Trevor Hoffman

Early life

Hoffman was born on October 13, 1967, in Bellflower, California. When he was six weeks old, Hoffman had to have a damaged kidney removed because an arterial blockage had formed there.

His father, Ed, who stood at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and 225 pounds (102 kg), was a Marine and a veteran of the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. He later became a professional singer before he quit being on the road and got a job at the post office. He was also an usher at California Angels games; he was known as the Singing Usher, leading the crowd in the singing of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" in the seventh-inning and filling in if the designated national anthem singer did not show up. Ed would often bring Trevor to the games with him. Hoffman's mother, Mikki, was an English-born ballerina and came from an athletic family. Her father, Jack French, was a professional soccer player with Southend United FC before World War II. She met Hoffman's father in a play in England in which she was performing and he was acting and singing. Hoffman was taught by his mom to take responsibility. "Bad workmen always blame their tools," Mikki would say.

Hoffman's older brother, Glenn, was nine years older and played shortstop in the Boston Red Sox organization. During summer vacation when Hoffman was 10 years old, he joined Glenn while he was playing in Pawtucket. His oldest brother, Greg, was 14 years Hoffman's senior and a mentor to his two younger brothers. After Hoffman's first Little League game, Greg asked him how he did. Hoffman said, "I went 2-for-4, double, RBI." Greg replied, "That'll be the last [blanking] time you tell me how you did. When I ask you how you did, it's how the team did." Hoffman never forgot that. Given their age difference, Hoffman considered his brothers more role models than playmates. "[Glenn] was the guide while Greg was the drill instructor", said Hoffman.

Because of his damaged kidney, Hoffman was not allowed to play football or wrestle. Hoffman went to Savanna High School in Anaheim, as had Glenn, and following his more-talented older brother put pressure on Hoffman. Ed, who did not trust that coaches would protect Hoffman's arm, stopped allowing his son to pitch after he was 12 years old. Standing at just 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) and 130 pounds (59 kg), Hoffman played shortstop at Savanna, but nobody offered him a scholarship out of high school. He grew three inches over the summer and continued playing at Cypress College, and later for the University of Arizona from 1988 through 1989. Arizona was afraid of the liability if Hoffman's remaining kidney got hit by a baseball. "I told them the one kidney I have is on my right side. That's not the side that faces the pitcher when I hit, so it was O.K. They bought it", said Hoffman. He led Arizona in hitting in 1988 with a .371 batting average, 35 points better than teammate J. T. Snow. Other notable teammates included Scott Erickson and Kevin Long. Hoffman exhibited a strong throwing arm playing shortstop.

Professional playing career

Minor leagues

Hoffman was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 11th round with the 288th overall selection of the 1989 MLB draft, and he signed for $3,000. Prior to the draft, Reds scout Jeff Barton talked to Hoffman about playing another position. Hoffman was open to anything that might advance his career, and they talked about catching or pitching with his exceptional arm. Barton ranked Hoffman's arm an 80 on a 20–80 scale, where 60 was above average and 80 was a rarity. Hoffman played shortstop and third base for the Reds' Single-A affiliate Charleston. In his first 103 games, he only batted .212 with 23 runs batted in. Not showing much batting potential, Hoffman was converted to pitcher in 1991 at the suggestion of Charleston manager Jim Lett, who also grew tired of Hoffman overthrowing first base. Hoffman threw 95 miles per hour (153 km/h) and recorded a 2.90 ERA with 169 strikeouts in 142+2⁄3 minor league innings over two seasons while alternating between relieving and starting at Single-A Cedar Rapids, Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Nashville.

Major leagues (1993–2010)

Left unprotected by Cincinnati in the 1992 MLB Expansion Draft, Hoffman was selected by the Florida Marlins with the eighth pick in the first round. In his first major league season in 1993, Hoffman learned by observing Marlins closer Bryan Harvey's balanced demeanor. After earning two saves in 29 appearances with the Marlins as an unknown rookie, Hoffman was traded midseason to the San Diego Padres during San Diego's 1993 fire sale. The Padres sent third baseman Gary Sheffield and pitcher Rich Rodriguez to the Marlins for Hoffman and pitching prospects José Martínez and Andrés Berumen. Padres general manager Randy Smith said at the time, "The only way to acquire quality players is to give up quality." The year before, Sheffield had won the NL batting title and made a run at the Triple Crown. Smith insisted that Florida include Hoffman in the deal. Padres fans, upset at the trade, booed Hoffman during his first several appearances. He allowed three runs in his one-inning debut with San Diego, eight runs over his first three outings, and blew his first save opportunity as a Padre. He pitched 39 games for San Diego, who finished the season with 101 losses, and ended his rookie season with 79 strikeouts in 90 innings with a 3.90 ERA and five saves.

