When it comes to the greatest single seasons by Cardinals closers, there are sure some famous faces:
There’s the bearded Bruce Sutter (a face forever on a Cooperstown plaque) and the bearded Jason Motte (who got to know Bruce so well, he named his kid Sutter Motte). Don’t forget the mustached machines that were Dennis Eckersley and Todd Worrell or the the bespectacled spectacle that was Tom Henke.
And there’s Cards Hall of Fame closer Jason Isringhausen, who has the most total saves in Cards history, and Trevor Rosenthal, who has the most saves in a single season in Cards history (48!). And then there’s Lee Arthur Smith, who is remembered as a Cub, sure, but had 180 saves in eight seasons for Chicago yet still 160 ºüÀêÊÓƵ saves in just four seasons.
Which leads us, of course, to current Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley, he of the fire, be it in his triple-digit fastball, the one he puts out in the ninth or the scoreboard visual during his red-lit intro to the song AC/DC’s “Hells Bells.â€
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Helsley’s durability and reliably has sure surprised me this season — and he’s making history by showcasing this. For all the great closers the Cards have had, Helsley has tied Smith for the most perfect-inning saves in a season in Cardinals history (19). Helsley’s next save without a base runner will thus break the record — and it could happen before we even reach September.
There is so much to gripe about with the 2024 Cardinals (and believe me, I’ve been griping), but Helsley is a rare unequivocal positive (heck, he was the only All-Star).
“When you get a lead and you see him come out on the bullpen? You’re like, ‘Alright, we got this one.’†Cardinals teammate Brendan Donovan said. “Obviously, he is a bulldog out there. ... He attacks the zone.â€
So what’s the MLB record for perfect one-inning saves in a season? It’s 30 from a fellow named Edwin Diaz of the 2018 Mariners. MLB hasn’t seen 19 of them since 2022, when two closers notched 22: Atlanta’s Kenley Jansen and Cleveland’s Emmanuel Clase. This season, Clase is competing with Helsley for the big league lead in saves.
Heading into this series against the first-place Brewers — the Cardinals are 11 games back — Helsley has 38 saves, the most in Major League Baseball. That’s already the 10th-most saves in a Cardinals season, tied with a fellow Ryan, that being Franklin of the 2009 Cards.
And on Saturday against the Dodgers, a team he struggled against at the start of the season, Helsley faced just three batters.
Former Card Jason Heyward popped up the first pitch, a 101.8 mph four-seam fastball. Will Smith, a fellow All-Star with Helsley, flew out on the second pitch he saw (a 99.6 mph four-seamer). And then Gavin Lux struck out in the quintessential Helsley at-bat:
Swinging strike on the four-seamer (101 mph).
Called strike on the curveball (79 mph).
Foul tip caught for strike three on the slider (92.9 mph).
“To go out there and have a clean inning, I just wanted to attack guys,†said Helsley, who has a 2.61 ERA. “I just want to have the same mindset most nights, which obviously, as we know as baseball fans and players, doesn’t always work out the same. I just try to go out there and make it simple — just get in and get out.â€
Helsley chuckled when asked if he was rested upon his appearance Saturday. He hadn’t pitched in eight days. But he’s also pitched nine times on no rest this year. The preseason move to have him throw the ninth inning — and not the highest-leverage inning — has been masterful.
But to use his quote, it hasn’t always been “get in and get out.†While he’s only blown three saves, there have been some unnerving innings. In fact, in nine of his previous 11 appearances, Helsley allowed a base runner. Sometimes, it was just a single single, no problem. But occasionally it was a whole to-do, with multiple base runners and palpable heartbeats. In a way though, it reminds us just how hard it is to notch a perfect ninth inning, even for baseball’s best closers.
Speaking of which, Helsley got to meet one of his favorite closers on Sunday, that being the man who closed out the final game of the NBA Finals with 31 points and 11 assists. Jayson Tatum, the ºüÀêÊÓƵ native, was at Busch Stadium. Helsley got to catch his first pitch.
“You just relish in greatness when you see it, you know,†said Helsley, 30. “And he’s still a kid. I mean, he’s 26 and he’s accomplished all these things. It’s just cool to see and meet great athletes from other sports, as well.â€
In fact, Helsley inspired the Cardinals to wear green Boston Celtics jerseys during pregame routines amid the NBA playoffs.
“St Louis is a sports town, so I thought it’d be cool if we could support our own and show him the love here,†Helsley said. “And let him know that we’re big fans of him. It was cool to wear something else besides baseball stuff out there (in pregame), so it was a great excuse for that. And it was really cool to meet him. He was more than generous with signing all of our jerseys, which was really special.â€
Maybe one day, Helsley will close out a championship, too. First, his team would have to get to the playoffs.