With a week and a half left in the season, Seattle Mariners closer Edwin Diaz is already guaranteed to have more saves than the Baltimore Orioles have wins in 2018.
For most of the year, fans have kept an eye on Seattle Mariners closer Edwin Diaz as he chases history. As he notched save after save this year, the biggest question became whether or not he could catch Francisco Rodriguez and record the most saves in a single season. As it stands, Diaz’ 56 saves heading into Tuesday night are the third most in a single season, trailing only K-Rod (62) and Bobby Thigpen (57).
However, very quietly, Diaz was in another race. As he was piling up saves, the Baltimore Orioles were piling up losses almost as rapidly. For a time, there was a question as to whether or not the Orioles would earn the first overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, but they have pulled away in the race to the bottom.
Over what has been an embarrassing season, the Orioles have reached another low. Heading into Tuesday night, the Orioles could, at best, win 55 games for the season. Meanwhile, Diaz had already notched 56 saves. Yes, he saved more games than the Orioles can win over the course of the season.
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This is a new lowlight for Baltimore. This ignoble feat has happened before, as Rodriguez’ 62 saves in 2008 surpassed the 59 wins for the Washington Nationals and the 61 victories for the Seattle Mariners. In 2003, Keith Foulke, Eric Gagne, John Smoltz, and Billy Wagner all had more saves than the Detroit Tigers had victories (43). Smoltz also tied the Tigers win total in 2002, when he notched 55 saves. Mariano Rivera had 53 saves in 2004, when the Diamondbacks won 51 games. This is a rare feat, but it has happened before in baseball history. Nonetheless, this speaks volumes to how bad the Orioles have been in 2018.
The Orioles could have company in this feat. The Royals entered Tuesday with only 52 wins on the season, four behind Diaz’ save total. As he gets closer to the 60 save plateau, and has his eyes on Rodriguez’ record, he may well end up with more saves than the Royals have wins as well.
Seattle Mariners closer Edwin Diaz is in the midst of a historic season. He is already guaranteed to have more saves than the Baltimore Orioles will have wins in 2018.