 In the early 1990s , records were falling quickly for closers . Lee Smith set the single @-@ season National League record for saves in 1991 and was on pace to break his own record in 1992 . However , he fell four short of his record , which was broken the following season by Rod Beck . In 1992 , Smith 's former teammate , Jeff Reardon , broke the career saves record held for over a decade by Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers . However , Smith was registering saves at a faster pace than Reardon and by the end of 1992 , he was not far behind him on the career list . Just two weeks into the 1993 season , Smith passed Reardon with career save number 358 . At age 37 , Reardon was slowing down , and Smith was well in front of him when Reardon retired in 1994 . The day after setting the career major league record , he saved his 301st National League game to break that record as well . ( As had been the case with the single @-@ season NL record , the career NL record was held by Bruce Sutter ) . Smith had 15 saves in June 1993 , the most ever in one month for a pitcher until John Wetteland and Chad Cordero tied him in June 1996 and June 2005 , respectively . He reached 30 saves in only the 83rd game of the season , tying the record set by Bobby Thigpen in 1990 for the earliest any pitcher had reached 30 saves . ( Éric Gagné broke the record in 2002 ) . While only in August , Smith logged his 40th save for the third consecutive year , but his ERA had ballooned to a career @-@ worst 4 @.@ 50 . Also , the Cardinals were ten games behind Philadelphia , seemingly out of contention , and Smith was poised to become a free agent after the season . On August 31 , 1993 , the Cardinals traded Smith to the Yankees for Rich Batchelor . Smith left the team as their all @-@ time save leader until Jason Isringhausen passed him on June 13 , 2006 . 
