It’s a numerical coincidence that a top saves total in baseball rivals a top home run hitter’s tally. When Roger Maris was trying to hit 61 home runs to break Babe Ruth’s single-season record in 1961, he had to do it alone — no one else could help him swing the bat and push the ball over the outfield walls 61 times. But as Francisco Rodriguez nears baseball’s single-season saves record — the Somewhere in Southern California Angels closer has 41 saves and is on pace for 66, nine more than Bobby Thigpen’s record — he’s doing it with a lot of help from his teammates. Each save still excites Francisco Rodriguez even as he racks them up at record pace. (AP Photo) His current rate is “partly a result of his excellence, as he’s converted 93% of his save chances, but it’s also partly a result of his environment,” Tim Marchman writes...
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