Who are MLB's all time saves leaders? Top 5 closers with most most winning finishes

Having a good closer is arguably the biggest ace card that an MLB team can have. Over the years, several arms have peformed to the max in late-inning spectacles to prove their value to the team.

Closers, by definition, are pitchers who are brought in to register saves for their team. According to the MLB, a save is registered when the team is up by no more than three runs in the ninth, and the closer comes in and holds off the opposition for at least one inning.

On that note, let's a look at the top five saves leaders in MLB history.

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Top 5 MLB save leaders

#5 John Franco

Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, southpaw closer John Franco was regarded as one of the best in the business.

Unlike many other pitchers who became closers, Franco was a finisher from the start. He led the MLB in saves three times, once as a member of the 1988 Cincinnati Reds, and twice as a member of the New York Mets in 1990 and 1994.

At the time of his retirement in 2005, Franco had registered 424 saves over the course of 1245 innings on the bump.

"John Franco’s daughter is his biggest fan" - Talkin' Baseball

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#4 Francisco Rodriguez

Venezuelan closer Francisco Rodriguez built up his incredible numbers as an MLB closer early in his career.

As a 23-year-old in 2003, he led the league in saves with 45 of them to ring in the first season of his team, the Los Angeles Angels, using their new name. "K-Rod" would lead the league in saves again in 2006, and once again in 2008. An incredible 206 out of his 437 career saves came between 2004 and 2008.

However, after hitting 62 saves in 2008, Rodriguez could not hit the 40-save mark again until the 2014 season as a closer for the Milwaukee Brewers.

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#3 Lee Smith

At 6-foot-5 and 220 lbs, Louisiana native Lee Smith could hurl the ball and was a star closer for the Chicago Cubs throughout the early 1980s.

Smith came within a hair of winning the 1991 Cy Young Award after leading the league in games finished and saves that season. When he retired in 1997, Smith had 478 career saves.

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#2 Trevor Hoffman

Anyone who regularly watched the San Diego Padres in the mid-1990s will certainly remember this name. Hoffman, a 2018 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, finished with a league-high 53 saves in 1998, and was instrumental in helping the Padres reach the World Series.

#OTD in 1997, the #Padres defeated the Expos at Qualcomm Stadium. Tony Gwynn’s solo home run and Trevor Hoffman’s 4-out save gave San Diego a 1-0 victory." - Padres on this Day

Many nostalgic fans may still look back on Hoffman's loss against the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the 1998 World Series. However, he still amassed 601 saves over the course of his 18-year career.

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#1 Mariano Rivera

Speaking of the 1998 World Series, it was none other than Panamanian closer Mariano Rivera who delivered the save in that very same Game 4 for the New York Yankees. Over the course of his career, Rivera pitched in five World Series, accruing nine saves in 16 appearances.

"Trevor Plouffe faced Mariano Rivera once in his career... Plouffe's groundout to Robinson Cano was the first out of Mariano's MLB record breaking 602nd career save on September 19, 2011!" - Talkin' Baseball

He was also the last player to wear the number 99 before it was retired league-wide in 1997. In addition to holding the claim to the most career postseason saves, Rivera put up 652 saves in his 19 seasons playing for the Yankees.