Brewers: Josh Hader Now Top 5 All-Time in Saves for Crew

It’s safe to say that the Milwaukee Brewers have been rolling lately. They have won or tied each of their last seven series, are 9-1 in their last ten games, and are coming off a weekend sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

And in all three of those games against the Pirates, Brewers closer Josh Hader came in and shut the door.

Sunday’s appearance was Hader’s longest of the series, a 21-pitch outing. And though Pittsburgh second baseman Adam Frazier was able to muster a walk, Hader did what Hader does and struck out the side on the way to his 17th save of the season, putting him two off the league lead.

Hader has basically been putting up video game numbers so far in 2021. His ERA is now down to 0.68, he’s allowing batters to hit just .122 against him, and he is striking out batters at a rate of 15.53 K/9. And somehow, it still feels like we don’t talk about his dominance quite enough.

Hader’s season has further cemented his status as one of the top closers in Brewers history. And as it turns out, his most recent save also bumped him to a new spot on Milwaukee’s all-time leaderboard.

With his 17th save of 2021, Josh Hader is now tied for fifth all-time in saves in Milwaukee Brewers history.

When Hader began the season, he had 62 career saves, good for 8th most all-time in Brewers history. On April 24th against the Cubs after collecting his fourth save of 2021, he would officially leap past Derrick Turnbow for 7th.

Now with 17 saves this season, Hader has 79 for his career, which advances him further up the list. He is now tied with 90s era closers Bob Wickman and Mike Fetters for fifth all-time in Brewers saves. His next one will give him the five spot outright.

Before the season began, we questioned whether Hader could reach top three status on the all-time list by the end of 2021. He is currently on pace for around 42 saves, which would not only easily put him in the top three, it would also put him close to the number two spot, currently held by John Axford.

Last offseason, there were what seemed to be ceaseless trade rumors surrounding Hader due to his ever increasing price tag. As long as one of those rumors doesn’t come true this coming offseason, this time next year we could be questioning when Hader will take over the top spot all for himself.

One could argue that Hader is already the most talented closer the Brewers have ever had. Eventually, the team’s all-time saves list will reflect that fact as well.