The St. Louis Cardinals have a storied history that rivals that of any team in Major League Baseball, and throughout that history, many great closers have come and gone, including Lee Smith, Dennis Eckersley, Bruce Sutter, Jason Isringhausen, Todd Worrell, Trevor Rosenthal, and many others.
Now in his sixth year with the organization and his first as the full-time closer for 162 games, Ryan Helsley sits atop all of those who came before him.
In Friday night’s 6-3 win over the San Francisco Giants, Helsley pitched a scoreless ninth inning to record his franchise-record 49th save of the season, besting Rosenthal’s previous record of 48 set in 2015.
IT'S A NEW RECORD!
Ryan Helsley has his 49th save of 2024!#ForTheLou pic.twitter.com/Jou5oIh1Vw
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 28, 2024
Isringhausen and Smith also had seasons of 47 saves, but Helsley will be the first to have a shot at 50 saves if he can get one more over the Cardinals’ final two games.
Helsley leads the National League in saves by a wide margin over Kyle Finnegan’s 38 for the Washington Nationals, and has a slight lead over Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase at 47 saves for the league lead.
Cardinals fans had high expectations for the team this season that ultimately weren’t met, but that’s not because of the bullpen.
Helsley has come into his own and has flourished in his new role, looking much more like the guy who turned a corner in 2022 when he posted a 1.25 ERA after struggling for much of his first three years with the team.
The Cardinals have a lot of issues to fix in the offseason, most of which stem from the team’s anemic offense, but the back end of the bullpen is on lockdown.
Congrats to Helsley on an incredible achievement.
NEXT: Cardinals Are Preparing To Overhaul Their Player Development System