April 5, 2004

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Brad Radke began pitching when he was 8. Kyle Lohse has pitched since he could hold a baseball.

Joe Nathan? He really didn't begin until 1997.

The Twins' erudite righthander, one of three players acquired from San Francisco for A.J. Pierzynski, has operated under a different vibe.

Nathan, 29, earned a college degree before he learned how to throw a good slider . . . and curveball . . . and changeup. He had quit baseball in 1996, only to ask back a year later after getting that degree.

Seven years later, the late bloomer is being asked to blossom into a full-fledged closer and save games for the two-time defending AL Central Division champions.

"Since 1997 . . . yeah, that's right," Nathan said. "It doesn't feel like seven years. It's pretty amazing. I don't think many people would expect that."

The new career could begin tonight, when the Twins open the season against Cleveland at the Metrodome. The Twins are convinced Nathan will successfully replace Eddie Guardado, who saved 86 games in two seasons before signing with Seattle as a free agent.

He had the arm

Nathan's career was cultivated at Stony Brook (N.Y.) University, then an NCAA Division III school, where he walked through the doors listed at 6-1 and 170 pounds -- if you included his book bag.

"When Joe came in as a freshman, it was very clear he had a tremendous arm," baseball coach Matt Senk said. "Even then, although he came in much smaller, you could see he had the body type that, if he grew into it, he would be a classic pitcher."

Senk had a deep pitching staff, so he decided Nathan would best help the team at shortstop. Nathan wasn't a slouch at the plate, batting .394 with a school-record eight triples his junior year, and he had that great arm.

"We were a better team with Joe at short," said Senk, whose team was 30-8 that season.

Nathan never pitched in high school, but Senk used him in three games his junior year. He had two saves and gave up one unearned run in 1 2/3 innings. After Nathan hit 91 miles per hour, scouts were intrigued by his potential.

Nathan, who had grown to 6-4, was drafted as a shortstop by San Francisco in the sixth round in 1995. He played in Bellingham, Wash., surrounded by more talented position players. But he still was caught off-guard when the club ordered him to learn how to pitch at the end of spring training in 1996.

"It was tough," Nathan said. "That was very hard. [Getting drafted] was, obviously, something I worked for all my life. All of a sudden, this may be it. It was tough, and I needed to clear my head."

Back to school

Nathan, a two-time academic All-America, quit baseball, returned to Stony Brook and earned a business management degree. He worked a couple jobs, including one at a bar. He then looked into careers other than baseball.

"I went in with my buddy to see what stockbrokers do," Nathan said. "I did it for like a week. I couldn't do that. They are on the phone for like eight, 10 hours a day. And that's not me."

Nathan then told the Giants he was ready to focus on baseball and returned to the organization in 1997. Coaches liked what they saw, especially minor league pitching coordinator Todd Oakes, the former Spring Grove, Minn., high school star who is now the Gophers' pitching coach.

"His delivery, for not having pitched much, was decent," Oakes said. "He didn't look like a position player trying to pitch."

By the time Oakes saw him again, at Class AA Shreveport (La.) in 1998, Nathan had better command of his fastball and a good, but not yet accurate, curveball.

"You could see the maturity in the emotional aspects of the game," Oakes said. "They got him in the right mindset, got him some confidence, and he believed in his ability."

Nathan made his major league debut the next season; his first pitch was clocked at 97 mph. He was deemed a future star in the rotation.

Then came 2000 and a mysterious shoulder injury.

Nathan was playing catch with current Twin Aaron Fultz and felt something strange in his shoulder. That began a period of examinations and decreased velocity that ended with shoulder surgery in October.

While working his way back from surgery -- and seeing his fastball flounder in the mid to upper 80s -- Nathan developed a slider. He eventually got his velocity back to the 93-95 range, and his slider became a dominant pitch.

A major leaguer

Everything came together last season, when he was 12-4 with a 2.96 ERA and became a reliable setup man. When the Twins traded for him, the hope was Nathan would set up whoever the Twins were able to re-sign between Guardado and LaTroy Hawkins. When both departed as free agents, Nathan was given the closer's job.

If he succeeds, he'll join a group that includes San Diego's Trevor Hoffman (infielder) and Anaheim's Troy Percival (catcher) who have thrived as closers after being drafted at a different position. If Nathan shows he has the mental fortitude to shake off bad outings, then it will be official.

"You can't judge him yet," Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said. "We don't know and we won't know until after the season begins. He's got a lot of the attributes, though. He's been around. He's got pitches. He's got a resilient arm. He's got a couple different ways to get lefties out. A couple ways to get righties out.

"Now we have to see when the time and opportunity arises what the response will be. But that's what we did with Eddie and LaTroy and Rick Aguilera."

Oakes and others helped Nathan in the minors. Coaches Dave Righetti and Ron Perranoski and reliever Tim Worrell have helped him in the majors. The Twins are providing the stage and spotlight for Nathan to take the next step in his seven-year pitching career.

"They've taught me how to be a big leaguer, how to act in this game, and to keep learning even though you're already here," Nathan said of his mentors. "It's going to be a learning process all the way through."