Padres History: Trevor Hoffman’s last great Hall of Fame season came 20 years ago

It's a new year, and as a way to break up the lull of the winter and the constant rumors, let's take a step back and remember one of the greatest single-season performances in San Diego Padres history. Not just from a performance's perspective, but also one that encapsulated a Hall of Fame career.

In 2006, Padres closer Trevor Hoffman surpassed Dennis Eckersley for the most saves in Major League Baseball history with 480. Hoffman was already a Hall of Famer at that point. He had put so many dominant seasons together, but let's not forget that Hoffman wasn't a compiler.

In his age-38 season, which is now 20 years ago, Hoffman had one last true elite season in the tank. Let's reminisce.

Padres' Trevor Hoffman's 2006 season goes much further than just shattering a career record

Of course, becoming the all-time leader in a stat will headline that player's season. But at 38 years old, Hoffman was still slinging it as well as he had been in his 20s. He led the league in saves with 46, which was backed by a 2.14 ERA in 65 appearances (63 innings) with a 0.968 WHIP and 190 ERA+. He allowed a run in only nine of his outings.

Hoffman finished second in the NL Cy Young race behind Arizona's Brandon Webb. He also placed 10th in the NL MVP voting, and appeared in his seventh and final All-Star Game. It was Hoffman's second time finishing as the runner-up in the Cy Young race (1998) and second time ending up in the Top 10 on the MVP board (1998).

Hoffman also tossed in Game 3 of the NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals. That was his only postseason appearance in 2006, which was a one-inning, one-strikeout scoreless save. He set down Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen, then ended the game by striking out Juan Encarnación.

Following the 2006 season, Hoffman was still good, logging 119 more saves well into his 40s, but the this specific season was unlike any other for an aging reliever. Hoffman finished with 607 saves, which is now second-most ever behind New York's Mariano Rivera (652). What a season. What a career. Hoffman, who still cares about the Padres' affairs, will always be a legend in San Diego.