By Bill Chuck & Corey Seidman
Since 2006, Jonathan Papelbon has earned 219 of the 259 saves recorded by the Boston Red Sox. During that time, only 13 other relievers have recorded saves with Mike Timlin picking up 11 of them.
Over that same period of time, the Phillies have recorded 262 saves by 19 pitchers with the leaders being Brad Lidge with 100, Ryan Madson with 51, and Tom Gordon with 42.
The only question that remains is, will Papelbon import to Philly his entrance song, Im Shipping up to Boston by the Dropkick Murphys?
Heres Nine to Know about Jonathan Papelbon, the new closer for the Phillies.
1. Jonathan Papelbon has 219 saves in 248 opportunities, a success rate of 88 percent.
Seidman: From 2005-11, only Mariano Rivera, Jose Valverde, Joe Nathan and Trevor Hoffman had 200 saves and a better success rate.
2. Since 2006, Jonathan Papelbon finished 330 games, trailing only Francisco Rodriguez (331), Jose Valverde (335), Mariano Rivera (342), and Francisco Cordero (354).
Seidman: The terms of Papelbon's fifth-year vesting option have not been disclosed, but games finished is a typical criterion for closers.
MLB
3. Paps WHIP of 0.98 since 2006 trails only Joe Nathan (0.95) and Mariano Rivera (0.90).
Seidman: Though over the last two seasons, Madson (1.100) has actually allowed fewer walks and hits per innings pitched than Papelbon (1.104).
4. Among relievers who have thrown at least 380 innings since 2006, Papelbon is fourth with 98 walks allowed in 395.1 innings trailing only Rafael Betancourt (81 in 387.2 innings), Matt Capps (80 in 406.1 innings), and Mariano Rivera (60 in 404.2 Innings).
Seidman: Papelbon walked a ridiculously low number of batters in 2008 and in 2011, but 2009 and 2010 were tougher control years.
5. Since 2006, no reliever with at least 380 innings pitched has allowed a smaller percentage of inherited runners to score than Papelbons 21.93 percent.
Seidman: A great stat, shows that Papelbon has the stuff to work out of jams.
6. Papelbon has a 0.96 ERA in his career in saves, a 4-12 record with a 2.39 ERA in save situations, and a 19-7 record with a 2.23 ERA in non-save situations.
Seidman: The cliche that closers struggle in non-save situations is overstated. If you look at the entire sample of closers in non-save situations, the difference is negligible.
7. Overall, as a reliever, batters have hit .202 against Papelbon with 29 homers.
Seidman: Madson - .246 opponents' batting average with 43 homers.
8. Papelbon pitched more than one inning 13 times in 2008, a career high, but has done it just 13 times in 2010-11 combined.
Seidman: One-plus inning saves are largely a thing of the past. For what it's worth, Madson pitched more than one inning only three times in 2010-11.
9. Papelbon does not produce many ground balls that are converted into double plays. Since 2006 he has a total of seven. This year he had none in 36 opportunities, he had two in 36 opportunities last season and none in 55 opportunities in 2009.
Seidman: The Phillies will miss Madson's double play-ability. Thanks to his now famous, disappearing changeup, Madson induced 24 double plays from 2008-11.
Bill Chuck writes a daily baseball column, Billy-Ball.com. His anecdotal Red Sox stats column, Nation STATion, appears twice weekly for Comcast SportsNet New England during the baseball season.
E-mail Corey Seidman at cseidman@comcastsportsnet.com.