Year by Year Leaders for Saves

Ever wonder who had the most saves the year you were born? How about pitchers from you favorite team — have they ever led the league in saves? Baseball Almanac is pleased to present a year-by-year leaderboard in Major League saves for every season since 1876. Note: A bold faced entry denotes that the player was active during the previous Major League season.

"I want them to think I'm crazy." - Saves Leader (1975) Al 'The Mud Hungarian' Hrabosky

Games Saved Year-by-Year Leaders \| '1876 - 2026'
Year	American League	Saves	Team(s)	Year	National League	Saves	Team(s)
1876	-	-	-	1876	Jack Manning	5	Boston
1877	-	-	-	1877	Cal McVey	2	Chicago
1878	-	-	-	1878	Tom Healey	1	Indianapolis
1878	-	-	-	1878	Tom Healey	1	Providence
1879	-	-	-	1879	Bobby Mathews	1	Providence
1879	-	-	-	1879	John Ward	1	Providence
1880	-	-	-	1880	Lee Richmond	3	Worcester
1881	-	-	-	1881	Bobby Mathews	2	Boston
1881	-	-	-	1881	Bobby Mathews	2	Providence
1882	-	-	-	1882	John Ward	1	Providence
1883	-	-	-	1883	Jim Whitney	2	Boston
1883	-	-	-	1883	George Wiedman	2	Detroit
1884	-	-	-	1884	John Morrill	2	Boston
1885	-	-	-	1885	Fred Pfeffer	2	Chicago
1885	-	-	-	1885	Ned Williamson	2	Chicago
1886	-	-	-	1886	Charlie Ferguson	2	Philadelphia
1887	-	-	-	1887	Mark Baldwin	1	Chicago
					Fred Fass		Indianapolis
					Charlie Ferguson		Philadelphia
					Bob Pettit		Chicago
					Bill Stemmyer		Boston
					Mike Tiernan		New York
					Larry Twitchell		Detroit
					George Van Haltren		Chicago
1888	-	-	-	1888	George Wood	2	Philadelphia
1889	-	-	-	1889	Bill Bishop	2	Chicago
					Bill Sowders		Boston
					Bill Sowders		Pittsburgh
					Mickey Welch		New York
1890	-	-	-	1890	Dave Foutz	2	Brooklyn
					Kid Gleason		Philadelphia
					Bill Hutchison		Chicago
1891	-	-	-	1891	John Clarkson	3	Boston
1891	-	-	-	1891	Kid Nichols	3	Boston
1892	-	-	-	1892	Gus Weyhing	3	Philadelphia
1893	-	-	-	1893	Mark Baldwin	2	New York
					Mark Baldwin		Pittsburgh
					Tom Colcolough		Pittsburgh
					Frank Donnelly		Chicago
					Frank Dwyer		Cincinnati
					Tony Mullane		Baltimore
					Tony Mullane		Cincinnati
1894	-	-	-	1894	Tony Mullane	4	Baltimore
1894	-	-	-	1894	Tony Mullane	4	Cleveland
1895	-	-	-	1895	Ernie Beam	3	Philadelphia
					Kid Nichols		Boston
					Tom Parrott		Cincinnati
1896	-	-	-	1896	Cy Young	3	Cleveland
1897	-	-	-	1897	Win Mercer	3	Washington
1897	-	-	-	1897	Kid Nichols	3	Boston
1898	-	-	-	1898	Kid Nichols	4	Boston
1899	-	-	-	1899	Sam Leever	3	Pittsburgh
1900	-	-	-	1900	Frank Kitson	4	Brooklyn
1901	Bill Hoffer	3	Cleveland	1901	Bill Donovan	3	Brooklyn
1901	Bill Hoffer	3	Cleveland	1901	Jack Powell	3	St. Louis
1902	Jack Powell	2	St. Louis	1902	Vic Willis	3	Boston
