What years did Jonathan Papelbon play?

Jonathan Papelbon played in Major League Baseball from 2005 to 2016.

Was Jonathan Papelbon a pitcher?

Yes. Jonathan Papelbon pitched in the major leagues, recording 41 wins and 808 strikeouts.

What teams did Jonathan Papelbon play for?

Jonathan Papelbon played for 3 teams: the Boston Red Sox (2005–2011), the Philadelphia Phillies (2012–2015), and the Washington Nationals (2015–2016).

Did Jonathan Papelbon win a Cy Young Award?

No. Jonathan Papelbon did not win the Cy Young Award.

What awards did Jonathan Papelbon win?

Jonathan Papelbon was selected to 6 All-Star Games.

What were Jonathan Papelbon's career stats?

In 689 games, Jonathan Papelbon went 41-36 with a 2.44 ERA, 808 strikeouts, 725.2 innings pitched, and 368 saves.

What was Jonathan Papelbon's salary?

Jonathan Papelbon's last recorded salary was $10,936,574, in 2016. His highest recorded salary was $13,000,000, in 2013, and his lowest was $335,400, in 2006. The Salary History table lists each season from 2006 to 2016.

What position did Jonathan Papelbon play?

Jonathan Papelbon played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Jonathan Papelbon and how much did he weigh?

Jonathan Papelbon was listed at 6 feet 5 inches and 230 pounds.

What was Jonathan Papelbon's career ERA?

Jonathan Papelbon finished with a 2.44 career ERA, going 41-36 with 808 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Jonathan Papelbon have?

Jonathan Papelbon recorded 808 career strikeouts.

Is Jonathan Papelbon in the Hall of Fame?

No. Jonathan Papelbon has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

How many All-Star Games did Jonathan Papelbon make?

Jonathan Papelbon was selected to 6 All-Star Games.

Jonathan Papelbon

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (2005-2016)

Jonathan Papelbon was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 2005 to 2016 for the Boston Red Sox, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Washington Nationals, a span of 12 seasons. Across 689 career appearances, he went 41-36 with a 2.44 ERA, 808 strikeouts, and 368 saves. Jonathan Papelbon was a 6-time All-Star and a Babe Ruth Award. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 24415.8.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated October 15, 2026

W–L 41–36

ERA 2.44

WHIP 1.04

SO 808

Pitcher PIV 24415.8

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'5" / 230 lb
Born: 11/23/1980 in Baton Rouge, LA, USA
MLB Debut: 2005-07-31
Last Game: 2016-08-06
Awards: 6× All-Star · Babe Ruth Award

Full name: Jonathan Robert Papelbon

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Career Pitching Statistics

Jonathan Papelbon — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
41	36	689	3	0	0	368	725.2	572	197	57	185	808	2.44	24415.8

Career ERA 2.44 vs. league average 4.14 across their career seasons — 41.0% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jonathan Papelbon Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
2005	BOS	AL	3	1	17	3	0	34.0	33	10	17	34	2.65	4.29 (+38%)	-19.7
2006	BOS	AL	4	2	59	0	35	68.1	40	7	13	75	0.92	4.53 (+80%)	4140.1
2007	BOS	AL	1	3	59	0	37	58.1	30	12	15	84	1.85	4.47 (+59%)	2984.2
2008	BOS	AL	5	4	67	0	41	69.1	58	18	8	77	2.34	4.32 (+46%)	4073.1
2009	BOS	AL	1	1	66	0	38	68.0	54	14	24	76	1.85	4.32 (+57%)	2187.1
2010	BOS	AL	5	7	65	0	37	67.0	57	29	28	76	3.90	4.08 (+5%)	964.4
2011	BOS	AL	4	1	63	0	31	64.1	50	21	10	87	2.94	3.94 (+25%)	3926.2
2012	PHI	NL	5	6	70	0	38	70.0	56	19	18	92	2.44	4.01 (+39%)	1988.1
2013	PHI	NL	5	1	61	0	29	61.2	59	20	11	57	2.92	3.87 (+24%)	1276.5
2014	PHI	NL	2	3	66	0	39	66.1	45	15	15	63	2.04	3.74 (+46%)	2036.3
2015	PHI	NL	2	1	37	0	17	39.2	31	7	8	40	1.59	3.96 (+60%)	953.7
2015	WAS	NL	2	2	22	0	7	23.2	22	8	4	16	3.04	3.96 (+23%)	-535.2
2016	WAS	NL	2	4	37	0	19	35.0	37	17	14	31	4.37	4.19 (-4%)	441.1
Career · 13 seasons			41	36	689	3	368	725.2	572	197	185	808	2.44	—	24,416

