Atlanta Braves Opening Day countdown: 46, closers

The Atlanta Braves have had incredible young pitchers step right into big responsibility. We look at two with #46.

With all the success the Atlanta Braves have experienced in starting pitching, closers have been often short-lived in the franchise history. However, the team has given a chance to young arms in the past with the responsibility of closing out games. We look at two with #46, Kerry Ligtenberg and Craig Kimbrel.

Ligtenberg

A high school pitcher from Minnesota that went on to pitch for the University of Minnesota, Kerry Ligtenberg completed college without interest from major league clubs, so he stayed close to home and pitched with a local Indy Ball club in Minneapolis, where he was under the management of former Braves catcher Greg Olson. Olson tipped his former club to his pitcher, and in 1996, the Braves signed the 25-year-old and reportedly included some baseballs and bats for Olson’s club as part of the transaction, which became quite a meme around the league for a number of years.

Ligtenberg immediately transitioned to the bullpen in high-A in his first season. He worked all the way to the major leagues in his second pro season in 1997, making 15 appearances with the Braves. Then 1998 happened.

Mark Wohlers, who had served as the team’s closer for multiple seasons, suddenly could not find the plate, and though he was not allowing in runs, Wohlers had walked 7 in 6 innings by April 20th. That was the day that Ligtenberg picked up his first save.

Beginning in early-May, Ligtenberg picked up a save in four straight games. By the end of the season, Ligtenberg had picked up 30 saves with a 2.71 ERA over 73 innings, with a 24/79 BB/K. He finished in the top-5 of Rookie of the Year voting.

Ligtenberg was injured the following season with Tommy John and saw another rookie take over the closer job. He would pitch three more seasons with the Braves once he returned, then pitched in three more seasons before he finished his big league career.

Over 5 seasons for the Atlanta Braves, Ligtenberg pitched 266 2/3 innings, saving 44 games, with a 3.04 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and a 115/256 BB/K ratio.

Kimbrel

Most know Craig Kimbrel’s incredible path. He was a rare reliever who actually was a top-100 prospect before 2011. In his rookie season in 2011, Kimbrel made the All-Star game, won the Rookie of the Year Award, and he even finished in the top-10 of Cy Young voting that season as he saved 46 games, with a 2.10 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and a 32/127 BB/K ratio over 77 innings.

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Incredibly, that would be Kimbrel’s worst statistical season of his Atlanta Braves career. He led the National League in saves four straight seasons. He posted three seasons with an ERA under 1.65 after his rookie year and never again had a WHIP above 1.00 with the Braves.

The Braves traded Kimbrel just ahead of the 2015 season in order to move BJ Upton’s inflated contract. While none of the players originally acquired in the trade are still with the Atlanta Braves, the competitive balance pick that the Braves received in that deal became Austin Riley.

Over 4+ seasons for the Atlanta Braves, Kimbrel pitched in 289 innings, with a 1.43 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 186 saves, and a 108/476 BB/K ratio.

While some Atlanta Braves may be worried about having a pitcher with as little experience as A.J. Minter leading the bullpen in 2019, Braves history and the #46 shows that this is a fairly common occurrence in team history!