Will Mariano Rivera record 500 career saves?

Question

He got No. 400 yesterday and he turns 37 in November. No one has ever gotten to 500...could Rivera be the first?

Rivera has already passed Eckersley...Eck had 390.

Answer 1

The magic 8 ball says:

All signs point to no.

Answer 2

I think he has 4 years left in him. That way he'll be 41. He has played in 697 games played so he's on track this year to get about another 40. divide 7 by 12 years he's played 61.4 games a year thats 245 games in years. He has had 400 saves in 12 years. 33 saves a year times 4 is 133 left in his career. which means he'll have 533 for his career. So I say yes he will be the only pitcher to get 500. (these stats include when he was a Set Up man.)

Answer 3

Mo averages 40 saves a year, has 21 this year so with around 19 more saves this year and 2 more years on his contract w/ the Yankees it is very very very possible for him to get to 500. Because of the fact Mo does not throw any breaking pitches, he is not causing undue stress to his arm (which is why he has never had any real arm problems) If no one has figured out how to hit a cutter in 10 years what makes you think they will learn in the next 2?

Mo will probably retire with 506 career saves in 2008.

Answer 4

Yeah, I can see the Yankees in enough close games the next few years to get Mariano number 500. But by the time baseball ends for good in a million years, Bobby Jenks will have the all-time record. He's on pace to get 700.

Answer 5

RIveria is a great closer, there is no doubt. However, unless he saves 100 games in a season and a half, I don't think it will happen. Torre winds up depending on him way too much, forcing him to make way to many multi inning saves, and putting him in situations where there is no actual save oppurtunity(4 or 5 runs leads). New York will have to bolster the bullpen if Mo is going to pitch for much longer.I don't know when he is signed through, if he is signed for many more years, he may end up in a lesser capacity, like setup guy or something akin to that if the Yanks can find a younger guy that they think is ready to close out games.

Answer 6

My first reaction is to say no, based mostly on the fact that he'd need to continue his effectiveness until he hits 40.

However, his numbers this year indicate that his cutter is still as effective as ever, and he still has amazing control. His strikeouts are below the K-per-inning ratio of a few seasons ago, but he also gets a ton of groundball outs with that nasty pitch.

If the Yankees don't find a replacement for him over the next couple of seasons, he's got a shot. Still, I'm guessing he has maybe one more good closing year before age catches up with him, and before batters start catching up with that cut fastball.

Answer 7

I would say yes...you figure he will probably save 20 games the 2nd half (which puts him 80 saves from it).

Figure he isn't showing signs of slowing down, and the Yankees should be competitive enough for him to get 40 saves the next 2 years.

I say, yeah, he will get to 500, although it will be very close.

Answer 8

the record is 467 from a guy who played from '80-'97. that's 17 years. mariano has been playing since '95. that's 11 years. he's great, so if he sticks with it for another 6 or so years he could definitely make 500 saves.

Answer 9

Congrats to Mariano. Its cool that he have been given his first RBI and 5 hundredth save interior the comparable game. And against somebody who will in all possibility be between the final closers ever whilst its all pronounced and carried out.

Answer 10

The odds would say no but Rivera has already far surpassed the longevity most top closers enjoy. I would say he has a decent shot.

Answer 11

It will be close, but he'll get it. He should at least get 30 saves a season, and he'll probably stay in the majors for a while so i;ll say he'll get around 520