Emmanuel Clase is in the midst of a phenomenal season for the Cleveland Guardians, but he has a chance to make it historical. Clase leads MLB in saves with 46 and could become the first player to lead the league in saves three consecutive seasons since the stat became official in 1969.
Clase is a huge part of the Guardians being just half a game out of the best record in the American League. He has a career-best 0.65 ERA to go along with his career-best saves. In 2023, Clase recorded 44 saves; in 2022, he had 42. In 2022, he won the Mariano Rivera Award, given to the best reliever in the AL. On September 16, Clase tied Jose Mesa for the Guardians franchise single-season save record.
Not only could Clase could win the Mariano Rivera Award again this year, but he could also be in the AL Cy Young Award conversation. Detroit Tigers’ Tarik Skubal is the favorite, but Clase has a case. The last closer to win a Cy Young Award was Éric Gagné in 2003. Gagné had 55 saves and a 1.20 ERA. As a closer, the innings for Clase might be a concern when comparing him to a starter like Skubal.
Clase’s competition for the saves title is Ryan Helsley of the St. Louis Cardinals. Helsley has 44 saves on the year. Multiple players have led their respective leagues in saves for three consecutive years. Most recently, Craig Kimberly led the National League in saves for four consecutive seasons from 2011-2014, although he tied for first twice in that span. However, leading all of baseball in saves for three consecutive seasons is unheard of.
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WBN MLB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/mlb/
Photo Credit: Closing pitcher Emmanuel Clase #48 of the Cleveland Guardians celebrates. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
