| Before any picks sides just look at this-- in their full years as full-time closers, Rivera ('97-'08) averages more wins per season (4.6 to 3.5), had a lower ERA (2.06 to 2.67), gave up fewer home runs per season (3.4 to 5.3), had more saves (39.8 to 36.6), and led his league in saves more times (3 to 2), not to mention a wildly better ERA in the postseason (0.77 to 3.46) than Hoffman ('94-'08). Also, Rivera is just 70 saves behind Hoffman, and is three years younger. After seeing his stats for the past twelve years, he will easily pass him and has a good shot at 600 saves. |