As I close in on the completion of my MLB positions lists the next installment is ummm… closers. The closer role in baseball was just gaining prominence and shaping into its current form when I started following baseball as a kid. Before the mid-80’s the game often saw closers that worked 2 or 3 innings instead of primarily getting the ball in the 9th inning, which is standard in today’s baseball. Over the years the sport has had its share of colorful characters and hard-throwing hurlers who have been tasked with getting the final three outs of the game. This list presents some of these pitchers with The Top Closers…Of My Lifetime.

10. Mark Wohlers

Mark Wohlers made his MLB debut with the Braves during the stretch run of their memorable “Worst to First” season in 1991. He was part of a combined no-hitter on September 11 of that season, along with starting pitcher Kent Merker and fellow reliever Alejandro Pena. He pitched sparingly but effectively for Atlanta in the playoffs that fall and earned himself a regular role in the bullpen for the next few seasons. He assumed the closer job for the Braves in the 1995 season and his high powered fastball made him one of the better stoppers in the game. His ability was put to the ultimate test in Game 6 of the 1995 World Series. After Tom Glavine dealt 8 innings of shutout baseball the Braves held onto a 1-0 lead and Bobby Cox handed the ball over to Wohlers to close out the game and the series. Wohlers did just that by shutting the door on the Indians and delivering the Braves their first World Series title since relocating to Atlanta. He carried his dominance over to the next season and was named to his first and only All-Star team while racking up 39 saves. Wohlers continued his excellent pitching in the playoffs that season by recording 3 saves in the NLDS and 2 more in the NLCS, with no earned runs allowed in either series. Sadly for Braves fans, all good things must come to an end and Wohlers’ magic ran out in Game 6 off the 1996 World Series when Jim Leyritz hit a stunning 3-run homer off of him and swung the momentum of the series squarely in the Yankees favor. The Braves ended up losing that World Series and Wohlers seemingly lost his ability to command the strike zone. He pitched well enough the next season and recorded 33 saves but was never really the same pitcher after the 1996 World Series. However he still makes the list primarily because the unforgettable final inning of the 1995 Fall Classic.

9. Lee Smith

Lee Smith was a massive man who possessed a ferocious fastball to go along with a filthy forkball. This combination served him well in the position that he helped pioneer. Smith was the first pitcher that I can remember being a closer. He was one of the pitchers that helped define the position and by doing so was the first player to record 400 saves. He held the NL single season saves record for a short time before the position became almost entirely a 9th-inning job. He finished his career with 478 saves and held the all-time record for saves from 1993 until 2006. Smith pitched in the majors for 18 years for a plethora of teams. Most notably a pair of division rivals, the Cubs and Cardinals. He made 7 All-Star teams, led his league in saves 4 times, won the Reliever of the Year Award 3 times and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019.

8. Edwin Diaz

Edwin Diaz made closers great again. His 2022 campaign with the New York Mets was one of the most dominant for a reliever in MLB history. Although he only collected 32 saves, it was how he did it that made it so memorable. He had a minuscule 1.31 ERA while compiling 118 strikeouts in just 62 innings. Diaz only allowed 9 earned runs all season. He established himself as the most dominant closer in baseball, but he makes the list in large part because of his electric entrance when he emerges out of the Mets bullpen to close out home games at Citi Field. When the score of the game is within 3 runs the Mets fans begin buzzing in excitement of seeing the emergence of Diaz. As Timmy Trumpets blares over the stadium speakers Diaz enters from the bullpen in an entrance comparable to a WWE match. The fans are whipped into a frenzy because of the man, the music and in victory celebration. Because they know that when Diaz comes in to close, the game has been won.

7. Rob Dibble

Rob Dibble was a member of the early 1990s Cincinnati Reds bullpen, infamously known as “The Nasty Boys.” They acquired that nickname honestly as they were known to be a quick-tempered group who were not shy about throwing at opposing players. They were also not afraid to deal with the potential repercussions of doing so. The nickname was also befitting for another reason. Because the group had nasty stuff on the mound. None of the group embodied the Nasty Boys moniker quite like Dibble. He had a nasty demeanor, a nasty attitude and one of the nastiest fast balls that the sport has ever seen. Dibble was spectacular during the Reds 1990 championship run. He pitched to a 1.74 ERA and was named to his first of two career All-Star teams. He helped carry the team in the playoffs that year. Dibble pitched 9.2 innings, allowed 0 earned runs, and struck out 14 batters. He was named 1990 NLCS MVP for his performance in that series against the Pirates. Dibble pitched well for the next few seasons before arm injury plagued him in 1993 and off-season surgery required him to miss the entire 1994 season. Dibble attempted a comeback with the White Sox in 1995 but was clearly not the same nasty boy he’d been prior.

