People who don’t follow the Cleveland Indians baseball team too closely were introduced to Jose Mesa last week when he strode to the mound in the first game of the American League division series. Mesa is the hard-throwing Indians “closer” — a pitcher brought into a game in the late innings to preserve his team’s lead. Mesa has just put together the greatest (statistical) season a closer has ever had: 46 saves in 48 “save opportunities.” There are plenty of people, not just Cleveland sportswriters like Bud Shaw, who think he deserves the American League Most Valuable Player Award for it.

That would be outrageous. The save is a close relative of the “hurry” in football, or baseball’s late, unlamented “game-winning RBI” — a bogus statistic that measures little of value. The save, in fact, has wrecked relief pitching. It ought to be scrapped.