Craig Kimbrel, baseball player, 2010

Craig Kimbrel

Active Player

Born: 5/28/1988 in Huntsville, AL, USA

MLB Debut: 2010-05-07

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 215 lbs

Full name: Craig Michael Kimbrel

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Biography

Craig Kimbrel, born in 1988, is an active Major League Baseball pitcher known for his dominant presence on the mound since making his debut in 2010. With a career record of 56-47 and an impressive earned run average (ERA) of 2.59, Kimbrel has established himself as one of the premier closers of his generation. He has recorded 1,265 strikeouts and amassed 440 saves, showcasing his ability to consistently perform under pressure and secure victories for his teams. His power fastball and devastating curveball have made him a formidable opponent for hitters, and his unique pitching style is characterized by an intense delivery and a high strikeout rate. Kimbrel's accolades include being recognized as the MLB Players Choice Outstanding Rookie, Rookie of the Month on multiple occasions, and earning the Rookie of the Year award, along with the This Year in Baseball Rookie of the Year honor. His nine All-Star selections reflect his sustained excellence and impact on the game. As a key figure in modern baseball, Kimbrel continues to influence the role of the closer in the ever-evolving landscape of the sport, contributing to his team's success while leaving a lasting legacy in professional baseball.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
56 49 855 0 0 0 440 825.3 495 236 75 347 1285 2.57 0

Career ERA 2.57 vs. league average 4.11 across their career seasons — 37.4% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
2010 ATL NL 4 0 21 0 0 0 1 20.7 9 1 16 40 0.44 4.08 (+89%) 1322.7
2011 ATL NL 4 3 79 0 0 0 46 77.0 48 18 32 127 2.10 3.94 (+47%) 4739.2
2012 ATL NL 3 1 63 0 0 0 42 62.7 27 7 14 116 1.01 4.01 (+75%) 5131.5
2013 ATL NL 4 3 68 0 0 0 50 67.0 39 9 20 98 1.21 3.87 (+69%) 3289.2
2014 ATL NL 0 3 63 0 0 0 47 61.7 30 11 26 95 1.61 3.74 (+57%) 2975.2
2015 SDP NL 4 2 61 0 0 0 39 59.3 40 17 22 87 2.58 3.96 (+35%) -
2016 BOS AL 2 6 57 0 0 0 31 53.0 28 20 30 83 3.40 4.19 (+19%) 1700.8
2017 BOS AL 5 0 67 0 0 0 35 69.0 33 11 14 126 1.43 4.36 (+67%) 5142.6
2018 BOS AL 5 1 63 0 0 0 42 62.3 31 19 31 96 2.74 4.15 (+34%) 1610.4
2019 CHC NL 0 4 23 0 0 0 13 20.7 21 15 12 30 6.53 4.51 (-45%) -
2020 CHC NL 0 1 18 0 0 0 2 15.3 10 9 12 28 5.28 4.45 (-19%) -
2021 CHC NL 2 3 39 0 0 0 23 36.7 13 2 13 64 0.49 4.27 (+88%) -
2021 CHW AL 2 2 24 0 0 0 1 23.0 18 13 10 36 5.09 4.27 (-19%) -
2022 LAD NL 6 7 63 0 0 0 22 60.0 51 25 28 72 3.75 3.97 (+6%) -
2023 PHI NL 8 6 71 0 0 0 23 69.0 44 25 28 94 3.26 4.33 (+25%) 920.1
2024 BAL AL 7 5 57 0 0 0 23 52.3 40 31 31 73 5.33 4.08 (-31%) -133.7
2025 ATL NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 1 0 1 1 0.00 — 0.0
2025 HOU AL 0 1 13 0 0 0 0 11.0 9 3 6 16 2.45 4.14 (+41%) -18.6
2026 NYM NL 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 3.7 3 0 1 3 0.00 — -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
851 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.0

