Hoffman was selected for the All-Star team seven times, and twice he was the runner-up for the NL Cy Young Award, given annually to the top pitcher in the league.

[2][4] His father, Ed, who stood at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and 225 pounds (102 kg), was a Marine and a veteran of the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.

[13] Standing at just 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) and 130 pounds (59 kg),[14] Hoffman played shortstop at Savanna,[2][15] but nobody offered him a scholarship out of high school.

[21][22] Hoffman threw 95 miles per hour (153 km/h) and recorded a 2.90 ERA with 169 strikeouts in 142+2⁄3 minor league innings over two seasons while alternating between relieving and starting at Single-A Cedar Rapids, Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Nashville.

[14][23] The Padres sent third baseman Gary Sheffield and pitcher Rich Rodriguez to the Marlins for Hoffman and pitching prospects José Martínez and Andrés Berumen.

[14] The weekend after the strike began, Hoffman, playing Nerf football at Del Mar Beach near San Diego, dived for a pass and landed awkwardly on his right shoulder.

[28] Hoffman recorded saves in each of the final three games against the Dodgers, as the Padres won the NL West for their first division title in 12 years.

[14] During the 1998 season, Hoffman began entering save situations in Padres home games to the entrance music of AC/DC's "Hells Bells" playing over the public address system, an event that came to be known as "Trevor Time".

[38] Hoffman preserved a 6–5 win against the Houston Astros by striking out Moisés Alou to end that game and converted his 41st consecutive save opportunity, tying an MLB record at the time.

[40] In a 4–3 win over the Chicago Cubs on September 14, he worked a perfect ninth inning and became the fourth reliever in MLB history to reach the 50-save mark.

[68][69] In the Padres inaugural season at their new home in Petco Park in 2004, Hoffman returned to the closer role and finished with 41 saves with a 2.30 ERA, his lowest since 1998.

[70][71] The new park provided an upgrade over Qualcomm Stadium for "Trevor Time" with a state-of-the-art sound system and new scoreboards with enhanced visuals allowing for animated flames and live fan shots.

[78] August 20 marked Hoffman's 776th outing for the Padres, breaking the Pirates Elroy Face's major league record for most relief appearances with one club.

[84] The next day in the last regular season game, two home runs were hit off Hoffman before he saved a 7–6 win over the Diamondbacks, earning the Padres their second consecutive NL West title.

[3] On September 8 against the Colorado Rockies, Hoffman struck-out Todd Helton swinging on a 74-mph change-up for his 1,000th career strikeout, becoming the eighth reliever to reach the mark.

[96] On October 1, in the Padres' wild card tie-breaker game against the Rockies, Hoffman blew his second straight save opportunity and his team's 8–6 lead in the 13th inning.

[3] A couple of weeks after the end of the season, Hoffman had minor arthroscopic surgery on his pitching elbow to remove bone chips.

[112][113] He started the season with 18 scoreless innings before entering in a tie game on June 14 and surrendering a run in a 5–4 loss against the Chicago White Sox.

[118] In April, Hoffman pitched nine innings and allowed 13 earned runs and six home runs—surpassing his totals in both categories from all of the previous season—and he blew four of his seven save opportunities.

[122] After saving just five of his first 10 chances with an ERA over 12.00 in mid-May, Hoffman's struggles prompted Brewers manager Ken Macha to remove him as closer and move him into middle relief to work on his mechanics.

[125] In the offseason, Hoffman expressed interest in taking over the closer role for a team near his home in San Diego, but he did not wish to return as a setup pitcher and diminish his accomplishments.

[125] Hoffman believed he could still pitch in the big leagues, but with all of the closer roles for West Coast teams filled,[23] he elected to retire, announcing his decision on January 11, 2011.

For the National Anthem, the Padres played a video of Ed singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Fenway Park on Opening Day in 1981 when Hoffman's brother, Glenn, was the starting shortstop for the Red Sox.

[141] Soon thereafter, the Padres announced plans to unveil a bronze statue of Hoffman at Petco Park sometime around his July 29 induction into the Hall of Fame.

Seeing his passion for the Padres, his love for his teammates, and his devastation over the loss and then handling each reporter's question with the utmost class and professionalism ranks as my greatest sports memory.

[2][149] When Hoffman passed on the Indians in free agency to stay with the Padres, he still sent an autographed jersey as a baby gift to then-Indians manager Eric Wedge.

"[168] As the velocity of his fastball decreased, he compensated with a devastating changeup that is as synonymous a pitch with Hoffman as the splitter is with Bruce Sutter or the cutter is with Mariano Rivera.

"[12] Bill Center, writing for The San Diego Union-Tribune, once said "[Hoffman's] entrance was more suited to the World Wrestling Federation than the national pastime.

Coinciding with his retirement from playing in 2011, Hoffman returned to San Diego as a special assistant to Padres team president and COO Tom Garfinkel.

[210] Under general manager A. J. Preller in 2015, Hoffman became senior advisor for baseball operations, overseeing pitching instruction at all levels of the Padres' minor league system.