Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB), the 300 save club is the group of

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

s who have recorded 300 or more regular-season saves in their careers. Most commonly a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

("reliever" or " closer") earns a save by being the final pitcher of a game in which his team is winning by three or fewer runs and pitching at least one inning without losing the lead. The final pitcher of a game can earn a save by getting at least one batter out to end the game with the winning run on base, at bat, or on deck, or by pitching the last three innings without relinquishing the lead, regardless of score. The statistic was created by Jerome Holtzman in 1959 to "measure the effectiveness of relief pitchers" and was adopted as an official statistic by MLB in 1969. The save has been retroactively measured for past pitchers where applicable.

Hoyt Wilhelm James Hoyt Wilhelm (July 26, 1922 – August 23, 2002), nicknamed "Old Sarge", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, California Angel ...

retired in 1972 and recorded just 31 saves from 1969 onwards, for example, but holds 228 total career saves. The

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

are the only franchise to see three players reach the milestone while on their roster. They are

John Franco John Anthony Franco (born September 17, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed relief pitcher between and . Franco established himself as an All-Star player with the Cincinn ...

Billy Wagner William Edward Wagner (born July 25, 1971), nicknamed "Billy the Kid", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He pitched for the Houston Astros (1995–2003), Philadelphia Ph ...

, and most recently Jason Isringhausen.

Mariano Rivera Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and "Sandman", he spent most ...

holds the MLB save record with 652. Only Rivera and

Trevor Hoffman Trevor William Hoffman (born October 13, 1967) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played 18 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1993 to 2010. A long-time closer, he pitched for the Florida Marlins, San Diego ...

have exceeded 500 or 600 saves, and Hoffman was the first to achieve either. Rivera, Hoffman,

Lee Smith Lee Smith is the name of: Arts, entertainment and media *Lee Smith (fiction author) (born 1944), American author of fiction * Lee Smith (film editor) (born 1960), Australian film editor * Lee Smith (musician) (born 1983), American drummer * Lee Sm ...

, Francisco Rodríguez,

, and

are the only pitchers to have recorded 400 or more saves. Rollie Fingers was the first player to record 300 saves, reaching the mark on August 21, 1982.

Aroldis Chapman Albertín Aroldis Chapman de la Cruz (; born February 28, 1988) is a Cuban-born American professional baseball relief pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees and C ...

is the most recent, achieving his 300th on August 26, 2021. In total, 31 players have recorded 300 or more saves in their career. Only eight relievers –

Dennis Eckersley Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3, 1954), nicknamed "Eck", is an American professional baseball pitcher and former color commentator. Between 1975 and 1998, he pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, ...

, Fingers,

Goose Gossage Richard Michael "Goose" Gossage (born July 5, 1951) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1972 and 1994. He pitched for nine different teams, spending his best years with the New Yo ...

, Hoffman, Rivera, Smith, Bruce Sutter, and Wilhelm – have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame; all but Wilhelm also have at least 300 saves.

Craig Kimbrel Craig Michael Kimbrel (born May 28, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, Chicag ...

Kenley Jansen Kenley Geronimo Jansen (born September 30, 1987) is a Curaçaoan professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves. Signed by the ...

, and Chapman are the only active players with more than 300 saves, and Kimbrel is the active leader with 394.

Key

List

*Stats updated as of the end of the 2022 season.

Notes

References

;General * * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:300 Saves Club Major League Baseball lists Major League Baseball statistics

Key

List

See also

Notes

References