| Robb Nen | |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1969-11-28)November 28, 1969 (age 55) San Pedro, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 10, 1993, for the Texas Rangers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 28, 2002, for the San Francisco Giants | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 45–42 |
| Earned run average | 2.98 |
| Strikeouts | 793 |
| Saves | 314 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Robb Allen Nen (born November 28, 1969) is an American formerMajor League Baseball right-handedrelief pitcher. He spent most of his career as acloser. He is the son of former major leaguefirst basemanDick Nen.
Nen pitched for theFlorida Marlins (1993–97); in 1997, Nen won theWorld Series championship with the Marlins. He also played with theSan Francisco Giants (1998–2002), with whom he was a three-timeAll-Star and played in the2002 World Series, and theTexas Rangers (1993).
Nen has 314 careersaves with the Marlins (1993–1997; 108 saves) and Giants (1998–2002; 206 saves). He was 8th overall in career saves when he retired, and stands 25th overall as of September 13, 2023.[1]
He attendedLos Alamitos High School and played varsity baseball with future Giants Gold Glove-winning first basemanJ. T. Snow. Nen played mostly atthird base, and also did some pitching. He skipped college and went directly to theminor leagues.
Nen was selected by the Rangers as a pitcher in the 32nd round of the1987 MLB draft. The Rangers promoted him to their Major League roster in1993. His partial season with the Rangers was marred by injuries and subpar results on the mound, resulting in a 6.35earned run average.
On July 17 of his first year, the Rangers traded Nen and pitcher Kurt Miller to theFlorida Marlins forCris Carpenter.[2] Nen started one game for his new team and finished the 1993 season with a disappointing 7.02 ERA. The followingseason, the Marlins moved him to the bullpen in an effort to reduce the frequency of his arm injuries. Nen flourished in his new role and became the Marlins' new closer that year. He finished the strike-shortened 1994 season with 15 saves and a 2.95 ERA. Nen would continue to be a dominating closer for the Marlins, racking up a total of 108 saves and establishing himself as one of the elite closers of the 1990s. During the1997 postseason, Nen pitched in eight games, including two saves in theWorld Series, as well as1+2⁄3 innings of scoreless relief in the 9th and 10th innings of Game 7 while the Marlins came back in the last inning, and subsequently won the World Series in the bottom of the 11th. Throughout the 1997 playoffs, Florida didn't lose a single game in which Nen made an appearance.
In a controversial move, the Marlins held a "fire sale" in which they traded away most of their high-caliber players in favor of gaining prospects and utilizing many of their minor league players, all while keeping their team payroll low. On November 18, 1997, Nen was traded to the Giants for Mike Villano,Joe Fontenot and Mick Pageler.
Nen was expected to fill in the closer role, a role recently vacated byRod Beck, who left via free agency to theChicago Cubs. If Beck had set the bar high for a San Francisco closer (199 saves in his seven-year tenure with the Giants), Nen would raise the bar. His first year yielded 40 saves with a 1.52 ERA and 110 strikeouts in88+2⁄3 innings. As a Giant, Nen was selected to threeAll-Star Games (1998, 1999, 2002) and finished 4th in voting for the2000National LeagueCy Young Award and 12th in the NLMVP voting (the award went to teammateJeff Kent), both high honors for a closer. The following year, Nen led the National League with 45 saves. The 9th inning was affectionately renamed the "Nenth" by fans.
The Giants, the National Leaguewild card team, and theAnaheim Angels, theAmerican League wild card team, played a seven-game series in which Nen earned two saves. Behind the pitching of starterRuss Ortiz, the Giants appeared to be cruising to an easy 5–0 victory in the critical Game 6 of2002 World Series and their first World Series title since 1954 (when they were still the New York Giants). In the seventh inning, however, Ortiz ran into trouble and was relieved byFelix Rodríguez. Rodriguez then gave up a three-runhome run to the Angels'Scott Spiezio.
The Angels tacked on another run in the eighth with a lead-off home run byDarin Erstad. After two more runners reached base safely in the eighth, Nen came in to relieveTim Worrell and try to protect what was now a shaky one-run Giants lead. Nen was unable to shut down the Angels' surge, and gave up a two-rundouble to eventual series MVPTroy Glaus, which put the Angels ahead by one run. They hung on to win the game, and won the series following a win the next day. Nen pitched with full awareness that he was likely jeopardizing his career and remains admired by Giants' fans for his self-sacrifice. It was, in fact, his final appearance. The eight save opportunities (with seven saved) in one postseason is a record, tied in 2015 byJeurys Familia; the seven saves ties the mark with five other pitchers (John Wetteland,Troy Percival,Brad Lidge,Koji Uehara andGreg Holland).
During the next two seasons, Nen spent time rehabilitating from three surgeries for a tornrotator cuff that he had aggravated during the middle of the 2002 season. The tear went through 40 to 75% of his right shoulder. When his contract with the Giants ended after the 2004 season, Nen filed for free agency but was not picked up by any team.[3]
On February 20, 2005, Nen formally announced his retirement.[4] He is the all-time saves leader for the Giants with 206 saves.[5] His locker was maintained throughout the 2003 and 2004 seasons as he last left it and was formally retired in 2005, but his jersey continued to hang in the locker room both at home and on the road. He would have a day dedicated to him in San Francisco at their home park (known at the time as SBC Park) on July 9 of that year; he noted at the time of his retirement that he had no regrets for how his career ended.
Nen was known for an unusual delivery in which he tapped his toe on the ground before releasing the ball. His signature pitch, aslider, was nicknamed "The Terminator" with a velocity of up to 92 mph. In addition to the slider, Nen had a fastball that reached the upper 90s. Asplitter rounded out Nen's pitching arsenal.
Nen joined the Giants' baseball operations department as an instructor on both the major and minor league levels, while also advising general manager Brian Sabean on an as-needed basis.
In a ceremony before their July 9, 2005, game against theSt. Louis Cardinals, the Giants honored Nen with a plaque commemorating his 300th career save. The plaque is now located on the public walkway behind the right-field wall ofOracle Park, not far fromMcCovey Cove.