Career AVG .000 vs. league average .251 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OBP .000 vs. league average .318 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career SLG .000 vs. league average .407 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OPS 0.000 vs. league average 0.726 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
2010 ATL NL 21 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2011 ATL NL 79 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2012 ATL NL 63 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2013 ATL NL 68 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2014 ATL NL 63 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2015 SDP NL 61 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2016 BOS AL 57 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2017 BOS AL 67 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2018 BOS AL 63 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2019 CHC NL 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2020 CHC NL 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2021 CHC NL 39 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2021 CHW AL 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2022 LAD NL 63 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2023 PHI NL 71 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2024 BAL AL 57 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2025 ATL NL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2025 HOU AL 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2023 NLCS PHI 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2023 NLDS1 PHI 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2023 NLWC2 PHI 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2021 ALDS1 CHA 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2020 NLWC3 CHN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2018 ALCS BOS 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2018 ALDS1 BOS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2018 WS BOS 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2017 ALDS2 BOS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2016 ALDS2 BOS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2013 NLDS2 ATL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2012 NLWC ATL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2010 NLDS2 ATL 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 3 30 0 10 30.0 23 15 20 32 4.50

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2023 NLCS PHI 0 2 4 0 1 3.0 5 4 4 4 12.00
2023 NLDS1 PHI 0 0 2 0 1 2.0 0 0 1 1 0.00
2023 NLWC2 PHI 0 0 1 0 1 1.0 1 0 0 0 0.00
2021 ALDS1 CHA 0 0 3 0 0 2.0 3 2 1 0 9.00
2020 NLWC3 CHN 0 0 1 0 0 1.3 0 0 2 2 0.00
2018 ALCS BOS 0 0 3 0 3 4.0 4 2 4 4 4.50
2018 ALDS1 BOS 0 0 2 0 2 2.3 2 3 2 4 11.57
2018 WS BOS 0 0 4 0 1 4.3 3 2 2 2 4.15
2017 ALDS2 BOS 0 0 2 0 0 2.0 4 1 1 2 4.50
2016 ALDS2 BOS 0 0 2 0 0 1.3 0 0 0 3 0.00
2013 NLDS2 ATL 0 0 1 0 1 1.3 0 0 2 2 0.00
2012 NLWC ATL 0 0 1 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 1 0.00
2010 NLDS2 ATL 0 1 4 0 0 4.3 1 1 1 7 2.08

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 851 0 33 47 4 2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
2010 ATL P 21 0 0 0 1 0
2011 ATL P 79 0 4 7 0 0
2012 ATL P 63 0 0 5 0 0
2013 ATL P 68 0 3 4 0 0
2014 ATL P 63 0 4 6 0 0
2015 SDN P 61 0 4 3 1 1
2016 BOS P 57 0 0 2 0 0
2017 BOS P 67 0 6 6 0 1
2018 BOS P 63 0 2 3 0 0
2019 CHN P 23 0 0 1 0 0
2020 CHN P 18 0 0 1 0 0
2021 CHN P 39 0 2 1 0 0
2021 CHA P 24 0 0 1 0 0
2022 LAN P 63 0 3 3 0 0
2023 PHI P 71 0 2 0 1 0
2024 BAL P 57 0 3 2 1 0
2025 ATL P 1 0 0 1 0 0
2025 HOU P 13 0 0 1 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 851

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
2023 Reliever of the Month June
2017 Reliever of the Month May
2017 Reliever of the Year Award
2017 TSN All-Star RP
2017 TSN Reliever of the Year
2014 Reliever of the Year Award
2013 Reliever of the Month August
2013 This Year in Baseball Closer of the Year MLB.com GIBBY
2012 Reliever of the Month September
2012 Reliever of the Year Award
2011 MLB Players Choice Outstanding Rookie
2011 Reliever of the Month August
2011 Rookie of the Month August
2011 Rookie of the Month June
2011 Rookie of the Year
2011 This Year in Baseball Rookie of the Year MLB.com GIBBY
2011 TSN Rookie of the Year

Featured In Rankings

#9
Top 20 Closers of All Time in History of MLB Baseball
Ranked 9 of 20
→

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
2016 BOS AL $11,000,000
2015 SDN NL $9,000,000
2014 ATL NL $7,000,000
2013 ATL NL $655,000
2012 ATL NL $590,000
2011 ATL NL $419,000
Total Career Earnings $28,664,000

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
2017 Cy Young Award AL 6th 27.0 210 0
2014 Cy Young Award NL 9th 3.0 210 0
2013 Cy Young Award NL 4th 39.0 210 0
2013 Most Valuable Player NL 11th 27.0 420 0
2012 Cy Young Award NL 5th 41.0 224 1
2012 Most Valuable Player NL 8th 73.0 448 0
2011 Cy Young Award NL 9th 2.0 224 0
2011 Most Valuable Player NL 23th 1.0 448 0
2011 Rookie of the Year NL 1st 160.0 160 32