1903	Bill Dinneen	2	Boston	1903	Carl Lundgren	3	Chicago
	George Mullin		Detroit		Roscoe Miller		New York
	Al Orth		Washington
	Jack Powell		St. Louis
	Cy Young		Boston
1904	Case Patten	3	Washington	1904	Joe McGinnity	5	New York
1905	Jim Buchanan	2	St. Louis	1905	Claude Elliott	6	New York
1906	Chief Bender	3	Philadelphia	1906	Cecil Ferguson	7	New York
1906	Otto Hess	3	Cleveland	1906	Cecil Ferguson	7	New York
1907	Bill Dinneen	4	Boston	1907	Joe McGinnity	4	New York
	Bill Dinneen		St. Louis
	Tom Hughes		Washington
	Ed Walsh		Chicago
1908	Ed Walsh	6	Chicago	1908	Mordecai Brown	5	Chicago
					Christy Mathewson		New York
					Joe McGinnity		New York
1909	Frank Arellanes	8	Boston	1909	Mordecai Brown	7	Chicago
1910	Ed Walsh	5	Chicago	1910	Mordecai Brown	7	Chicago
1910	Ed Walsh	5	Chicago	1910	Harry Gaspar	7	Cincinnati
1911	Charley Hall	4	Boston	1911	Mordecai Brown	13	Chicago
	Eddie Plank		Philadelphia
	Ed Walsh		Chicago
1912	Ed Walsh	10	Chicago	1912	Slim Sallee	6	St. Louis
1913	Chief Bender	13	Philadelphia	1913	Larry Cheney	11	Chicago
1914	Jack Bentley	4	Washington	1914	Red Ames	6	Cincinnati
	Hooks Dauss		Detroit		Slim Sallee		St. Louis
	Red Faber		Chicago
	Roy Mitchell		St. Louis
	Jim Shaw		Washington
1915	Carl Mays	7	Boston	1915	Tom Hughes	9	Boston
1916	Bob Shawkey	8	New York	1916	Red Ames	8	St. Louis
1917	Dave Danforth	9	Chicago	1917	Slim Sallee	4	New York
1918	George Mogridge	7	New York	1918	Fred Anderson	3	New York
					Wilbur Cooper		Pittsburgh
					Joe Oeschger		Philadelphia
					Fred Toney		Cincinnati
					Fred Toney		New York
1919	Allen Russell	5	Boston	1919	Oscar Tuero	4	St. Louis
	Allen Russell		New York
	Jim Shaw		Washington
	Bob Shawkey		New York
1920	Dickie Kerr	5	Chicago	1920	Bill Sherdel	6	St. Louis
1920	Urban Shocker	5	St. Louis	1920	Bill Sherdel	6	St. Louis
1921	Carl Mays	7	New York	1921	Lou North	7	St. Louis
1921	Jim Middleton	7	Detroit	1921	Lou North	7	St. Louis
1922	Sad Sam Jones	8	New York	1922	Claude Jonnard	5	New York
1923	Allen Russell	9	Washington	1923	Claude Jonnard	5	New York
1924	Firpo Marberry	15	Washington	1924	Jakie May	6	Cincinnati
1925	Firpo Marberry	15	Washington	1925	Guy Bush	4	Chicago
1925	Firpo Marberry	15	Washington	1925	Johnny Morrison	4	Pittsburgh
1926	Firpo Marberry	22	Washington	1926	Chick Davies	6	New York
1927	Garland Braxton	13	Washington	1927	Bill Sherdel	6	St. Louis
1927	Wilcy Moore	13	New York	1927	Bill Sherdel	6	St. Louis
1928	Waite Hoyt	8	New York	1928	Hal Haid	5	St. Louis
1928	Waite Hoyt	8	New York	1928	Bill Sherdel	5	St. Louis
1929	Firpo Marberry	11	Washington	1929	Guy Bush	8	Chicago
1929	Firpo Marberry	11	Washington	1929	Johnny Morrison	8	Brooklyn
1930	Lefty Grove	9	Philadelphia	1930	Hi Bell	8	St. Louis
