Trevor Hoffman, the longtime closer for the San Diego Padres, appears on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time and his case is a hot-button issue on how to evaluate relief pitchers, particularly modern closers who have spent entire careers accumulating high save totals while pitching limited innings. There are currently five relievers in the Hall of Fame:
Hoyt Wilhelm: The first great long-time reliever, Wilhelm finished with 228 saves and a 2.52 ERA. That save total pales to Hoffman's 601, but it was a different era. Wilhelm won 143 games compared to Hoffman's 61 and pitched 1,100 more innings -- with a lower ERA.