During the strike-shortened 1994 season, Hoffman took over closer duties from an injured and ineffective Gene Harris in mid-April. Hoffman recorded 20 saves and a 2.57 ERA while averaging 10.9 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (K/9). The weekend after the strike began, Hoffman, playing Nerf football at Del Mar Beach near San Diego, dove for a pass and landed awkwardly on his right shoulder. He later played volleyball and landed on the shoulder again while going for a dig. He heard a strange sound.

In 1995, he had a 3.88 ERA and 31 saves and averaged 8.8 K/9. Hoffman pitched hurt from spring training through the season and finally had off-season rotator cuff surgery. "[Hoffman] never bitched about his arm, which was killing him from Day One ... He was out there when most guys wouldn't have been", said Smith. This is also the year during which he developed his changeup.

In both 1996 and 1997, Hoffman pitched over 80 innings, with 111 strikeouts, averaged approximately 40 saves, and had ERAs of 2.25 and 2.66. In 1996, the Padres entered the last three games of the season in Los Angeles trailing the division-leading Dodgers by two games. Hoffman recorded saves in each of the final three games against the Dodgers, as the Padres won the NL West for their first division title in 12 years. After finishing the season with 18 straight saves, Hoffman was named The Sporting News NL Fireman of the Year in 1996, and received votes for both the Cy Young Award and the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award. The Padres played the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1996 National League Division Series (NLDS) and were swept in the series 3–0. Hoffman entered Game 2 with the score tied and one out and inherited runners on second and third. A run scored as he retired the only two batters he faced, and the Padres lost 5–4. In Game 3, Hoffman recorded the loss as he came into the tie game and allowed a 2-run homer to Brian Jordan for a 7–5 loss. The following season on June 23, 1997, he came in with the bases loaded in the ninth inning and struck out J. T. Snow to save the 11–6 win over the San Francisco Giants and became the Padres' career saves leader with 109, passing Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers. San Diego won only 76 games that year, but Hoffman ranked second in the NL with 37 saves.

Player profile

Pitching style

Hoffman was known for his high leg kick, the menacing glare through his cap pulled down almost to his eyes, and his deceptive changeup. When Hoffman first came into the league, he could throw up to 95 mph. He would also throw a slider and only an occasional changeup. His original changeup was a conventional circle changeup taught to him by Cincinnati scout Larry Barton. Hoffman learned a different changeup, which he threw with a palmball grip, from teammate Donnie Elliott in 1994. He began using the new changeup in 1995 when his fastball had dropped to 88–90 mph after his offseason injury on the beach. With the decrease in velocity, Hoffman knew he could not rely as much on his fastball. He played through 1995 and had surgery the following offseason for a torn rotator cuff. When he returned the following year, Hoffman's fastball was at 87–88 mph, but he had more experience with his new changeup. His fastball reached back as high as 91 mph in 1998, but by sometime after 2000 it dropped down to 83–88 mph. His repertoire by then included primarily of his changeup, a four-seam fastball, a slower cut fastball that moves in towards a left-handed batter, and the occasional slider and a curveball.

Hoffman explained the key to his changeup was how he pinched the seam of the ball with his thumb and index finger as he released it. He threw the changeup with the arm speed used to throw a fastball, and the spin and movement of the ball looked the same to the batter. His changeup ranged from 73 to 76 mph. Bruce Bochy, who managed Hoffman for over a decade with the Padres, said of Hoffman's changeup: "He pitched so well off his fastball [opponents] couldn't just sit on it every pitch." "You could be sitting on [his changeup] and still not be successful with it", says former player Mark Sweeney. It was the arm action on the change up and the late sink just before it reached the plate that allowed Hoffman to stay successful over the years. With opponents flailing to slow down their swings, teammates nicknamed Hoffman's changeup The Bugs Bunny Pitch after a famous Bugs Bunny cartoon episode. "Some [pitchers] fool you. Some guys overpower you. Hoffman embarrasses you", said former rival and later teammate Mike Piazza. After striking out on a changeup to end the game against Hoffman, Dodger catcher Paul Lo Duca said, "It's like it has a parachute on it." As Hoffman lost velocity on his fastball throughout his career, he compensated by maintaining a notable speed differential between that pitch and his changeup. He initially kept the grip of his changeup a secret. "I was a little weird about it", Hoffman said. "I didn't like talking about how I threw the change. I didn't want people to see how I gripped the ball. I thought I'd be giving away something to the hitters." Later in his career, he posed for pictures of his grip, figuring everyone had seen it.

