At Miller Park in 2010, Hoffman made his legendary 600th save, a mark never reached before by any player in baseball history, and the only other player close to it is Mariano Rivera. Hoffman made his 600th save with the Milwaukee Brewers, but he made his career primarily with the San Diego Padres. Hoffman's record will almost assuredly land him in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but then again, even his predecessor as the all-time saves leader, Lee Smith, has not yet been placed on a plaque in the museum of America's national pastime. Hoffman will be taking a new job in baseball in the front office of the Padres, who, even if he doesn't make it to Cooperstown, will most likely retire Hoffman's number 51 for their team, displaying it at Petco Park.

Hoffman was hoping to get signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks and become their closer, but their signing of J. J. Putz killed that idea. Hoffman did not want a setup role again, but with the lack of teams needing a closer close to his home, Hoffman decided to hang up his glove.

Hoffman finished his career with a 2.87 ERA, 846 hits allowed, 378 runs allowed (347 earned), 307 walks, 1133 strikeouts, a .211 batting average against, an even 100 dingers allowed, and of course, the all-time record of 601 career saves. Following him on the all-time career saves list is current New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, and former Chicago Cubs closer Lee Smith, who once again missed out on Cooperstown this year. The only other active player besides Rivera in the top 20 on that list is Billy Wagner of the Atlanta Braves, in fifth, with 422 career saves. For comparison, legendary Cubs and Cardinals Hall of Fame closer Bruce Sutter has a little less than half the number of Hoffman's saves, with 300.