WHY I THINK ROBB NEN SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN
By- Damien
Robb Nen was a flat-out phenomenal relief pitcher. He was the hardest reliever in the league to face for most of his career. Nen’s main pitch was a 92 mph slider with a sharp break that was nicknamed “The Terminator.” He also had a blistering fastball that consistently reached the high 90’s as well as a fearsome splitter. These are the two toughest pitches to face, in my opinion, and they helped Nen to put up fantastic ERA numbers and save totals. Robb Nen started his career with the Rangers in 1993 and ended up splitting the season between them and the Marlins, posting a 2-1 record in 24 games. The Marlins moved him permanently to the bullpen to prevent arm injuries, and he quickly became a star. Nen posted a 2.95 ERA and 15 saves in 1994 and earned 23 saves in 1995. He enjoyed his first sub-2.00 ERA campaign in 1996 and saved 35 games. He won nine games and saved 35 to help the Marlins win the World Series in 1997, but was dealt over to the Giants for the 1998 season. He refused to slow down, and with 40 saves and a miniscule ERA of 1.52, Nen was an all-star in 1998 and again in 1999. He saved 41 ballgames with a career best 1.50 ERA in 2000 and led the National League in saves in 2001. The 2002 season would be Nen’s last, but he was an all-star for the third time and set the MLB record for the most saves in a pitcher’s final season (43), the fruit of his 2.20 ERA. Robb Nen was a very productive relief pitcher who hit the typical Hall of Fame standards among relievers (300 plus saves, sub-3.00 ERA). He enjoyed remarkable success in an era of (steroid-aided) heavy hitting, and was indeed good enough to be enshrined in Cooperstown.
LIFETIME STATISTICS
Games Pitched career: 643 season high: 78 in 1998
Starts career: 4 season high: 4 in 1993
Complete Games career: 0
Shutouts career: 0
Games Finished career: 549 season high: 71 in 2001 led NL: 54 in 1995, 64 in 1999, 71 in 2001
Wins career: 45 season high: 9 in 1997
Losses career: 42 season high: 7 in 1995 and 1998
Winning Percentage career: .517 season high: .833 in 1996
ERA career: 2.98 season low: 1.50 in 2000
WHIP career: 1.213 season low: 0.848 in 2000
Innings Pitched career: 715 season high: 88 ⅔ in 1998
Strikeouts career: 793 season high: 110 in 1998
Strikeouts Per Nine Innings career: 10.0 season high: 12.5 in 2000
Walks career: 260 season high: 46 in 1993
Strikeouts Per Walk career: 3.05 season high: 4.84 in 2000
Saves career: 314 season high: 45 in 2001 led NL: 45 in 2001
Fielding Percentage career: .942 season high: 1.000 in 1993, 1995, 1996, 2001, and 2002
Double Plays career: 8 season high: 2 in 1993
Putouts career: 44 season high: 9 in 1997
Assists career: 69 season high: 10 in 1999
DID YOU KNOW?
-son of Dick Nen
-finished fourth in the NL Cy Young Award voting and 12th in the NL MVP Award voting in 2000
-went 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA and eleven saves in 20 career postseason games
-batted .500 in 2002
-ranks 23rd in career saves and 27th in games finished
-while we was on the Giants, the ninth inning was renamed the “Nenth” inning
-his 71 games finished in 2001 are the nenth most of all time, his 67 in 1998 rank 36th, and his 66 in 1996 and 2002 rank 49th
He had 4 ace level seasons, that's just not enough. Francisco Rodriguez would be better by far. Jose Valverde was almost as good. In my opinion, a reliever has to be really good to make it- if you don't think Lee Smith belongs, why Nen, who had over 100 fewer saves?
ReplyDeleteHere are my thoughts: Francisco Rodriguez is admittedly much better than either Smith or Nen.
DeleteI've changed my mind about Smith for the most part, but I originally rejected him because he barely crossed the 3.00 ERA mark. Across their careers, Nen pitched in a much harder era than Smith did, and he also put up much better strikeout numbers than Smith did.
I can't say that I agree with your comment about Jose Valverde. Nen had an ERA 29 points lower (which is significant) and 26 more saves (which isn't that significant).
I think that Nen reached ace status in 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, and maybe 2001.
I think closers are overrated. Is a closer, given the same stats other than saves, really more valuable than a set-up man? How valuable is it to pitch the 9th inning when you team is up by 3 runs? You'd technically get a save, but an average pitcher wouldn't blow that 95% of the time. Darren O'Day will never make the Hall of Fame even though he has a 2.51 career ERA because he has never been a closer. Why? Because he doesn't throw hard. It is seriously impossible to become a closer if you don't throw hard (only exception I can think of is Ziegler, and that was out of desperation). Closers just aren't that valuable the way they are used today, and so I think marginal closers don't belong in the Hall of Fame.
DeleteI've also read that, on average, pitchers in the 8th inning face better hitters than in the 9th.
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