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Full Name: Joseph Michael Nathan |
Biography:
Joseph Michael Nathan . . . wife Lisa (Lemoncelli) . . . son Cole (11/9/04) . . . daughter Riley (4/4/07) . . . 1992 graduate of Pine Bush (NY) High School where he played baseball, basketball and ran track . . . 1997 graduate of SUNY Stony Brook with a degree in Business Management . . . was a two-time Academic All-American . . . designates time and effort in support of Garth Brooks' Teammates for Kids Foundation.
2007 Career Highlights:
Became first pitcher in club history to record 36-or-more saves in four consecutive seasons (Rick Aguilera had 30-or-more from 1990-93)...did not allow a run in first five appearances, going 0-0, 0.00 (5.0 ip) with three saves, April 2-12...suffered first blown save of the season, May 2 at Tampa Bay...did not allow a run in 11 appearances, going 1-0, 0.00 (11.0 ip) with four saves, May 5-30...second blown save of season, but was winning pitcher, June 17 vs. Milwaukee...tied season-high three strikeouts, June 26 vs. Toronto...did not allow a run in 14 of 15 appearances, going 0-1, 0.53 (16.2 ip, 1 er) with nine saves, June 26-July 30...tied season-high 2.0 innings, July 19 vs. Detroit...was 1-0, 0.00 (11.0 ip) with five saves, allowing three hits with 12 strikeouts in 10 appearances, August 4-September 4...did not allow a run in final six appearances (6.1 ip), recording five saves, September 18-30...first-batters-faced in relief were 13-for-61 (.213) with 15 strikeouts...converted 37 of 41 (90%) save opportunities to up career totals to 161 of 179 (90%)...was third in American League in games finished (60) and tied for sixth in saves...over the last four seasons (2004-2007) his 160 saves are tied with Mariano Rivera (NYY) for the most in the American League.
2006 Career Highlights:
Did not allow a run in six appearances, going 1-0, 0.00 (6.0 ip) with three saves, April 6-25... converted 10 consecutive save opportunities, April 11-June 17...tied career-high six-game win-streak, April 19-July 14...did not allow a run in eight of nine appearances, going 2-0, 0.90 (10.0 ip, 1 er), May 7-June 2... season-high five strikeouts, his most since June 29, 2000 at Colorado (5), May 23 vs. Cleveland...pitched a season high 2.0 innings on four accounts, including three in the month of June...did not allow a run in 14 appearances (14.0 ip), June 22-July 28 and allowed just one run from June 22-August 8 (0.45 ERA)... recorded 100th career save (99th with Minnesota), June 24 vs. Chicago (NL)...became fifth pitcher in Twins' history with 100 saves, June 28 vs. Los Angeles (NL)...recorded his 30th save of the season and 117th as a Twin, passing Eddie Guardado for second on the the Twins all-time saves list September 9 vs. Detroit...walked a season-high three batters, September 11 but picked up the save working 1.1 innings...recorded his 35th save September 24 at Baltimore, becoming the first pitcher in club history to record 35-or-more saves in three consecutive seasons...first-batters-faced in relief were 17-for-62 (.274)...converted 36 of 38 (95%) save opportunities to up career totals to 124 of 138 (90%)...tied for sixth in league in saves.
2005 Career Highlights:
Did not allow a run in 15 appearances, going 1-0, 0.00 (14.1 ip) with 10 saves, April 5-May 10 . . . converted 13 consecutive save opportunities, April 6-May 24 . . . converted 12 consecutive save opportunities, May 26-July 8 . . . named American League Player of the Week for the week ending July 3 . . . season-high 4 strikeouts, July 10 at Kansas City . . . selected to second career All-Star team, July 12 at Detroit . . . did not allow a run in 17 appearances (19.0 ip), July 16-August 30 . . . converted 9 consecutive save opportunities, July 16-August 30 . . . tied career-high 6-game win-streak, July 20-September 3 . . . tied season-high 2.0 innings, August 27 at Texas . . . did not allow a run in 9 appearnaces (8.2 ip), September 7-October 2 . . . became 3rd pitcher in club history with back-to-back 40-save seasons, September 27 vs. Kansas City . . . averaged 12.1 strikeouts per-9-innings . . . first-batters-faced were 11-63 (.175) with 19 strikeouts . . . had .183 batting-average-against with lefthanders batting .158 (19-120) with 4 homers and righthanders batting .206 (27-131) with 1 homer . . . converted 43 of 48 (90%) save opportunities to up career totals to 88 of 100 (88%) . . . tied for third in league in saves and tied for sixth in games finished (58) . . . established career-highs in strikeouts.
