In baseball, the closer has the toughest job.
The toughest.
And not because of the pressure, either.
Nope.
You come in, game's on the line, you need to get three outs.
You must get three outs.
Without the other team scoring.
Pressure enough, right?
Nope.
Not even close.
In baseball, the closer is also subject to the cruelest stat in sports.
Not a win/loss record.
That's kid's stuff.
Nope.
The closer is the only player in baseball that, upon failure, is publicly criticized by a statistic.
Ballplayers make errors all the time.
But it's an error.
I'm sorry, Coach, I erred. Forgive me.
But nowhere else is one publicly labelled as having blown it.
Yep.
Closers shoulder a stat called Blown Saves.
Botched.
Blown.
You worthless piece of jetsam. You can't even pitch right. I can't believe you blew it.
Called to task by a statistic.
Cold.
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