The Cave Blog: Trevor Hoffman Interview: Part 1

MLB Fan Cave: In your first year out of baseball, do you ever find yourself at home cranking “Hell’s Bells” in the shower or anything and find that the adrenaline starts flowing?

Hoffman: Yeah, it’s kind of like Pavlov’s dog. Hearing it brings back memories. It’s a song that gets played in a lot of sporting events—you’ll hear it at a football game, you’ll hear it at basketball events, you’ll hear it wherever. And so I am aware that if does come on and I’m in public, I’m rolling the windows up so nobody’s thinking I’m real corny listening to “Hell’s Bells” driving around town with it. That might be a little over the top. I like the song, though, and it definitely takes you back to moments in the game. But when it was played during a game, my head was down and I was concentrated on getting who I was going to face out.

MLB Fan Cave: Any thoughts about Mariano Rivera’s pursuit of your all-time saves record?

Hoffman: I’m just hoping he doesn’t break it before the All-Star break (laughs). He’s flying through it this year and having a great season. Nobody wants to be second, and I’d like to hold on to that record, but as well as he’s playing and as dominant as he’s been and still going at it strong, he’s going to catch and pass that number pretty quickly. So I will be in the masses of people that will be second behind Mo, and he’s not a bad guy to be second to. He’s a quality human being and he’s doing everything the right way. I respect the way he’s going about the game. And I even read the other day that when he got his 1000th career appearance, they asked him how he was going to celebrate, and he said, “I’m going to go to Mass.” So I think he’s got his stuff in the right place and is a good man. Just a class act.

Thanks to Tyler H..