List of Major League Baseball career saves leaders

Last updated

Mariano Rivera, the all-time leader in saves. 0G1G4040 Mariano Rivera.jpg
Mariano Rivera, the all-time leader in saves.

In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a save (denoted by SV) who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances. Most commonly a pitcher earns a save by entering in the ninth inning of a game in which his team is winning by three or fewer runs and finishing the game by pitching one inning without losing the lead. [1]

Contents

Mariano Rivera [2] [3] [4] is the all-time leader in saves with 652. Rivera and Trevor Hoffman [5] are the only pitchers in MLB history to save more than 600 career games. Lee Smith, [6] Kenley Jansen, [7] Craig Kimbrel, [8] Francisco Rodríguez, [9] John Franco, [10] and Billy Wagner [11] are the only other pitchers to save more than 400 games in their careers.

Key

RankRank amongst leaders in career saves. A blank field indicates a tie.
Player (2025 SV)Number of saves during the 2025 Major League Baseball season
SVTotal career saves
*Denotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame.
BoldDenotes active player. [note 1]

List

Kenley Jansen is the active leader in career saves and 4th all-time. He is also 1 of 2 active players with 400 or more saves. 20170718 Dodgers-WhiteSox Kenley Jansen pitch 2 (10).jpg
Kenley Jansen is the active leader in career saves and 4th all-time. He is also 1 of 2 active players with 400 or more saves.
RankPlayer (2025 SV)SV
1 Mariano Rivera*652
2 Trevor Hoffman*601
3 Lee Smith*478
4 Kenley Jansen (25)472
5 Craig Kimbrel (0)440
6 Francisco Rodríguez 437
7 John Franco 424
8 Billy Wagner*422
9 Dennis Eckersley*390
10 Joe Nathan 377
11 Jonathan Papelbon 368
12 Jeff Reardon 367
13 Aroldis Chapman (28)363
14 Troy Percival 358
15 Randy Myers 347
16 Rollie Fingers*341
17 John Wetteland 330
18 Francisco Cordero 329
19 Fernando Rodney 327
20 Roberto Hernández 326
21 Huston Street 324
22 José Mesa 321
23 Todd Jones 319
24 Rick Aguilera 318
25 Robb Nen 314
26 Tom Henke 311
27 Goose Gossage*310
28 Jeff Montgomery 304
29 Doug Jones 303
30 Jason Isringhausen 300
Bruce Sutter*300
32 Armando Benítez 289
33 José Valverde 288
34 Rod Beck 286
35 Bob Wickman 267
36 Mark Melancon 262
37 Todd Worrell 256
38 Dave Righetti 252
39 Edwin Díaz (25)250
40 Raisel Iglesias (23)247
41 Dan Quisenberry 244
42 Sparky Lyle 238
43 Ugueth Urbina 237
44 Joakim Soria 229
45 Hoyt Wilhelm*228
46 Josh Hader (28)227
47 Brad Lidge 225
48 Greg Holland 220
49 Gene Garber 218
50 Gregg Olson 217
RankPlayer (2025 SV)SV
51 Dave Smith 216
52 Rafael Soriano 207
53 Brian Fuentes 204
54 Jeff Shaw 203
55 Bobby Thigpen 201
56 Mike Henneman 193
57 Mitch Williams 192
58 Roy Face 191
Keith Foulke 191
60 J. J. Putz 189
61 Mike Marshall 188
62 Éric Gagné 187
Eddie Guardado 187
64 Jeff Russell 186
65 Steve Bedrosian 184
Kent Tekulve 184
67 Emmanuel Clase (24)182
Danny Graves 182
69 Tug McGraw 180
70 Jim Johnson 178
Ron Perranoski 178
72 Kevin Gregg 177
Bryan Harvey 177
David Robertson (0)177
75 Lindy McDaniel 174
76 Bobby Jenks 173
77 Jeff Brantley 172
Brian Wilson 172
79 Heath Bell 168
80 Billy Koch 163
81 Alex Colomé 159
Roger McDowell 159
83 Tom Gordon 158
Dan Plesac 158
85 Jay Howell 155
Roberto Osuna 155
87 Zack Britton 154
John Smoltz*154
89 Cody Allen 153
Stu Miller 153
91 Don McMahon 152
92 Greg Minton 150
93 Ted Abernathy 149
94 Willie Hernández 147
95 Dave Giusti 145
96 John Axford 144
Santiago Casilla 144
Jesse Orosco 144
Mike Williams 144
100 Clay Carroll 143
Darold Knowles 143

Notes

  1. ↑ A player is considered inactive if he has announced his retirement or has not played for a full season.

References

  1. ↑ Horneman, Tim (March 23, 2010). "Baseball Save Rules". livestrong.com. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Mariano Rivera Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  3. ↑ Cohen, Alan. "Mariano Rivera Bio". Society For American Baseball Research. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Mariano Rivera Hall of Fame Profile". National Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Trevor Hoffman Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Lee Smith Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Kenley Jansen Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Craig Kimbrel Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Francisco Rodríguez Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  10. ↑ "John Franco Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Billy Wagner Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
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