Francisco Cordero #48

Francisco Javier Cordero... Attended Colegio Luz de Arroyo Hondo High School in the Dominican Republic... A cousin, Domingo Martinez, played first base during brief stints with the Blue Jays from 1992-93... While playing for the Tigers in 1999 was given the nickname "Coco" by teammate Todd Jones.

2011

Ranked among the National League leaders in saves (37, 7th) and games finished (63, T-2nd)... Produced at least 30 saves for the 7th time in his career and at least 35 saves for the 6th time... Led the Reds' staff in saves for the 4th straight season, the first pitcher to do so since Danny Graves did it from 1999-2002... FLAWLESS: Recorded 20 saves in which he retired every batter faced... Only NYY's Mariano Rivera (27), ATL's Craig Kimbrel (22), PIT's Joel Hanrahan (20) and CWS Sergio Santos (20) produced as many or more "perfect" saves of at least three outs... Converted 37-43 save opps (86%), including each of his last four apps of the season... SECOND HALF STAR: After the All-Star break converted 20-21 save chances (1.80 ERA, 30 IP, 6 ER), including a season-high streak of 16 straight successful conversions to begin the second half... Was his best saves streak since April 3-June 5, 2007, when for the Brewers he converted a career-best 22 consecutive chances... From Sept. 2-13 retired 13 straight batters, his best stretch of the season... From Aug. 7-24 produced a save in nine straight appearances, the longest streak of his career... Three previous times had saves in eight straight appearances (July 30-Aug. 16, 2006 for MIL; Apr. 20-May 2, 2004 for Tex; Aug. 2-17, 2003 for Tex)... Mr. 300: In the 4-3 win on June 1 vs MIL threw a perfect ninth inning for his 300th career save... Became the 22nd pitcher in Major League history to reach that plateau... In the 8-6 win on Aug. 23 at FLA produced his 200th save in the National League... Became one of only six pitchers with 100 saves in one league and 200 saves in the other... DOMINICAN DOMINANCE: In the 4-1 win on Sept. 9 at COL recorded his 322nd career save to pass Jose Mesa as his country's all-time leader in that category... Earned his final save of the season in his last appearance, a 13-inning, 5-4 win on Sept. 27 at NYM in which he tied his career high with four walks (June 15, 2000 for TEX at Bal) and committed his third career balk (other two in 2004) but didn't allow a run... Recorded one out on a caught stealing and the other two on a game-ending lineout double play... Allowed at least one run in his last four apps of the first half (3.1IP, 7ER, 18.90ERA)... His overall ERA in his other 64 appearances was 1.63 (66.1IP, 12ER).

2010

Produced his third career 40-save season and his fifth career 35-save season...became only the fourth pitcher in Reds history to produce at least 40 saves in a season (Danny Graves, 41 in 2004; Jeff Shaw, 42 in 1997; Jeff Brantley, 44 in 1996)...produced his 39th and 40th saves in the Reds' final 2 games of the year...led the Reds' staff in saves for the third straight year, the first pitcher to do so since David Weathers did it from 2005-2007...ranked third in the National League in saves and T2nd in games finished (64)...for the second time in 3 seasons established a new franchise record in games finished (64)...converted 40-48 save opps, including a season-best 11 straight conversions from 7/16-8/29... from 8/15-9/4 produced a season-best 10.0-inning scoreless streak...in the 7-5 win on 5/24 vs Pit earned his 15th save in the club's 45th game...Danny Graves is the only other Reds pitcher to record 15 saves in as few as 45 team games...Graves had 15 saves in 45g in 2002 and a Major League-record 21 saves in 45g in 2004...in the 10-9 loss at Atl on 5/20 gave up a walkoff grand slam to pinch hitter Brooks Conrad, then came back in the next night's 7-4 win at Cle and threw a perfect ninth inning to earn the save...in the 12th inning of the 12-11 win on 8/25 at SF made his third career plate appearance and with the bases loaded popped out off Barry Zito...was the club's nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award for community service.

2009

Was an All-Star for the third time...with 39 saves ranked second in the National League (SD's Heath Bell, 42) and led the team for the second straight season...recorded at least 30 saves for the third straight season and for the fifth time in the last 6 seasons...converted 39-43 save opps, including a season-best streak of 15 straight conversions to begin the year...in the 3-0 victory on 4/22 at Chi recorded his 100th save in the National League to become only the 11th pitcher in history with at least 100 saves in each league...in the 4-1 win on 9/24 at Pit recorded the 250th save of his career...suffered his first blown save in the 14-inning, 4-2 win on 6/10 at Washington, when after facing 1 batter he returned to the mound following a rain delay of 2:10 and gave up a pair of runs to tie it at 2-2...was his first blown save since 7/21/08 vs SD, snapping a streak of 29 consecutive save conversions (last 14 of 2008, first 15 of 2009)...from 8/25-8/28 pitched 4 straight days and from 9/14-9/18 pitched 5 straight days for just the second time in his career (6 days, 5/4-5/9, 2007)...in the NL's 4-3 loss in the All-Star Game at StL's Busch Stadium pitched a perfect seventh inning (Aaron Hill F7, Carl Crawford 63, Justin Morneau L5)...was on the Dominican Republic's 45-player provisional roster for the 2009 World Baseball Classic but did not participate in the tournament.

