Joe Borowski
Born: 5/4/1971 in Bayonne, NJ, USA
MLB Debut: 1995-07-09 | Final Game: 2008-07-01
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 225 lbs
Full name: Joseph Thomas Borowski
Biography
Joe Borowski, born in 1971, was a professional baseball pitcher whose career spanned from 1995 to 2008. Over his time in Major League Baseball, Borowski played for several teams, including the New York Yankees, the Chicago Cubs, and the Florida Marlins. He was known for his tenacity on the mound and his ability to close games, finishing his career with a record of 22-34 and an earned run average (ERA) of 4.18. Borowski accumulated a total of 372 strikeouts and recorded 131 saves, showcasing his effectiveness as a late-inning reliever during an era that increasingly relied on specialized bullpen roles.
Borowski’s career was marked by resilience, as he navigated the challenges of a competitive pitching landscape in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was part of the wave of pitchers who emerged as closers during a time when the role was becoming more prominent in baseball strategy. Despite his ups and downs, Borowski's contributions to his teams in critical moments made him a valued player, particularly noted for his performances in high-pressure situations. After retiring in 2008, he left behind a legacy as a reliable arm in the bullpen, remembered for his determination and competitive spirit.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | 34 | 423 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 131 | 454.3 | 450 | 211 | 53 | 177 | 372 | 4.18 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | BAL | AL | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.3 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1.23 | 0.0 |
| 1996 | ATL | NL | 2 | 4 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26.0 | 33 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 4.85 | -668.0 |
| 1997 | ATL | NL | 2 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24.0 | 27 | 10 | 16 | 6 | 3.75 | -785.7 |
| 1997 | NYY | AL | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 9.00 | - |
| 1998 | NYY | AL | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.7 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 6.52 | - |
| 2001 | CHC | NL | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.7 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 32.40 | - |
| 2002 | CHC | NL | 4 | 4 | 73 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 95.7 | 84 | 29 | 29 | 97 | 2.73 | - |
| 2003 | CHC | NL | 2 | 2 | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 68.3 | 53 | 20 | 19 | 66 | 2.63 | - |
| 2004 | CHC | NL | 2 | 4 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 21.3 | 27 | 19 | 15 | 17 | 8.02 | - |
| 2005 | CHC | NL | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 6.55 | - |
| 2005 | TBR | AL | 1 | 5 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35.3 | 26 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 3.82 | - |
| 2006 | MIA | NL | 3 | 3 | 72 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 69.7 | 63 | 29 | 33 | 64 | 3.75 | - |
| 2007 | CLE | AL | 4 | 5 | 69 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 65.7 | 77 | 37 | 17 | 58 | 5.07 | 582.7 |
| 2008 | CLE | AL | 1 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 16.7 | 24 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 7.56 | -956.7 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 423 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0.222 | 0.222 | 0.222 | 0.444 | 0.0 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | BAL | AL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1996 | ATL | NL | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1997 | ATL | NL | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1997 | NYY | AL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1998 | NYY | AL | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2001 | CHC | NL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2002 | CHC | NL | 73 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.286 | 0.0 |
| 2003 | CHC | NL | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2004 | CHC | NL | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2005 | CHC | NL | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2005 | TBR | AL | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2006 | MIA | NL | 72 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2007 | CLE | AL | 69 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2008 | CLE | AL | 18 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | ALCS | CLE | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2007 | ALDS2 | CLE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2003 | NLCS | CHN | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2003 | NLDS2 | CHN | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 13.7 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 2.63 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | ALCS | CLE | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4.0 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4.50 |
| 2007 | ALDS2 | CLE | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4.50 |
| 2003 | NLCS | CHN | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5.7 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1.59 |
| 2003 | NLDS2 | CHN | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.00 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 423 | 1 | 25 | 52 | 2 | 7 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | BAL | P | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | ATL | P | 22 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 1 |
| 1997 | ATL | P | 20 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 1997 | NYA | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | NYA | P | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | CHN | P | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | CHN | P | 73 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 3 |
| 2003 | CHN | P | 68 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | CHN | P | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | CHN | P | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | TBA | P | 32 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | FLO | P | 72 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2007 | CLE | P | 69 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 2008 | CLE | P | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 423 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | TSN All-Star | RP |
| 2007 | TSN Reliever of the Year |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | CLE | AL | $4,000,000 |
| 2007 | CLE | AL | $4,000,000 |
| 2006 | FLO | NL | $327,000 |
| 2005 | CHN | NL | $2,300,000 |
| 2004 | CHN | NL | $2,000,000 |
| 2003 | CHN | NL | $410,000 |
| 2002 | CHN | NL | $235,000 |
| 1998 | NYA | AL | $188,800 |
| 1997 | ATL | NL | $157,500 |
| 1996 | ATL | NL | $111,500 |
| 1995 | BAL | AL | $109,000 |
| Total Career Earnings | $13,838,800 | ||