Trevor Hoffman is the all-time leader in saves, was fortunate enough to pitch in a World Series, and if that's not enough he got to be a member of the inaugural season of the Florida Marlins. So you would think that at age 41, Hoffman would be fairly close to hanging up the spikes, with little more to prove in this game. You would be wrong.
"Well, I think I have more than one [season left]," Hoffman told MLB.com in an exclusive interview while seated in front of his PETCO Park locker several hours before the Padres played the Dodgers on Monday. "My body feels good. My arm feels a heck of a lot better than it has the last few years. The competitive juices are still there. You can't put a number on how long. If I was 30 years old, we wouldn't even be talking about it."
Hoffman should realize that there's every chance that if he pitches multiple seasons, that by the time he retires he will be a shell of his former self, and might not be pitching with the Padres, as a closer, or both. And many would say that's no way to go out. But as long as he accepts that possibility, then the man should play baseball for as long as he wants.
Another reason why it's cool for Hoffman to keep pitching? He's one of the classiest players in baseball. In addition to all he's done, there are outcomes that he wishes were different, such as blowing saves against the Brewers and Rockies last season which would have put the Padres in the playoffs. Through it all, he's handled all of his setbacks with as much class as you could have ... the same way he's handling his decision regarding whether to keep playing or not. He's made his decision without drama or hullabaloo unlike certain others we could mention.
Besides, why should we be deprived of one of the coolest entrances in all of baseball?
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