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Jonathan Papelbon — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
689	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jonathan Papelbon Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
2005	BOS	AL	17	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2006	BOS	AL	59	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2007	BOS	AL	59	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2008	BOS	AL	67	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2009	BOS	AL	66	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2010	BOS	AL	65	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2011	BOS	AL	63	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2012	PHI	NL	70	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2013	PHI	NL	61	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2014	PHI	NL	66	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2015	PHI	NL	37	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2015	WAS	NL	22	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2016	WAS	NL	37	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 13 seasons			689	—	—	—	—	—	0

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Jonathan Papelbon — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Jonathan Papelbon — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AVG
2009	ALDS2	BOS	2	.000
2008	ALCS	BOS	4	.000
2008	ALDS1	BOS	3	.000
2007	ALCS	BOS	3	.000
2007	ALDS1	BOS	1	.000
2007	WS	BOS	3	.000
2005	ALDS1	BOS	2	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Jonathan Papelbon — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
2	1	18	0	7	27.0	14	3	8	23	1.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Jonathan Papelbon — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
2009	ALDS2	BOS	0	1	2	0	2.0	4	3	2	1	13.50
2008	ALCS	BOS	0	0	4	2	5.1	1	0	1	6	0.00
2008	ALDS1	BOS	1	0	3	1	5.0	2	0	1	7	0.00
2007	ALCS	BOS	0	0	3	1	5.0	3	0	2	3	0.00
2007	ALDS1	BOS	1	0	1	0	1.1	0	0	2	1	0.00
2007	WS	BOS	0	0	3	3	4.1	2	0	0	3	0.00
2005	ALDS1	BOS	0	0	2	0	4.0	2	0	0	2	0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1378 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Jonathan Papelbon — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	374	0	0	0	0	0	—
Away	315	0	0	0	0	0	—

Pitching — Home / Away

Jonathan Papelbon — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	374	390.0	314	111	97	452	2.56
Away	315	335.2	258	86	88	356	2.31

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Jonathan Papelbon — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
2016-08-06	WAS	SFG	—	1.1	2	1	1	1	1	1
2016-08-01	WAS	AZ	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2016-07-28	WAS	SFG	—	0.1	1	1	1	1	0	0
2016-07-26	WAS	CLE	L	0.0	2	3	2	2	0	0
2016-07-24	WAS	SDP	L	0.2	4	4	4	1	1	0
2016-07-23	WAS	SDP	W	1.0	1	0	0	1	1	0
2016-07-22	WAS	SDP	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0
2016-07-17	WAS	PIT	—	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0
2016-07-10	WAS	NYN	SV	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0
2016-07-08	WAS	NYN	SV	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Jonathan Papelbon — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	689	3	37	45	9	1

Season-by-Season Fielding

Jonathan Papelbon — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
2005	BOS	P	17	3	3	2	0	0
2006	BOS	P	59	0	4	3	1	0
2007	BOS	P	59	0	4	0	0	0
2008	BOS	P	67	0	5	5	3	0
2009	BOS	P	66	0	1	4	1	0
2010	BOS	P	65	0	4	5	1	0
2011	BOS	P	63	0	3	2	1	0
2012	PHI	P	70	0	1	9	0	0
2013	PHI	P	61	0	2	5	0	0
2014	PHI	P	66	0	3	3	0	0
2015	PHI	P	37	0	3	3	2	0
2015	WAS	P	22	0	4	3	0	1
2016	WAS	P	37	0	0	1	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Jonathan Papelbon Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	689

Awards & Honors

Jonathan Papelbon — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
2012	Reliever of the Month	April
2007	Babe Ruth Award	P
2007	This Year in Baseball Closer of the Year	MLB.com GIBBY
2006	Reliever of the Month	April
2006	Rookie of the Month	April

Salary History

Jonathan Papelbon's recorded salaries total $90,072,532 over 11 seasons, 2006 to 2016. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Papelbon's career ran from 2005 to 2016. No salary is recorded for 2005.