6. Mitch Williams

Next up we have a player who I think would’ve fit in just fine with The Nasty Boys, Mitch Williams. Much like Dibble and the Nasty Boys, Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams had a pretty spot-on nickname. His windup and release coupled with his propensity to uncork fastballs that found their way to the backstop instead of the catcher’s mitt helped with that. Williams made a name for himself closing games for the Chicago Cubs, particularly in 1989 when he recorded 36 saves and made his lone All-Star appearance. However he’s best remembered for his time closing for the Phillies teams of the early 1990s. During the Phillies 1993 World Series season Williams amassed 43 saves and was one of the best closers in baseball. He was basically lights out until he ran into Joe Carter of the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6. With the Phillies leading 6-5, Carter came to the plate and belted a three-run HR and walked off the game and the Series. It’s one of the most memorable HRs in World Series history and is kind of a microcosm of the closer role itself. By most accounts Williams had a successful career and definitely had a great 1993 season. But he will always be remembered the most for giving up the World Series walk off homer to Joe Carter.

5. Dennis Eckersley

Speaking of great closers that gave up memorable World Series homers…Dennis Eckersley. Eckersley surrendered what I consider to be the most memorable home run Of My Lifetime to Kirk Gibson in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. The 1988 Oakland A’s were nothing short of a juggernaut. They had the best record in baseball. They swept the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS with Eckersley looking unhittable while picking up the save in all 4 wins. The A’s were heavily favored heading into the World Series against the Dodgers. Even more so with LA star Kirk Gibson not in the starting lineup due to leg injuries suffered in the NLCS. The A’s went up early in the first inning when AL MVP Jose Canseco hit a grandslam. They held onto a 1-run lead heading into the bottom of the 9th and manager Tony LaRussa handed Eckersley the ball to finish things out. Just as he’d done 45 times prior in the regular season. He got the first two Dodgers hitters out before walking the third batter of the inning. Enter Kirk Gibson. He hobbled to the plate and after the two players dueled to a full count, Gibson launched a backdoor slider into the Los Angeles night. He limped around the bases pumping his fist while Vin Scully made the call from the broadcast booth. “I can’t believe what I just saw!”. And I couldn’t either, watching as a nine year old kid cheering for the A’s and my favorite player at the time, Mark McGwire. Gibson’s homer gave LA the Game 1 win and seemingly broke the A’s, The Dodgers won the series 4-1. The historic homer actually led to Eckersley coining the phrase “walkoff” when describing the play. Eckersley would go on to be just fine. His side arm delivery and wipeout slider served him well. The A’s returned to the World Series the next year and completed the mission by winning it all. Eckersley had perhaps the best season by a reliever in MLB history a few years later in 1992 when he racked up 51 saves with a 1.91 ERA and won both the AL Cy Young and MVP Awards. During his Hall of Fame career Eck made 6 All-Star teams. Two actually came as a starting pitcher in 1977 with Cleveland and then in 1982 with Boston. He was a really good starting pitcher but an even better closer. I can’t think of Eckersley without thinking of the Kirk Gibson homer and how he bounced back even better from a disappointing moment that would’ve crushed many lesser pitchers.

4. Aroldis Chapman

The Cuban Missile, Aroldis Chapman is perhaps the hardest throwing pitcher that Major League Baseball has ever seen. After defecting from Cuba in 2009 Chapman signed a free agent contract with the Cincinnati Reds in January of 2010. Although he was normally used as a starter in Cuba and for the Reds in the minors, when he got called up to the majors Cincinnati decided to use him out of the bullpen. He didn’t wait long to unleash his furious fastball. He threw a fastball clocked at 105.1 mph, the fastest pitch ever recorded by MLB, a month after arriving in the big leagues. He took over the closer role for the Reds in 2012 and quickly established himself as one of the best in the game. Starting that season he was selected to 4 consecutive All-Star games, recorded 30+ saves each season and put up staggering strikeout numbers for a one-inning reliever. Over his career Chapman has been involved in several blockbuster trade deadline deals. Resulting in him pitching in several high pressure playoff situations. He owns a career 2.40 postseason ERA and was a member of the 2016 Chicago Cubs team that broke their 100+ year World Series Championship drought. Fitting for a player who is known for his 100+ mph fastballs.

