MLB: Top 20 closers in Major League Baseball history
Career Statistics:
- Games: 732
- Saves: 318
- Won-Loss Record: 86-81
- ERA: 3.57
- ERA+: 118
- FIP: 3.62
- WHIP: 1.227
- Innings: 1,291.1
- Strikeouts: 1,030
- Strikeout Percentage: 19.1%
- All-Star Appearances: 3
- World Series Championships: 2
- Awards: None
Rick Aguilera became a closer late in his professional life, at least by most of today’s standards. Aguilera made his Major League debut with the New York Mets in 1985 at the age of 23, and spent the majority of his five seasons with the club as a member of the starting rotation. However, following a subpar 1988 season in which he posted a 6.93 ERA in 11 games, and was demoted to the minor leagues, he emerged as a force out of the bullpen.
Aguilera posted a 2.34 ERA across 36 appearances out of the bullpen for the Mets in 1989 before a trade deadline deal sent him to the Minnesota Twins. He spent the remainder of the 1989 season starting for Minnesota, but was moved into the closer’s role during his first full season in Minnesota in 1990. He took to the late innings extremely well.
Across 11 seasons with the Twins, Aguilera became one of the best closers of the 1990s and put together one of the best decades ever for a reliever. He saved 254 games for the Twins, was a three-time All-Star and helped Minnesota win the 1991 World Series. From 1990-99, excluding a one-year stint as a starter in 1996, Aguilera averaged 30.4 saves per season. His 319 career saves rank 19th on the all-time list.
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