1988
Born May 28, 1988
Huntsville, AL, USA
Craig Kimbrel Marquee
b. May 28, 1988 · Atlanta Braves 2010–2014, 2025, San Diego Padres 2015, Boston Red Sox 2016–2018, Chicago Cubs 2019–2021, Chicago White Sox 2021, Los Angeles Dodgers 2022, Philadelphia Phillies 2023, Baltimore Orioles 2024, Houston Astros 2025
He saved 46 games as a rookie in 2011, more than anyone has saved in a Rookie of the Year season, and led the National League in saves again in 2012 with 42, in 2013 with 50 and in 2014 with 47. Four other men have led a league in saves four years running, and none has done it five.
His 440 saves trail only Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman, Lee Smith and Kenley Jansen. He struck out 1,282 batters in 821 innings across 851 appearances and was chosen for nine All-Star teams. On June 24, 2021, he finished a combined no-hitter against the Dodgers with Zach Davies, Ryan Tepera and Andrew Chafin.
Nine clubs employed him. He had a 6.53 earned run average for the Cubs in 2019 and a 0.49 for the Cubs in 2021, with 23 saves for Baltimore in 2024 in between. In 2025 he pitched fourteen games, one for Atlanta and thirteen for Houston, and saved none of them.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 9 | 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023 |
| Reliever of the Month | 5 | 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2023 |
| Reliever of the Year Award | 3 | 2012, 2014, 2017 |
| MLB Players Choice Outstanding Rookie | 1 | 2011 |
| Rookie of the Month | 1 | 2011 |
| Rookie of the Year | 1 | 2011 |
| This Year in Baseball Closer of the Year | 1 | 2013 |
| This Year in Baseball Rookie of the Year | 1 | 2011 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 1 | 2017 |
| The Sporting News Reliever of the Year | 1 | 2017 |
| The Sporting News Rookie of the Year | 1 | 2011 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | ATL | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2011 | ATL | 79 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2012 | ATL | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2013 | ATL | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2014 | ATL | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2015 | SDP | 61 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 2016 | BOS | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2017 | BOS | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2018 | BOS | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2019 | CHC | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2020 | CHC | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2021 | CHC/CHW | 63 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 2022 | LAD | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2023 | PHI | 71 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2024 | BAL | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2025 | ATL/HOU | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 851 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | ATL | 4 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 20.2 | 9 | 1 | 16 | 40 | 0.44 |
| 2011 | ATL | 4 | 3 | 79 | 0 | 46 | 77.0 | 48 | 18 | 32 | 127 | 2.10 |
| 2012 | ATL | 3 | 1 | 63 | 0 | 42 | 62.2 | 27 | 7 | 14 | 116 | 1.01 |
| 2013 | ATL | 4 | 3 | 68 | 0 | 50 | 67.0 | 39 | 9 | 20 | 98 | 1.21 |
| 2014 | ATL | 0 | 3 | 63 | 0 | 47 | 61.2 | 30 | 11 | 26 | 95 | 1.61 |
| 2015 | SDP | 4 | 2 | 61 | 0 | 39 | 59.1 | 40 | 17 | 22 | 87 | 2.58 |
| 2016 | BOS | 2 | 6 | 57 | 0 | 31 | 53.0 | 28 | 20 | 30 | 83 | 3.40 |
| 2017 | BOS | 5 | 0 | 67 | 0 | 35 | 69.0 | 33 | 11 | 14 | 126 | 1.43 |
| 2018 | BOS | 5 | 1 | 63 | 0 | 42 | 62.1 | 31 | 19 | 31 | 96 | 2.74 |
| 2019 | CHC | 0 | 4 | 23 | 0 | 13 | 20.2 | 21 | 15 | 12 | 30 | 6.53 |
| 2020 | CHC | 0 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 15.1 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 28 | 5.28 |
| 2021 | CHC/CHW | 4 | 5 | 63 | 0 | 24 | 59.2 | 31 | 15 | 23 | 100 | 2.26 |
| 2022 | LAD | 6 | 7 | 63 | 0 | 22 | 60.0 | 51 | 25 | 28 | 72 | 3.75 |
| 2023 | PHI | 8 | 6 | 71 | 0 | 23 | 69.0 | 44 | 25 | 28 | 94 | 3.26 |
| 2024 | BAL | 7 | 5 | 57 | 0 | 23 | 52.1 | 40 | 31 | 31 | 73 | 5.33 |
| 2025 | ATL/HOU | 0 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 17 | 2.25 |
| Career | — | 56 | 48 | 851 | 0 | 440 | 821.2 | 492 | 236 | 346 | 1282 | 2.58 |
On this day & linked events
2010
Major-league debut: Craig Kimbrel
Craig Kimbrel made a major-league debut on May 7, 2010.
2021
Chicago Cubs Combined No-Hitter, 2021
Zach Davies, Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin and Craig Kimbrel threw a combined no-hitter for the Chicago Cubs against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 24, 2021, winning 4–0.
Image: Jeffrey Hyde, CC BY-SA 2.0