Mariano Rivera, the all-time leader in saves.

In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a save (denoted by SV) who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances. Most commonly a pitcher earns a save by entering in the ninth inning of a game in which his team is winning by three or fewer runs and finishing the game by pitching one inning without losing the lead.[1]

Mariano Rivera[2][3][4] is the all-time leader in saves with 652. Rivera and Trevor Hoffman[5] are the only pitchers in MLB history to save more than 600 career games. Lee Smith,[6] Francisco Rodríguez,[7] John Franco,[8] Billy Wagner,[9] Kenley Jansen,[10] and Craig Kimbrel are the only other pitchers to save more than 400 games in their careers.

Key

Rank Rank amongst leaders in career saves. A blank field indicates a tie.
Player (2024 SV) Number of saves during the 2024 Major League Baseball season
SV Total career saves
* Denotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Bold Denotes active player.[note 1]

List

Kenley Jansen has the most saves out of active players and is 7th all-time. He is also 1 of 2 active players with 400 or more saves.
Rank Player (2024 SV) SV
1 Mariano Rivera* 652
2 Trevor Hoffman* 601
3 Lee Smith* 478
4 Francisco Rodríguez 437
5 John Franco 424
6 Billy Wagner 422
7 Kenley Jansen (0) 420
8 Craig Kimbrel (0) 417
9 Dennis Eckersley* 390
10 Joe Nathan 377
11 Jonathan Papelbon 368
12 Jeff Reardon 367
13 Troy Percival 358
14 Randy Myers 347
15 Rollie Fingers* 341
16 John Wetteland 330
17 Francisco Cordero 329
18 Fernando Rodney 327
19 Roberto Hernández 326
20 Huston Street 324
21 Aroldis Chapman (0) 321
José Mesa 321
23 Todd Jones 319
24 Rick Aguilera 318
25 Robb Nen 314
26 Tom Henke 311
26 Goose Gossage* 310
28 Jeff Montgomery 304
29 Doug Jones 303
30 Jason Isringhausen 300
Bruce Sutter* 300
32 Armando Benítez 289
33 José Valverde 288
34 Rod Beck 286
35 Bob Wickman 267
36 Mark Melancon (0) 262
37 Todd Worrell 256
38 Dave Righetti 252
39 Dan Quisenberry 244
40 Sparky Lyle 238
41 Ugueth Urbina 237
42 Joakim Soria 229
43 Hoyt Wilhelm* 228
44 Brad Lidge 225
45 Greg Holland 220
46 Gene Garber 218
47 Gregg Olson 217
48 Dave Smith 216
49 Rafael Soriano 207
50 Edwin Díaz (0) 205
Rank Player (2024 SV) SV
51 Brian Fuentes 204
52 Jeff Shaw 203
53 Bobby Thigpen 201
54 Mike Henneman 193
55 Mitch Williams 192
56 Roy Face 191
Keith Foulke 191
58 Raisel Iglesias (0) 190
59 J. J. Putz 189
60 Mike Marshall 188
61 Éric Gagné 187
Eddie Guardado 187
63 Jeff Russell 186
64 Steve Bedrosian 184
Kent Tekulve 184
66 Danny Graves 182
67 Tug McGraw 180
68 Jim Johnson 178
Ron Perranoski 178
70 Kevin Gregg 177
Bryan Harvey 177
72 David Robertson (0) 175
73 Lindy McDaniel 174
74 Bobby Jenks 173
75 Jeff Brantley 172
Brian Wilson 172
77 Heath Bell 168
78 Josh Hader (0) 165
79 Billy Koch 163
80 Alex Colomé (0) 159
Roger McDowell 159
82 Tom Gordon 158
Dan Plesac 158
84 Jay Howell 155
Roberto Osuna 155
86 Zack Britton 154
John Smoltz* 154
88 Cody Allen 153
Stu Miller 153
90 Don McMahon 152
91 Greg Minton 150
92 Ted Abernathy 149
93 Willie Hernández 147
94 Dave Giusti 145
95 John Axford 144
Santiago Casilla 144
Jesse Orosco 144
Mike Williams 144
99 Clay Carroll 143
Darold Knowles 143

Notes

  1. ^ A player is considered inactive if he has announced his retirement or not played for a full season.

References

  1. ^ Horneman, Tim (March 23, 2010). "Baseball Save Rules". livestrong.com. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  2. ^ "Mariano Rivera Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  3. ^ Cohen, Alan. "Mariano Rivera Bio". Society For American Baseball Research. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  4. ^ "Mariano Rivera Hall of Fame Profile". National Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  5. ^ "Trevor Hoffman Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  6. ^ "Lee Smith Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  7. ^ "Francisco Rodríguez Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  8. ^ "John Franco Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  9. ^ "Billy Wagner Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  10. ^ "Kenley Jansen Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved May 10, 2023.

External links

Major League Baseball records
Categories