"Doug Melvin wished he had a recording device with him.

Along with everyone wearing a Milwaukee Brewers uniform, Melvin stood in the home clubhouse late Tuesday night, mesmerized by the words coming out of Trevor Hoffman's mouth.

"I'm big into Westerns," said the Brewers' general manager. "I felt like John Wayne was in the locker room."

Hoffman had just recorded the landmark 600th save of his major-league career, a glorious moment that led to being mobbed by teammates and eventually carried off the field on the shoulders of Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun and Todd Coffey.

Before thanking his teammates for their support and camaraderie, Hoffman did a stunning thing, something that caught many by surprise. He apologized to them.

Imagine that. A player reaches a pinnacle no other has accomplished and feels compelled to begin his speech with "I'm sorry."

"He said, 'I'm sorry I put the team in a bind at the start of the year. I take full responsibility,' " said Melvin.

"You don't hear things like that very often. He's a great spokesman for the game."

Hoffman referred to his early-season meltdown, during which he blew five of 10 save opportunities while compiling a 13.15 earned run average through 14 outings. As a result, he forfeited his closer's role and the march to 600 saves was stuck on No. 596 for three months.

Hoffman's failures contributed to the Brewers' poor start, from which they never recovered. Despite the glow of reaching 600 saves, the ultimate teammate wasn't about to wash his hands of his role in the Brewers' disappointing plight.

"Unfortunately, I was part of the problem this year by not getting my job done early and getting some momentum going," said Hoffman.

"It was more a battle of attrition to get there and have that banner turn over (to No. 600)."

Rather than pout or become a distraction, Hoffman buried himself in the process of getting his game back together, eventually earning the right to finish some games.

Along the way, he served as mentor to his successor, rookie John Axford, while continuing his leadership role in the bullpen.

"He got himself turned around," said Melvin. "He could have cracked or complained. He never said, 'I need to get to 600.' He's a class act. He wanted to earn it."