Joe Nathan
The 325 ERA+ that Nathan posted in 2008 ranks among the most dominant single seasons by any closer in baseball history. That microscopic 1.33 ERA came with pinpoint control and devastating stuff that made him virtually unhittable for an entire season.
Nathan's career 2.87 ERA across nearly 800 appearances tells the story of sustained excellence few relievers ever achieve. His 186 career ERA+ means he was 86 percent better than league average over 18 seasons — a remarkable feat for any pitcher, but especially impressive for a closer who faced the highest-leverage situations night after night.
The six All-Star selections underscore Nathan's consistency as one of the premier closers of the 2000s. He bridged the gap between the save-heavy era and modern usage patterns, proving that elite relievers could maintain their dominance even with heavy workloads.
Career · Hitting
16 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | SF | 19 | 28 | 0 | 1 | .179 | .448 | 58 |
| 2000 | SF | 20 | 32 | 2 | 3 | .156 | .583 | 75 |
| 2002 | SF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2003 | SF | 78 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| 2004 | MIN | 73 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| 2005 | MIN | 69 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2006 | MIN | 64 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| 2007 | MIN | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2008 | MIN | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2009 | MIN | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2011 | MIN | 48 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2012 | TEX | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2013 | TEX | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2014 | DET | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2015 | DET | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2016 | CHC | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Career | 787 | 63 | 2 | 4 | .159 | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
16 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | SF | 19 | 90.3 | 7 | 4 | 4.18 | 112 | 54 | 1.439 |
| 2000 | SF | 20 | 93.3 | 5 | 2 | 5.21 | 91 | 61 | 1.629 |
| 2002 | SF | 4 | 3.7 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | — | 2 | 0.273 |
| 2003 | SF | 78 | 79.0 | 12 | 4 | 2.96 | 148 | 83 | 1.063 |
| 2004 | MIN | 73 | 72.3 | 1 | 2 | 1.62 | 275 | 89 | 0.982 |
| 2005 | MIN | 69 | 70.0 | 7 | 4 | 2.70 | 159 | 94 | 0.971 |
| 2006 | MIN | 64 | 68.3 | 7 | 0 | 1.58 | 286 | 95 | 0.790 |
| 2007 | MIN | 68 | 71.7 | 4 | 2 | 1.88 | 237 | 77 | 1.019 |
| 2008 | MIN | 68 | 67.7 | 1 | 2 | 1.33 | 325 | 74 | 0.901 |
| 2009 | MIN | 70 | 68.7 | 2 | 2 | 2.10 | 205 | 89 | 0.932 |
| 2011 | MIN | 48 | 44.7 | 2 | 1 | 4.84 | 81 | 43 | 1.164 |
| 2012 | TEX | 66 | 64.3 | 3 | 5 | 2.80 | 143 | 78 | 1.057 |
| 2013 | TEX | 67 | 64.7 | 6 | 2 | 1.39 | 278 | 73 | 0.897 |
| 2014 | DET | 62 | 58.0 | 5 | 4 | 4.81 | 78 | 54 | 1.534 |
| 2015 | DET | 1 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | — | 1 | 0.000 |
| 2016 | SF | 10 | 6.3 | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | — | 9 | 1.421 |
| Career | 787 | 923.3 | 64 | 34 | — | — | 976 | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.