Lenny Ignelzi / AP

Trevor Hoffman and his three sons celebrated after he became the all-time saves leader. But will he celebrate in the playoffs, MSNBC.com contributor Bob Cook wonders.

The baseball Hall of Fame voters respected Fingers’ workhorse ability by making him the only pure reliever to get in on the first ballot. But it took Sutter 13 years of eligibility before he got in this year, and Gossage enters his sixth year of waiting.

Perhaps Hoffman and his accomplishments would be a bigger deal had he performed well in the playoffs, a pressure situation no matter when you come in. (Note that Hoyt Wilhelm, the first closer, is the only reliever in the Hall of Fame that never was on a World Series-winning team.) That’s why Rivera, who has broken the 400-save barrier, if it has yet been established as a 300-win, 3,000-hit barrier, will be a surefire Hall of Famer, and why Hoffman might have to wait a few years before enshrinement.

This isn’t East Coast bias talking, not with this article being edited by people in Seattle. This is because Rivera, despite a few notable blown saves such as the final game of the 2001 World Series, is the all-time leader in playoff saves and has established a reputation as a pressure pitcher.

Meanwhile, Hoffman has barely registered in the postseason, even by the standards of a team that has barely registered in the postseason.

In 1996, Hoffman gave up the series-winning home run in the ninth inning of the Padres’ divisional series against St. Louis. Hoffman gave up at least one run, including two game-losing hits, in four of his seven appearances during the 1998 postseason. Last year, Hoffman got only one appearance, a mop-up job at the end of the third and final game as St. Louis again swept San Diego in a divisional series. With San Diego on track to make the postseason again this year, Hoffman needs to perform well every chance he gets to make the move from guy-who-gets-a-lot-of-saves to certified baseball legend.

Ultimately, the problem with getting ultimate respect as a closer is that his job is not to win the game, what with his team usually already ahead when he comes in. His job, like a kicker’s, is not to screw up.

Hence, why few kickers are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and why few fans could tell you who holds the record for most field goals (I’ll save you some time: 538 by Gary Anderson). And hence, why few relievers are in baseball’s Hall of Fame, and why few fans this time next year probably could tell you who holds the saves record.

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