This afternoon the Orioles’ Jim Johnson notched his 41st save of 2012, nailing down a 5-3 win over the White Sox. That save puts him temporarily ahead of the Astros total wins (40) this year.
If Johnson can keep the Astros in his rearview mirror, he’ll join a select group of closers. Here are the relievers who, in a non-strike season, had more saves than another team had wins (Smoltz in 2002 and Keith Foulke in 2003 tied another team’s win total):
| Year | Name | For | SV | Team | Wins | |
| 2003 | Billy Wagner | HOU | 44 | DET | 43 | |
| 2003 | John Smoltz | ATL | 45 | DET | 43 | |
| 2003 | Eric Gagne | LAD | 55 | DET | 43 | |
| 2004 | Mariano Rivera | NYY | 53 | ARI | 51 | |
| 2008 | Francisco Rodriguez | LAA | 62 | WSN | 59 | |
| 2002 | John Smoltz | ATL | 55 | TBD / DET | 55 | |
| 2003 | Keith Foulke | OAK | 43 | DET | 43 |
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Upside of Rays’ namechange? We don’t have to worry about “Team TBD” anymore.
LOL ….. nice!