Work ethic

Padres general manager Kevin Towers said Hoffman was the first one in and the last one out of the ballpark every day. Hoffman adhered to a daily conditioning program. When pitcher Jeremy Fikac was promoted to the majors in 2001, Hoffman invited him to join him on his usual afternoon run. "I remember sitting in the bullpen that night, and my legs were still trembling from the run", Fikac recalled. "I'd run before, but not at that pace ... I was thinking, I hope they don't call on me because I can't feel my legs under me ... His work ethic is unbelievable." Bochy said, "[Hoffman's] one of those guys like Tony Gwynn—they never feel like they've arrived. Tony never thought, 'Well, I'm hitting .360 ... ' He was never content. And Trevor's the same way. They just keep working and make sure that they've got goals they want to reach." After every save opportunity, whether he converted it or blew it, Hoffman would sit in the dugout for up to five minutes after his teammates had cleared out. Whether it was the euphoria from success or the sting of failure, he would sit there and drain all the emotion out of himself, put the game behind him, and move on. Tracy Hoffman said, "He's all about order. That's the foundation to what he does. You see it when he's on the field. He's always the same, win or lose. He doesn't smile, doesn't show any emotion." Padres manager Bud Black marveled at Hoffman's regimen. "The daily preparation for his job, that focus and dedication each day to prepare for the ninth inning ... It was incredible to see live", said Black. "I played with George Brett, a Hall of Famer who was a great worker. But Trevor took it to a level and a commitment and Hall of Fame caliber." After Hoffman resurrected his final season and recorded his 600th save, Macha said Hoffman's "work ethic and perseverance paid off ... He had to grind it out to get there."

Character

Hoffman was long regarded as one of the great teammates in baseball. He was known as a leader in the clubhouse and a tutor to younger players. He mentored his successor in San Diego, Heath Bell, and the pitcher who supplanted him in Milwaukee, John Axford. "Just watching him go about his business was a big thing to me", Bell said. In his first game pitching setup to Axford after losing his closer role, Hoffman stayed in the dugout to watch Axford finish. Many relievers retire back to the clubhouse after being removed from a game. Hoffman's teammates noticed that he stayed supporting Axford through a bases-loaded jam. Axford spent the season absorbing Hoffman's advice, and the two bonded. "He took young players under his wing, especially relief pitchers", said former Padres teammate Brad Ausmus. Hoffman regularly organized team dinners on the road or had team family gatherings at his home, whether it was with the Padres or the Brewers. "It's very unusual for a pitcher, especially a relief pitcher, to be the team leader", Padres first baseman Phil Nevin said in 2002, "but everybody here looks to Trevor. This is his team."

According to Ausmus, Hoffman wanted his teams to feel like a family. He felt like he let his family down if he did not do his job on a particular night. Still, he was accessible and held himself accountable on the rare occasions that he failed. Hoffman was more accommodating for interviews after blown saves than he was after successful ones. "The people asking the questions are not responsible for the ball flying out of the park", he explained. Both Towers and Black best remember Hoffman for his accountability after his blown save in the 2007 Wild Card tie-breaker.

"My greatest memory of Trevor is from game No. 163 in 2007. Seeing his passion for the Padres, his love for his teammates, and his devastation over the loss and then handling each reporter's question with the utmost class and professionalism ranks as my greatest sports memory. How he handled that incredible loss says more about him than any save could. Life is about how you handle adversity and what he demonstrated that night was just remarkable.

Baseball people revere Hoffman for how he treats people. Ausmus says Hoffman goes out of his way to engage fans. Beyond shaking hands or signing autographs, he has extended conversations with fans who want to talk baseball. When Hoffman passed on the Indians in free agency to stay with the Padres, he still sent an autographed jersey as a baby gift to then-Indians manager Eric Wedge. After Hoffman saved the game to clinch the NL West on the last day of the 1996 season, he called Randy Smith, who traded for Hoffman as Padre GM before moving on to the Detroit Tigers. "Randy, I wish you were here", Hoffman said. "You're a part of this." While celebrating his record setting 479th save against the Pirates, Hoffman tipped his cap to the Pittsburgh dugout, particularly Pirates manager Jim Tracy, who managed Hoffman in Cincinnati's Double-A Chattanooga farm team in 1991 after he was converted to a pitcher. Despite losing his role as a closer in his final season, Hoffman took pleasure in supporting his teammates and "not being a cancer just because I was having trouble."

