Eric Gagne
Game over. Those two words defined Eric Gagné's peak as much as any statistic, echoing through Dodger Stadium as "Welcome to the Jungle" blared and opposing hitters knew their fate was sealed. His 2003 season remains the gold standard for relief pitching dominance — a 1.20 ERA that was 366 percent better than league average, numbers so absurd they seem fictional.
Converting 84 consecutive save opportunities from 2002 to 2004, Gagné weaponized a fastball-curveball combination that turned ninth innings into coronations. His career 172 ERA+ tells the story of sustained excellence, but that 2003 Cy Young campaign was transcendent — striking out 137 batters in just 82 innings while allowing barely one run per nine frames.
The goggles, the entrance music, the untouchable stuff — Gagné transformed the closer role into theater. His peak burned bright and brief, but few have ever made the final three outs look so inevitable.
Career · Hitting
10 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | LAD | 5 | 10 | 0 | 1 | .200 | .400 | 51 |
| 2000 | LAD | 20 | 28 | 0 | 0 | .143 | .286 | 37 |
| 2001 | LAD | 33 | 44 | 1 | 2 | .136 | .451 | 59 |
| 2002 | LAD | 77 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| 2003 | LAD | 77 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2004 | LAD | 70 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| 2005 | LAD | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2006 | LAD | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2007 | TEX | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2008 | MIL | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Career | 402 | 86 | 1 | 3 | .140 | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
10 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | LAD | 5 | 30.0 | 1 | 1 | 2.10 | 224 | 30 | 1.100 |
| 2000 | LAD | 20 | 101.3 | 4 | 6 | 5.15 | 92 | 79 | 1.638 |
| 2001 | LAD | 33 | 151.7 | 6 | 7 | 4.75 | 93 | 130 | 1.253 |
| 2002 | LAD | 77 | 82.3 | 4 | 1 | 1.97 | 217 | 114 | 0.862 |
| 2003 | LAD | 77 | 82.3 | 2 | 3 | 1.20 | 366 | 137 | 0.692 |
| 2004 | LAD | 70 | 82.3 | 7 | 3 | 2.19 | 204 | 114 | 0.911 |
| 2005 | LAD | 14 | 13.3 | 1 | 0 | 2.70 | 159 | 22 | 0.975 |
| 2006 | LAD | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | — | 3 | 0.500 |
| 2007 | TEX | 54 | 52.0 | 4 | 2 | 3.81 | 117 | 51 | 1.346 |
| 2008 | MIL | 50 | 46.3 | 4 | 3 | 5.44 | 79 | 38 | 1.468 |
| Career | 402 | 643.5 | 33 | 26 | — | — | 718 | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.