1931	Wilcy Moore	10	Boston	1931	Jack Quinn	15	Brooklyn
1932	Firpo Marberry	13	Washington	1932	Jack Quinn	8	Brooklyn
1933	Jack Russell	13	Washington	1933	Phil Collins	6	Philadelphia
1934	Jack Russell	7	Washington	1934	Carl Hubbell	8	New York
1935	Jack Knott	7	St. Louis	1935	Dutch Leonard	8	Brooklyn
1936	Pat Malone	9	New York	1936	Dizzy Dean	11	St. Louis
1937	Clint Brown	18	Chicago	1937	Mace Brown	7	Pittsburgh
1937	Clint Brown	18	Chicago	1937	Cliff Melton	7	New York
1938	Johnny Murphy	11	New York	1938	Dick Coffman	12	New York
1939	Johnny Murphy	19	New York	1939	Bob Bowman	9	St. Louis
1939	Johnny Murphy	19	New York	1939	Clyde Shoun	9	St. Louis
1940	Al Benton	17	Detroit	1940	Joe Beggs	7	Cincinnati
					Jumbo Brown		New York
					Mace Brown		Pittsburgh
1941	Johnny Murphy	15	New York	1941	Jumbo Brown	8	New York
1942	Johnny Murphy	11	New York	1942	Hugh Casey	13	Brooklyn
1943	Gordon Maltzberger	14	Chicago	1943	Les Webber	10	Brooklyn
1944	Joe Berry	12	Philadelphia	1944	Ace Adams	13	New York
	George Caster		St. Louis
	Gordon Maltzberger		Chicago
1945	Jim Turner	10	New York	1945	Ace Adams	15	New York
1945	Jim Turner	10	New York	1945	Andy Karl	15	Philadelphia
1946	Bob Klinger	9	Boston	1946	Ken Raffensberger	6	Philadelphia
1947	Ed Klieman	17	Cleveland	1947	Hugh Casey	18	Brooklyn
1947	Joe Page	17	New York	1947	Hugh Casey	18	Brooklyn
1948	Russ Christopher	17	Cleveland	1948	Harry Gumbert	17	Cincinnati
1949	Joe Page	27	New York	1949	Ted Wilks	9	St. Louis
1950	Mickey Harris	15	Washington	1950	Jim Konstanty	22	Philadelphia
1951	Ellis Kinder	14	Boston	1951	Ted Wilks	13	Pittsburgh
1951	Ellis Kinder	14	Boston	1951	Ted Wilks	13	St. Louis
1952	Harry Dorish	11	Chicago	1952	Al Brazle	16	St. Louis
1953	Ellis Kinder	27	Boston	1953	Al Brazle	18	St. Louis
1954	Johnny Sain	22	New York	1954	Jim Hughes	24	Brooklyn
1955	Ray Narleski	19	Cleveland	1955	Jack Meyer	16	Philadelphia
1956	George Zuverink	16	Baltimore	1956	Clem Labine	19	Brooklyn
1957	Bob Grim	19	New York	1957	Clem Labine	17	Brooklyn
1958	Ryne Duren	20	New York	1958	Roy Face	20	Pittsburgh
1959	Turk Lown	15	Chicago	1959	Lindy McDaniel	15	St. Louis
1959	Turk Lown	15	Chicago	1959	Don McMahon	15	Milwaukee
1960	Mike Fornieles	14	Boston	1960	Lindy McDaniel	26	St. Louis
1960	Johnny Klippstein	14	Cleveland	1960	Lindy McDaniel	26	St. Louis
1961	Luis Arroyo	29	New York	1961	Roy Face	17	Pittsburgh
1961	Luis Arroyo	29	New York	1961	Stu Miller	17	San Francisco
1962	Dick Radatz	24	Boston	1962	Roy Face	28	Pittsburgh
1963	Stu Miller	27	Baltimore	1963	Lindy McDaniel	22	Chicago
1964	Dick Radatz	29	Boston	1964	Hal Woodeshick	23	Houston
1965	Ron Kline	29	Washington	1965	Ted Abernathy	31	Chicago
1966	Jack Aker	32	Kansas City	1966	Phil Regan	21	Los Angeles
