Dennis Eckersley’s transformation from solid starter to revolutionary closer resembles a blockbuster movie’s unexpected third-act twist. After 12 seasons and 151 wins as a starting pitcher – including a 20-win season – Eckersley seemed destined for decline. Instead, Oakland manager Tony La Russa reimagined what a closer could be, creating baseball’s first true ninth-inning specialist.
The results rewrote baseball strategy forever. Eckersley’s pinpoint control – walking just 4 batters in 73.1 innings in 1989 – combined with his slider to create the prototype for modern closing. His 1992 campaign stands as perhaps the greatest relief season ever: 51 saves, a 1.91 ERA, and an absurd 93-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio that earned him both MVP and Cy Young honors. “Eck” accumulated nearly 400 saves after his transition, complementing his 197 wins as a starter – essentially two Hall of Fame careers merged into one.
3. Rollie Fingers
In an era when relief pitchers were afterthoughts, Rollie Fingers transformed the position into baseball performance art. His handlebar mustache – originally grown for a $300 team bonus as part of Charles Finley’s 1972 Oakland “Mustache Gang” promotion – became as iconic as his pitching prowess. While the facial hair drew attention, Fingers’ dominance kept it, proving closers could be as valuable as any starter during Oakland’s dynasty years.
Fingers stood tallest when games mattered most. His 1974 World Series MVP award highlighted his postseason brilliance – a career 2.35 October ERA with nine saves. In 1981, during a strike-shortened season, Fingers produced a campaign that rewrote what relievers could achieve: 28 saves with a microscopic 1.04 ERA, leading to both Cy Young and MVP honors. With 341 career saves and a 2.90 ERA, Fingers became the second relief pitcher inducted into Cooperstown, opening doors for future generations of relief specialists.
2. Trevor Hoffman
Some pitchers dominate with velocity, others with movement, but Trevor Hoffman conquered baseball with deception packaged in a seemingly simple changeup. When “Hells Bells” tolled through San Diego’s stadium, opposing teams experienced the baseball equivalent of seeing the final boss appear in a video game – technically beatable but rarely conquered. Hoffman’s changeup – thrown with identical arm speed as his fastball but arriving 10-12 mph slower – created timing disruption that left hitters disoriented.
After showing early promise, Hoffman built his Hall of Fame career on remarkable consistency, saving at least 30 games in 14 different seasons. His 1998 campaign stands as his masterpiece: 53 saves with a 1.48 ERA, setting what was then a National League record. Hoffman’s sustained excellence led to seven All-Star selections spanning 12 years – including a nod at age 41. As baseball’s first 600-save man (finishing with 601), Hoffman demonstrated that closing greatness doesn’t require triple-digit velocity – sometimes the most effective pitch is the one that never arrives when batters expect it.
1. Mariano Rivera
If baseball were mythology, Mariano Rivera would stand as its closing deity – a figure so perfect at his craft that his career feels more like legend than history. Rivera’s dominance didn’t emerge fully formed; he started 10 games for the 1995 Yankees before finding his true calling in the bullpen. By 1996, posting a 2.09 ERA as John Wetteland’s setup man, Rivera began writing baseball’s greatest relief pitching story.
Rivera’s signature cutter – discovered almost by accident during a 1997 catch session – became baseball’s most famous single pitch since Nolan Ryan’s fastball. Thrown with the same motion every time, the cutter broke bats and spirits with equal efficiency. The numbers tell the tale: 652 career saves, a 2.21 ERA during baseball’s offensive explosion era, 13 All-Star selections, and five Reliever of the Year Awards. Most impressive were his postseason heroics: 42 saves and a microscopic 0.70 ERA across 96 playoff appearances. Baseball’s first unanimous Hall of Fame selection stands as the one closer in history against whom no rational argument exists.