3. Trevor Hoffman

Trevor Hoffman was the closer for the San Diego Padres for the bulk of his 18-year MLB career. A career that saw 7 All-Star games, 2 Reliever of the Year Awards and culminated with a Hall of Fame induction. After taking over the Padres closer position full-time in the 1995 season Hoffman proceeded to have at least 30 saves every season for the remainder of his career (excluding 2003 which he missed due to injury and his final season in Milwaukee in which he did’t handle closing duties). That is 14 seasons with at least 30 saves including eight 40 save seasons and one 50 save season. Such consistency saw Hoffman break numerous save records and he was the first player in history to reach both 500 and 600 career saves. Besides his longevity and consistency Hoffman was best known for his devastating changeup and his “Trevor Time” entrance from the bullpen in which AC/DC’s Hell’s Bells was played as Hoffman made his way to the mound.

2. Craig Kimbrel

Craig Kimbrel was drafted by the Atlanta Braves. Twice. He was selected by Atlanta in the 33rd round in 2007 but elected to stay in college for his senior season. He was again drafted by the Braves in the 3rd round in 2008. Atlanta’s front office must have liked what they saw. They were not wrong. Kimbrel made it to the majors in 2010, pitching in 21 games with a 0.44 ERA. He was added to the Braves postseason roster and pitched in every game of the NLDS, which they lost to the eventual World Series Champion San Francisco Giants. The last game of that series was the final game of Bobby Cox’s Hall of Fame managerial career. I was in attendance at Turner Field that night. I was sad that the Braves couldn’t pull out a win and send the series to Game 5, but was glad I was there to see the well deserved ovation Bobby got even after a season ending playoff loss. Kimbrel took over the Braves closer job the following season and was simply dominant in that role on his way to winning NL Rookie of the Year. He led the league in saves and was named to the All-Star team in each of the 4 seasons that he closed games for the Braves. Kimbrel was traded to the Padres in a shocking deal before the 2015 season. I was bewildered and a little devastated. I couldn’t fathom trading away the best closer in baseball before his age 27 season when he was likely just entering his prime. He pitched well for San Diego in 2015 and was dealt again to the Red Sox that off-season. Kimbrel continued to be dominant in Boston making the All-Star team in each of his three seasons with the club and winning a World Series ring with the 2018 Championship team. He signed a 3-year free agent deal with the Cubs in 2019 and his first 2 seasons in Chicago were nothing short of disastrous. He posted a 6.53 ERA in 2019 and a 5.28 ERA in the Covid shortened 60-game season of 2020. The Cubs were basically forced to give Kimbrel the closer job in 2021 due to his large salary. All he did was rejuvenate his career with 23 saves and a 0.44 ERA. He was dealt to the crosstown White Sox at the deadline but wasn’t the team’s closer and his 5.09 ERA seemed to suggest that he did not take well to innings earlier than the 9th. Kimbrel signed with the Dodgers prior to the 2022 season and had a pretty mediocre season and it appeared that his career might be on it’s last legs again as his performances got progressively worse as the season went on. The Phillies took a flyer on Kimbrel prior to this season and once again he defied the critics and has pitched outstanding for Philadelphia and was a 2023 All-Star. He also reached the 400 saves milestone this season. Although I wish Kimbrel had played more seasons in Atlanta, he’s still one of my favorite players of all-time and I still like to watch him pitch and see him succeed. But no matter where he pitches, Kimbrel’s pre-pitch posture, rosin-stained ballcap bill and triple-digit fastball will always be etched in my memory in a Braves uniform.

1. Mariono Rivera

It would have to take an all-time great to surpass Kimbrel on my list. And Mariono Rivera was exactly that. Unquestionably the greatest closer of all-time. The Sandman pitched his entire 19-year career for the New York Yankees and served as the team’s closer for the final 17 years. After manager Joe Torre handed Rivera the keys to the closer role in 1996 history began being written. Credited with popularizing the cut fastball, Rivera holds the official career record for saves with 652 and the unofficial record for opponent’s broken bats. His career saves number is 50 more than second place and more than 170 more than third place. The Yankees were a perennial powerhouse during Rivera’s career. This allowed for numerous save situations as well as providing Mo with plenty of chances to perform in pressure packed playoff games. He absolutely shined in the postseason with a 0.70 career playoff ERA and 42 career playoff saves. He is a major reason that the Yankees were 5-time World Series Champions during his career. During his career Rivera was a 13-time All-Star. He had at least 25 saves in 15 consecutive seasons and posted an ERA under 2.00 in 11 seasons, both MLB records. To put it as plainly as possible, Mariano Rivera was The Top Closer…Of My Lifetime.