Mariano Rivera Reaches 602 Saves: Ranking 10 Greatest Closers in MLB History

With a perfect ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins, Mariano Rivera became the all-time saves leader with 602 and counting. His dominance in the ninth inning of games has gone practically unmatched.

The ability to close out a game is often overlooked and it is believed that any good reliever can become a great closer. That appears to be untrue as many relievers have failed in the closer role while others have been fantastic.

10: Francisco Rodriguez

It is hard to believe that Francisco Rodriguez is just 29 years old and that he has already recorded 291 saves. He burst on to the scene at age 21 and has not looked back. He set the single season record for saves with 62 in 2008.

While Rodriguez has not been closing since he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, he will certainly get another shot at a closers' role when he becomes a free agent after the year.

9: Jonathan Papelbon

While he does not have the same saves totals as other players on this list, Jonathan Papelbon is quickly catching up. In fact, he reached 200 career saves faster than Mariano Rivera.

Papelbon is also the owner of a career 202 ERA+, which would be one of the highest totals in MLB history if he qualified.

8: Rollie Fingers

Rollie Fingers was not only one of the best closers in the history of baseball, but he also had the best facial hair that the game has ever seen.

In 17 seasons, Fingers managed to save 341 games. He was so effective in 1981 that he won both the AL Cy Young and the AL MVP Award.

7: John Wetteland

Mariano Rivera took over as the New York Yankees closer in 1997. The two previous years the job had been held by John Wetteland.

Wetteland saved 330 games in his career despite only closing for nine years. He retired after 12 seasons in the MLB at the age of 33.

6: John Franco

John Franco has the most saves of any left-handed pitcher in baseball history with 424. He spent a large part of his career with the New York Mets and did not get as many save opportunities as he could have because he played on a number of bad teams.

Franco finished his career with a fairly impressive 138 ERA+. However, he was not the strikeout pitcher that most other closers of his day were.

5: Lee Smith

Lee Smith ranks third all-time with 478 career saves. Until he was caught by Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera, he was the game's all-time saves leader.

Smith led the league in saves four times during his 18 year career. He finished second in the NL Cy Young voting in 1991.

4: Billy Wagner

Billy Wagner did not look like the kind of pitcher who could wind up and blow a fastball past a hitter. Looks can be very deceiving. Wagner had a career 11.9 K/9 rate.

During his career, Wagner recorded 424 saves. He also managed to keep his career WHIP just under 1.00. It was 0.998 for his career.

3: Trevor Hoffman

Mariano Rivera passed Trevor Hoffman to become baseball's all-time saves leader. Over his 18 year career, Hoffman had 601 saves.

Twice during his career Hoffman led the National League in saves. He also finished second in the NL Cy Young voting twice.

2: Dennis Eckersley

Dennis Eckersley began his career as a starter and he was a good one. He appeared in two All-Star Games and had two appearances in the top 10 of the AL Cy Young voting.

Eckersley did not begin closing games until he was 32 years old and 12 years into his career. He recorded 387 saves after he became a full-time closer and he had 390 saves in his career.

1: Mariano Rivera

No surprise here. There is no closer that can match up to Mariano Rivera. His cutter is one of the best pitches in the history of baseball and is part of what has made him so dominant.

Rivera is now the all-time saves leader and he should continue to add to his saves total before his career ends. On top of this, he also has the best ERA+ in MLB history.