Nathan provides relief

Former shortstop now Twins' All-Star closer

By David Dorsey
Fort Myers News Press

The thought of switching from shortstop to pitcher so discouraged Joe Nathan nine years ago that he left baseball for a year, returning to the State University of New York-Stony Brook to complete his degree in business management.

"At the time, my head wasn't clear," Nathan said. "I was like, 'Man, I need to take a step back and finish school. Because if you don't make it, it's a lot tougher to go back later on.' "

Nathan sure has made it.

When the Minnesota Twins' pitchers and catchers ran out to the Lee County Sports Complex fields Monday morning for their first official workout of spring training, Nathan did so as one of baseball's biggest surprises from last season.

"Maybe he did surpass all expectations," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "When he started, we were just hoping he could do it, to tell you the truth. He has the right mentality for the job. He doesn't worry about anything out there."

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound right-handed relief pitcher ranked third in the American League with 44 saves as the Twins finished with their third consecutive Central Division title.

Nathan, 30, had a 1.62 ERA. He surrendered only three home runs all season, and he held opposing hitters to a .187 batting average.

"You can count on one hand the number of times he didn't get things done," Twins middle relief pitcher J.C. Romero said.

Indeed, Nathan blew just three save opportunities last season.

"Being his first year as a closer, that was pretty impressive," Romero said. "You know what, he kept his composure. He shut the door."

Nathan, who took the year off in 1996, returned to the San Francisco Giants in 1997.

While finishing his college degree, Nathan sometimes accompanied friends to their Wall Street jobs in New York City.

"I found out that's not for me, sitting on the phone all day," Nathan said.

So Nathan called the Giants, who selected him in the sixth round of the 1995 free-agent draft. They agreed to work with him, but only as a pitcher.

Nathan's college coach, Matt Senk, had tried to persuade Nathan to switch positions earlier, to no avail. Nathan did pitch, but only sparingly, in college.

"The first time Joe worked out for us on campus, I watched him throw the ball across the diamond," said Senk, who's entering his 15th season at the helm of SUNY-Stony Brook, a Division III school during Nathan's time there in 1993-95. "I said, 'How come you've never been on the mound?' He had, from day one, tremendous arm strength.

"But he was very adamant about not getting on the mound because he loved being a position player."

When asked if he knew then what he knows now if he would have quit playing shortstop, Nathan didn't hesitate.

"No," he said. "I enjoyed it. I enjoyed being a position player. It was fun. I had a good time doing that. As a kid growing up, everyone wanted to hit."

And Nathan could hit. He had a .378 batting average at Stony Brook. He has even slugged two home runs during his major-league career.

"He's arguably the best player in our program's history," Senk said of Nathan, the first and so far only player from the program to reach the big leagues. "And he's not only a great player, he's a very bright guy. He was a two-time Academic All-American."

In 1997, Nathan began working his way up the minor-league ladder, reaching the major leagues for the first time in 1999. He played his first full big-league season in 2003 as a middle reliever, going 12-4, with a 2.96 ERA, for the Giants.

The Twins then traded catcher A.J. Pierzynski for Nathan, along with pitchers Boof Bonser and Francisco Liriano.

Nathan had to replace former Twins closer Eddie Guardado, who led the team with 41 saves in 2003 and 45 in 2002.

"I wasn't nervous about it, but there was always that question mark," Nathan said. "You never know how you're going to do until you do it."

Nathan became an immediate All-Star.

"I picked up on it pretty quick," he said of pitching. "But I'm still learning now. That's something you do throughout the course of your career."