Saves are a BS stat. Protecting 3 runs leads? Not impressive. Protecting 2 run leads? Not exactly extraordinary stuff to get that done.
Protecting the game from getting tied or the loss with a single run on the line? Get your best arm(s) out there.
That said, some guys go out there to pull their 1 inning and do it extremely well for almost their entire career.
Rivera is the most epic one-inning guy of all time. Wagner is a hell of a one-inning guy.
It's not like there's a few dozen of these guys over the past 50 years of the closer as we know it. Many of these guys shine bright over a small chunk of time and burn out.
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