1967	Minnie Rojas	27	California	1967	Ted Abernathy	28	Cincinnati
1968	Al Worthington	18	Minnesota	1968	Phil Regan	25	Chicago
1968	Al Worthington	18	Minnesota	1968	Phil Regan	25	Los Angeles
1969	Ron Perranoski	31	Minnesota	1969	Fred Gladding	29	Houston
1970	Ron Perranoski	34	Minnesota	1970	Wayne Granger	35	Cincinnati
1971	Ken Sanders	31	Milwaukee	1971	Dave Giusti	30	Pittsburgh
1972	Sparky Lyle	35	New York	1972	Clay Carroll	37	Cincinnati
1973	John Hiller	38	Detroit	1973	Mike Marshall	31	Montreal
1974	Terry Forster	24	Chicago	1974	Mike Marshall	21	Los Angeles
1975	Rich Gossage	26	Chicago	1975	Rawly Eastwick	22	Cincinnati
1975	Rich Gossage	26	Chicago	1975	Al Hrabosky	22	St. Louis
1976	Sparky Lyle	23	New York	1976	Rawly Eastwick	26	Cincinnati
1977	Bill Campbell	31	Boston	1977	Rollie Fingers	35	San Diego
1978	Rich Gossage	27	New York	1978	Rollie Fingers	37	San Diego
1979	Mike Marshall	32	Minnesota	1979	Bruce Sutter	37	Chicago
1980	Rich Gossage	33	New York	1980	Bruce Sutter	28	Chicago
1980	Dan Quisenberry	33	Kansas City	1980	Bruce Sutter	28	Chicago
1981	Rollie Fingers	28	Milwaukee	1981	Bruce Sutter	25	St. Louis
1982	Dan Quisenberry	35	Kansas City	1982	Bruce Sutter	36	St. Louis
1983	Dan Quisenberry	45	Kansas City	1983	Lee Smith	29	Chicago
1984	Dan Quisenberry	44	Kansas City	1984	Bruce Sutter	45	St. Louis
1985	Dan Quisenberry	37	Kansas City	1985	Jeff Reardon	41	Montreal
1986	Dave Righetti	46	New York	1986	Todd Worrell	36	St. Louis
1987	Tom Henke	34	Toronto	1987	Steve Bedrosian	40	Philadelphia
1988	Dennis Eckersley	45	Oakland	1988	John Franco	39	Cincinnati
1989	Jeff Russell	38	Texas	1989	Mark Davis	44	San Diego
1990	Bobby Thigpen	57	Chicago	1990	John Franco	33	New York
1991	Bryan Harvey	46	California	1991	Lee Smith	47	St. Louis
1992	Dennis Eckersley	51	Oakland	1992	Lee Smith	43	St. Louis
1993	Jeff Montgomery	45	Kansas City	1993	Randy Myers	53	Chicago
1993	Duane Ward	45	Toronto	1993	Randy Myers	53	Chicago
1994	Lee Smith	33	Baltimore	1994	John Franco	30	New York
1995	Jose Mesa	46	Cleveland	1995	Randy Myers	38	Chicago
1996	John Wetteland	43	New York	1996	Jeff Brantley	44	Cincinnati
1996	John Wetteland	43	New York	1996	Todd Worrell	44	Los Angeles
1997	Randy Myers	45	Baltimore	1997	Jeff Shaw	42	Cincinnati
1998	Tom Gordon	46	Boston	1998	Trevor Hoffman	53	San Diego
1999	Mariano Rivera	45	New York	1999	Ugueth Urbina	41	Montreal
2000	Todd Jones	42	Detroit	2000	Antonio Alfonseca	45	Florida
2000	Derek Lowe	42	Boston	2000	Antonio Alfonseca	45	Florida
2001	Mariano Rivera	50	New York	2001	Robb Nen	45	San Francisco
2002	Eddie Guardado	45	Minnesota	2002	John Smoltz	55	Atlanta
2003	Keith Foulke	43	Oakland	2003	Eric Gagne	55	Los Angeles
2004	Mariano Rivera	53	New York	2004	Armando Benitez	47	Florida
