Best of The San Francisco Giants: Top 10 Relief Pitching Seasons (UPDATED)
By Phil Watson
3. Robb Nen, 1998
| Year ▾ | Age | W | L | ERA | G | GF | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA+ | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 28 | 7 | 7 | 1.52 | 78 | 67 | 40 | 88.2 | 59 | 15 | 4 | 25 | 110 | 266 | 0.947 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/12/2014.
Nen was acquired from the defending World Series champion Marlins, who had knocked the Giants out of the postseason the previous October, sending Joe Fontenot, Mike Pageler and Mike Villano to Florida in one of the biggest steals ever. The deal was made in part because Marlins owner Wayne Huizenga was in the process of gutting his championship squad to slash payroll after he claimed the team lost money on the way to the title.
Miami’s loss was definitely San Francisco’s gain. Nen earned his first All-Star berth while posting the fourth-best ERA in the National League among relievers with at least 50 appearances.
Nen converted 40 of 45 save opportunities and allowed only five of 21 inherited baserunners to score while pitching in very high leverage situations, a 2.149 average leverage index on the season (1.0 is considered average).
Nen was second in the NL with 78 appearances and fourth with 40 saves and among relievers ranked third with an ERA-plus of 266, an opposing OPS-plus of 36, 11.17 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.947 WHIP.