Legacy

The NL leader in career saves, Hoffman dominated his position at a consistent level while enjoying incredible longevity over almost two decades. After an 18-year career, the seven-time NL All-Star retired as MLB's all-time leader in saves with 601. He was the first pitcher to reach not only the 500 save milestone, but also 600. He converted 88.8 percent of his save opportunities, the third-highest rate among players with 300 or more saves. Barry Bloom of MLB.com called Hoffman "the best National League closer of his era." Hoffman is one of only three pitchers who have had streaks of four straight seasons with at least 40 saves; he achieved it twice. His nine seasons of 40 or more saves are tied for the most all-time. He became one of the Padres' most-popular players. His 15-year stint as their closer was rare for a baseball role that exhibited a high turnover rate.

Hoffman had 12 seasons with at least 37 saves, 13 seasons with a sub-3.00 ERA and 14 with an ERA+ of at least 130 (indicating that he was at least 30 percent better than the league average in ERA those years). From 1995 through 2009, he had 30 or more saves in 14 of 15 seasons. Four times he was in the top six in voting for the Cy Young Award, including twice as a runner-up. Among pitchers to debut since 1969, Hoffman is one of only two ranked in the top 10 for lowest opponents' batting average against facing both lefties and righties. He retired ranked first with 856 games finished, ninth with 1,035 games pitched, seventh-lowest in hits per nine innings (H/9) at 6.99, and seventh-best in strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB) of 3.69. He had a 2.87 ERA and 1.06 walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) for his career.

Though he was not a power pitcher, Hoffman was a strikeout pitcher. His 9.36 K/9 was the fifth-highest in MLB history, and highest ever among relievers. Sports journalist Fran Zimniuch wrote in Fireman: The Evolution of the Closer in Baseball that Hoffman was "a thinking man's closer, using guile rather than heat." As the velocity of his fastball decreased, he compensated with a devastating changeup that is as synonymous a pitch with Hoffman as the splitter is with Bruce Sutter or the cutter is with Mariano Rivera. "It's a tough situation throwing a change-up in the ninth inning, unless you've got Trevor's changeup", closer Billy Wagner said. "There's not many guys who have a changeup that's dominating", All-Star third basemen Scott Rolen said. "But his is dominating. It's a weapon. That's not usually a word you use with a changeup." Robb Nen, a retired closer, was amazed at how Hoffman got better after he lost velocity on his fastball. "I don't think I could do it, to just lose the ability to throw 95 and still be one of the best. I have tremendous respect for him", Nen said. Another retired closer, Troy Percival, concurred about the difficulty in transforming from a power pitching style. "It's not easy to do. Guys who throw 95, 96 [mph] have an ego about being able to do that. [Hoffman] just went right into, 'Hey, you know, I throw 87 now. This is what I've got.' And he goes out there and gets it done just as well as he ever did."

Accomplishments

Active records

Statistics as of 2011 season

Other MLB rankings

Most saves, career: 601 (2nd)

Lowest H/9, career: 6.99 (7th)

Highest K/BB, career: 3.69 (7th)

Most games pitched, career: 1,035 (9th)

Post-playing career

Coinciding with his retirement from playing in 2011, Hoffman returned to San Diego as a special assistant to Padres team president and COO Tom Garfinkel. "There's been a turnover of people [in the Padres front office] who wanted to reconcile and I've been cool with it. A couple of years definitely makes a big difference", said Hoffman. In addition to his front office role, he also served as an instructor during spring training. In 2014, Hoffman became San Diego's upper-level pitching coordinator, essentially an additional pitching coach for the Padres at their Double-A and Triple-A levels. His new role also involved assisting San Diego general manager Josh Byrnes. Under general manager A. J. Preller in 2015, Hoffman became senior advisor for baseball operations, overseeing pitching instruction at all levels of the Padres' minor league system.

Hoffman was the bullpen coach for the Great Britain team during the qualifying round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He was eligible on the basis of his maternal ancestry to England.

Personal life

Hoffman met his wife Tracy in Buffalo, New York, in 1992, where she was a real estate agent and a member of the National Football League's Buffalo Bills cheerleading squad. He asked her to marry him in 1993 while she was on the field during Super Bowl XXVII (which the Bills lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 52–17). Hoffman and his wife have three sons: Brody, Quinn, and Wyatt. The family lived in a house in Rancho Santa Fe, California, for nearly two decades before selling it in 2019.

Hoffman's father died of cancer on Super Bowl Sunday in 1995.

Hoffman donated $200 for every save to the National Kidney Foundation. In honor of his father, a former Marine, Hoffman annually paid for game tickets and meals for 1,000 members of the military and their families.