2004	Mariano Rivera	53	New York	2004	Jason Isringhausen	47	St. Louis
2005	Francisco Rodriguez	45	Los Angeles	2005	Chad Cordero	47	Washington
2005	Bob Wickman	45	Cleveland	2005	Chad Cordero	47	Washington
2006	Francisco Rodriguez	47	Los Angeles	2006	Trevor Hoffman	46	San Diego
2007	Joe Borowski	45	Cleveland	2007	Jose Valverde	47	Arizona
2008	Francisco Rodriguez	62	Los Angeles	2008	Jose Valverde	44	Houston
2009	Brian Fuentes	48	Los Angeles	2009	Heath Bell	42	San Diego
2010	Rafael Soriano	45	Tampa Bay	2010	Brian Wilson	48	San Francisco
2011	Jose Valverde	49	Detroit	2011	John Axford	46	Milwaukee
2011	Jose Valverde	49	Detroit	2011	Craig Kimbrel	46	Atlanta
2012	Jim Johnson	51	Baltimore	2012	Craig Kimbrel	42	Atlanta
2012	Jim Johnson	51	Baltimore	2012	Jason Motte	42	St. Louis
2013	Jim Johnson	50	Baltimore	2013	Craig Kimbrel	50	Atlanta
2014	Fernando Rodney	48	Seattle	2014	Craig Kimbrel	47	Atlanta
2015	Brad Boxberger	41	Tampa Bay	2015	Mark Melancon	51	Pittsburgh
2016	Zack Britton	47	Baltimore	2016	Jeurys Familia	51	New York
2017	Alex Colomé	47	Tampa Bay	2017	Greg Holland	41	Colorado
2017	Alex Colomé	47	Tampa Bay	2017	Kenley Jansen	41	Los Angeles
2018	Edwin Díaz	57	Seattle	2018	Wade Davis	43	Colorado
2019	Roberto Osuna	38	Houston	2019	Kirby Yates	41	San Diego
2020	Brad Hand	16	Cleveland	2020	Josh Hader	13	Milwaukee
2021	Liam Hendriks	38	Chicago	2021	Mark Melancon	39	San Diego
2022	Emmanuel Clase	42	Cleveland	2022	Kenley Jansen	41	Atlanta
2023	Emmanuel Clase	44	Cleveland	2023	David Bednar	39	Pittsburgh
2023	Emmanuel Clase	44	Cleveland	2023	Camilo Doval	39	San Francisco
2024	Emmanuel Clase	47	Cleveland	2024	Ryan Helsley	49	St. Louis
2025	Carlos Estévez	42	Kansas City	2025	Robert Suarez	40	San Diego
2026	Bryan Baker	41	Tampa Bay	2026	Mason Miller	38	San Diego
2026	Cade Smith	41	Cleveland	2026	Riley O'Brien	38	St. Louis
Year	American League	Saves	Team(s)	Year	National League	Saves	Team(s)
Current Through End of 2026 Regular Season

Did you know that during the 1911 season Mordecai Brown of the Chicago Cubs became the first Major League pitcher to achieve double digit saves when he finished the regular season with thirteen?

Bobby Thigpen (1990), Randy Myers (1993), Dennis Eckersley (1992), Trevor Hoffman (1998), Rod Beck (1998), Mariano Rivera (2001 & 2004), John Smoltz (2002), Eric Gagne (2002 & 2003) and Francisco Rodriguez (2008) are the only nine pitchers in history to have more than fifty saves during a single season.

Only three pitchers in Major League history have ever been able to accumulate over four-hundred career saves. Do you know who they are without looking at the answer?

Year by Year Leaders for Saves

Games Saved