 Smith 's statistics for the 1980s gave him a valid claim as the best reliever of the decade , although he was rivaled by Jeff Reardon . While Smith had four consecutive 30 @-@ save seasons , Reardon finished the decade with five consecutive . Smith saved 234 games by the end of 1989 , and Reardon had 266 . Reardon was also a member of the 1987 World Series @-@ winning Minnesota Twins . On December 6 , 1989 , the Red Sox had both closers on their roster when they signed Reardon as a free agent . Two of the past decade 's most dominating closers in history were even pitching in games together for Boston for the first month of 1990 with Reardon setting up Smith for a save on April 18 — a game started by a third famous pitcher , Roger Clemens . The unusual double @-@ closer situation lasted less than a month before Smith was traded to St. Louis for slugging outfielder Tom Brunansky on May 4 , 1990 . 