Jonathan Papelbon — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
2016	WAS	NL	$10,936,574
2015	PHI	NL	$13,000,000
2014	PHI	NL	$13,000,000
2013	PHI	NL	$13,000,000
2012	PHI	NL	$11,000,058
2011	BOS	AL	$12,000,000
2010	BOS	AL	$9,350,000
2009	BOS	AL	$6,250,000
2008	BOS	AL	$775,000
2007	BOS	AL	$425,500
2006	BOS	AL	$335,400
Total recorded salary (partial)			$90,072,532

College History

Jonathan Papelbon — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Mississippi State University	Mississippi State	MS	2001, 2002, 2003

Award Voting History

Jonathan Papelbon — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
2006	Rookie of the Year	AL	2nd	63.0	140	0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Jonathan Papelbon (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Compare Jonathan Papelbon

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Jonathan Papelbon: the record in brief

According to the bio, Jonathan Papelbon debuted on July 31, 2005 and played a final game on August 6, 2016. Papelbon played for the Boston Red Sox (2005 through 2011), the Philadelphia Phillies (2012 to 2015), and the Washington Nationals (2015 through 2016). At 6 feet, 5 inches and 230 pounds, Papelbon is listed as a pitcher. Papelbon both batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is November 23, 1980, in Baton Rouge, LA, USA. Jonathan Papelbon was the playing name; the full given name is Jonathan Robert.

Across 689 games (3 starts), Papelbon recorded 41 wins against 36 losses with a 2.44 ERA. The same table counts 808 strikeouts and 368 saves. Against a 4.14 league ERA for the same years, Papelbon was 41.0% better. The best win total was 5, in 2008. 2012 produced Papelbon's most strikeouts, 92. Papelbon saved 41 games in 2008, the season high. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 0.92 in 2006, when the league's was 4.53. Pitcher PIV, the site's era-adjusted run-prevention measure, totals 24,415.8 for Papelbon's career.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jonathan Papelbon

What years did Jonathan Papelbon play?: Jonathan Papelbon played in Major League Baseball from 2005 to 2016.
Was Jonathan Papelbon a pitcher?: Yes. Jonathan Papelbon pitched in the major leagues, recording 41 wins and 808 strikeouts.
What teams did Jonathan Papelbon play for?: Jonathan Papelbon played for 3 teams: the Boston Red Sox (2005–2011), the Philadelphia Phillies (2012–2015), and the Washington Nationals (2015–2016).
Did Jonathan Papelbon win a Cy Young Award?: No. Jonathan Papelbon did not win the Cy Young Award.
What awards did Jonathan Papelbon win?: Jonathan Papelbon was selected to 6 All-Star Games.
What were Jonathan Papelbon's career stats?: In 689 games, Jonathan Papelbon went 41-36 with a 2.44 ERA, 808 strikeouts, 725.2 innings pitched, and 368 saves.
How much did Jonathan Papelbon earn in his career?: Jonathan Papelbon's recorded salaries total $90,072,532 over 11 seasons, 2006 to 2016. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Papelbon's career ran from 2005 to 2016. No salary is recorded for 2005.
What was Jonathan Papelbon's salary?: Jonathan Papelbon's last recorded salary was $10,936,574, in 2016. His highest recorded salary was $13,000,000, in 2013, and his lowest was $335,400, in 2006. The Salary History table lists each season from 2006 to 2016.
What position did Jonathan Papelbon play?: Jonathan Papelbon played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Jonathan Papelbon and how much did he weigh?: Jonathan Papelbon was listed at 6 feet 5 inches and 230 pounds.
What was Jonathan Papelbon's career ERA?: Jonathan Papelbon finished with a 2.44 career ERA, going 41-36 with 808 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Jonathan Papelbon have?: Jonathan Papelbon recorded 808 career strikeouts.
Is Jonathan Papelbon in the Hall of Fame?: No. Jonathan Papelbon has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Jonathan Papelbon make?: Jonathan Papelbon was selected to 6 All-Star Games.