Blast From the Past: Joe Nathan

Joe Nathan has a torn ACL in his right elbow and will likely undergo "Tommy John" surgery in the near future. The announcement got me to reminiscing about Nathan's career with the Giants, and of course The Trade. Joe Nathan's story is one of the more unusual ones in MLB.

Nathan was a shortstop at Division III SUNY Stony Brook, which has since graduated to a division I program. He was a two time Academic All-American and a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society. Most scouts thought he looked more like a pitcher and noted his plus arm from SS. The Giants drafted him in the 6'th round in 1995. He signed immediately, played infield for Bellingham in the Northwest League, but didn't hit. The Giants wanted him to pitch, but he went back to school for his senior year and graduated. After graduation, he decided to give pitching a try and spent the next two years in the Giants farm system.

Joe Nathan made his MLB debut on April 21, 1999 pitching 7 shutout innings. He had a very live fastball that reached the mid-upper 90's finishing the season at 7-4 with an ERA of 4.18. He struggled in 2000 with shoulder pain and wildness and underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery after the season. For the next two seasons, Joe's fastball deserted him. He struggled in the minors with low velocity and high ERA's. Nathan kept after it, though, and learned how to pitch without the overpowering velocity developing better command and secondary pitches.

Nathan's velocity was back to the mid-90's in the spring of 2003 and he won a bullpen job with the Giants. He became the "high leverage" pitcher going into games at pivotal moments usually with runners on base. He rang up a 12-4 record with an ERA of 2.96. Although he did not record any Saves, he was probably the most valuable reliever, if not pitcher, on the team. Joe struggled a bit late in the season, and in the playoffs, he lost confidence and Felipe Alou, who was an impatient and uncommunicative manager, lost confidence in him. His season ended when Alou yanked him in the middle of an AB in the playoffs against the Florida Marlins. Nathan clearly was afraid to throw a strike, and was making half-hearted pickoff throws to first just to avoid throwing a pitch.

That offseason, the Giants traded Nathan, along with prospects Boof Bonser and Francisco Liriano to the Minnesota Twins for All-Star catcher AJ Pierzynski. Of course, us Giants fans know the rest of this story all too well. AJ was a disaster in San Francisco while the Twins immediately installed Joe Nathan as their closer where he proceeded to save 246 games over the next 6 seasons while never exceeding an ERA of 2.70.

Joe Nathan's story is another microcosm of my entire experience as a Giants fan. Great promise, disappointment, bad trades and what ifs. After all the patience the organization showed him in the minors and after his shoulder surgery, why did they give up on him so quickly after his confidence lapse in 2003? What role did Felipe Alou play in losing Nathan? What if the Giants had kept Nathan and made him the closer in 2004? Would Steve Finley have hit that grand slam HR? Would the Giants have already clinched the division making Finley's HR a non-factor? Would the Giants have spent their money on someone other than Armando Benitez before the 2005 season? What if? What if? What if?