Eric Gagné put together quite the career during his time as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers for eight seasons.
Now. the Dodgers are planning on honoring Gagné by having him throw the honorary first pitch for their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 3, which marks the 20th anniversary of his 84th consecutive save.
Coming out of Seminole Junior College in Seminole, Oklahoma, Gagné was not a highly touted prospect and ended up being drafted 845th overall by the Chicago White Sox in 1994 MLB draft.
Gagné did not sign with them, instead signing with the Dodgers the following year as an amateur free agent. He made his Major League debut in 1999 and started his career as a starting pitcher, but didn’t have a lot of success in the role.
In 2002, he made the transition to the bullpen as the team’s new closer and the results were immediately improved. He had a 1.97 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, and struck out 36.3% of batters he faced en route to his first All-Star game selection. Gagné converted 52 of 56 save opportunities in his first season as a closer.
His 2003 season was not only the best of his career, but also one of the most impressive seasons by a reliever in MLB history. Gagné was putting up video game numbers and it resulted in a second straight All-Star selection, was voted the best reliever in the National League, and was just the third relief pitcher in MLB history to win a Cy Young Award.
He converted all 55 of his save opportunities in 2003 thanks to his 1.20 ERA, 0.69 WHIP and 44.8% strikeout rate. With this feat, Gagné became the first pitcher to record 50 saves in more than one season and the fastest pitcher to ever reach the 100-save plateau.
It was also the season where the bulk of his historic 84 game save streak took place. The streak began on August 28, 2002 and came to an end on July 5, 2004.
Gagné finished his MLB career with a 33-26 record, 187 saves, a 3.47 ERA and 718 strikeouts. He also won a World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2007.
Eric Gagné in the Dodgers record book
Gagné was the Dodgers all-time leader in saves with 161, until June 20, 2016 when fellow all-time great Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen broke the franchise record.
Among all Dodger pitchers, he ranks second all-time in saves and strikeouts per nine innings. Jansen now leads in both categories with 350 saves and a 13.05 K/9.
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