Trevor Hoffman was way more than a theme song.  He is, quite simply, an icon in San Diego sports of a magnitude rarely seen.  Were you to carve a Mount Rushmore of players who etched their likeness in the collective consciousness of sports in this county, Trevor Hoffman would either be on the monument, or at the very least be on the short list of candidates.  So as much as I loved to hear “Hells Bells”, Hoffy casts a shadow much larger than the echo of that song.

                There are so many things I remember about arguably the greatest closer in baseball history (whether or not he is the greatest is for another debate and another time).  First and foremost, to a fan… dude was just fun.  Watching that “Bugs Bunny” change-up was almost comical.  I distinctly remember a game at Petco against the Cleveland Indians in the middle of the last decade.  Grady Sizemore was at the plate and he had never faced Trevor before.  He, of course, had the scouting report about that change-up.  So, G-more decided “I won’t let that thing beat me”.  So, he took an approach I’d never seen before.  Dude practically stood on the infield grass.  He moved so far up in the batters box his front foot was on the chalk.  The theory being he could still catch up to the fastball, but that 73 MPH change will get there “sooner” by being closer.  So, seeing this, what did Trevor do?   Throw him three-straight change-ups, none for strikes, for a 3-pitch strikeout.  That was the thing about Trevor.  It was just cool to watch the man work.

                Trevor was so good; he inspired statements that still linger in my brain.  I remember sitting in the stands at Qualcomm Stadium when Trevor was having that unbelievable 1998 season, where his only blown save was a solo home run by Moises Alou (in a game Trevor won, because the Padres rallied in the 9^th), and shouting at whoever:

“Here comes the change-up and, guess what?   You won’t hit it!” 

Mark Grant used to say, after a ridiculous change-up:  “icky!”  It got to be that I wanted Trevor to fool the next batter with a change-up just so I could shout “icky!”  I remember Matt Vasgersian: “the bells toll for L.A.”  The big sign in right field at Petco “off speed kills” was a classic.  “Trevor Time” became a rallying cry at Petco.  The San Diego Chicken, in his big debut at Petco in 2005, appeared from his changing area dressed as the Grim Reaper with a scythe and a skull while Trevor closed down a win against the Florida Marlins.  He made Tony Gwynn laugh on multiple occasions out of amazement.

I remember being there when Trevor broke the all-time saves record at Petco by inducing a grounder deep into the hole at short, which Geoff Blum was able to get to.  The post-game ceremony was very well done, including the gift of a personalized bell.  And to this day, Trevor made Qualcomm Stadium the 3^rd loudest I have ever heard it:

Loudest: Steve Finley’s walk-off Grand Slam against the D-backs in 1998

2^nd: Stan Humphries to Mark Seay for the game winning TD against the Dolphins in 1995.

3^rd: Trevor enters to “Hells Bells” in game 3 of the NLDS in 1998.

                There are more things I could list, be there’s only so much room in cyberspace.  Whether or not Trevor is a 1^st or 5^th ballot Hall of Famer is a different discussion for a different day.  Yes, it ticks me off that the sports media is all about Mariano Rivera.  Perhaps another day we can discuss whether Trevor’s change-up was the single most effective pitch in Padres history.  But that’s not what today is about.  Right now, we should all just savor the memories and acknowledge how fortunate we all were to watch this guy kick his leg up over his head and come down with the slowest-looking pitch, ever.  We really don’t appreciate just how good Trevor was; possibly because we all got so mad when he blew a save.  And that’s what makes Trevor so amazing.  The fact that he was such a machine for so long, it actually made us freak out when he made enough of a mistake to blow a save.  Still, it’s remarkable to do what he did for so long; surviving through injuries, surgeries, diminishing fastballs and age… I hope I’m still as good at my job when I have a cold or a hangnail.