2008

In his first season with the Reds led the staff and ranked T4th in the National League with 34 saves...ranked second in the NL with a club record 63 games finished (62; Tom Hume in 1980, Jeff Shaw in 1997)...produced at least 30 saves for the fourth time in his career...recorded all 34 of the bullpen's saves... converted 34-40 save opps, including each of his first 7 chances and each of his last 14 chances...were his best conversion streaks of the season...suffered his last blown save on 7/21 vs SD...appeared in more winning games than any other Reds pitcher (53-19)...in the 3-1 victory on 8/14 at Pit retired all 3 batters for his 200th career save...became the 36th pitcher in Major League history to record 200 saves...on 6/13 vs Bos saved the 3-1 victory in his 500th career appearance...from 8/20-9/16 didn't allow a run in 12 apps (12ip), his best scoreless stretch of the season...on 6/4 at Phi recorded the second plate appearance of his career and grounded into a double play off Ryan Madson...from 8/24-8/26 missed 2g for the birth of son Michael Javier, born on 8/24...missed the Reds' last 3g of the season recovering from 9/26 arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone spur from his right foot, along with a minor microfracture procedure (Dr. Timothy Kremchek).

2007

For the second straight season was named Brewers Most Valuable Pitcher as voted on by members of the Milwaukee Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America...Became the eighth pitcher to record at least 40 saves in a season in both leagues, joining Bryan Harvey (Cal/Fla), Todd Jones (Det/Fla), Jose Mesa (Cle/Phi/Pit), Randy Myers (ChC/Bal), Jeff Reardon (Mtl/Min/Bos), Ugueth Urbina (Mtl/Bos) and John Wetteland (Mtl/NYY/Tex)...Was selected to his second All-Star Game...Went 0-4 with a 2.98 ERA and a franchise-record 44 saves in 66 relief appearances...Held opponents to a .218 batting average as he struck out 86 batters in just 63.1 innings...His 44 saves broke the single-season franchise record of 39 held by Dan Kolb (2004) and Derrick Turnbow (2005)...Ranked second in the National League in saves, trailing only Arizona's Jose Valverde (47)...Was 44-for-51 in save opportunities, including 22 straight conversions to begin the season.....his 22 consecutive saves was the second-longest streak in franchise history (Doug Jones, 25, 5/31-9/26, 1997)...Was named MLB Delivery Man of the Month for April...Recorded a franchise-record 10 saves in April, breaking the previous mark of 8 held by Doug Jones (1998) and Derrick Turnbow (2006)...Tied the National League record for the fewest number of team games (34) needed to reach 15 saves, a record shared with John Smoltz (2003)...Recorded saves in five consecutive days from 5/5-5/9, becoming just the fourth pitcher in Major League history to accomplish the feat, joining Mark Davis (1989), Rod Beck (1998) and Steve Kline (2000)...Recorded career save #150 on 5/20 vs. Minnesota...Notched career strikeout #500 on 7/31 vs. New York-NL (Marlon Anderson)...Posted a 1.09 ERA at home (41.1ip, 5er, 28sv, 1bs) and a 6.55 ERA on the road (22ip, 16er, 16sv, 6bs)...Retired 52 of 66 first batters faced (78.8%)...Stranded 15 of 19 inherited runners (78.9%)

2006

Combined to finish 10-5, 3.70 with 44 saves in 77 relief apps for the Rangers and Brewers...was voted Brewers Most Valuable Pitcher by the Milwaukee chapter of the BBWAA...on 7/28 was traded from Tex to Mil as part of a 6-player deal...when traded, his 117 saves for the Rangers was third-most in franchise history... while pitching for Mil, opponents hits just .213...converted 16-18 save opps for the Brewers, including a string of 16 straight that ranked fifth-longest on the team's all-time list...was Brewers Pitcher of the Month for August (10g, 1-0-9, 0.00, 10.1ip, 0r)...for the season produced 5 saves of more than 1.0 inning...on 10/6 the Brewers exercised his contract option for the 2007 season.

2005

Went 3-1 with a 3.39 ERA and 37 saves in 69 relief appearances for Texas...Held opponents to a .234 batting average and struck out 79 batters in just 69.0 innings ...Had 2 saves in which he pitched more than 1.0 inning: 6/25 at Houston (1.2ip) and 8/23 vs. Seattle (1.2ip) ...Ranked sixth in the American League in saves ...Was 37-for-45 in save opportunities, including a season high 14 consecutive save conversions from 4/13-5/27 ...Became the second Rangers pitcher with back-to-back 30-save seasons, joining John Wetteland (1997-2000) ...Recorded his 100th career save on 7/30 at Toronto, becoming the sixth pitcher from the Dominican Republic to reach that milestone (Jose Mesa, Armando Benitez, Mel Rojas, Antonio Alfonseca and Jose Jimenez).

2004

Was an American League All-Star as he went 3-4 with a 2.13 ERA and 49 saves in 67 relief appearances for Texas ...Held opponents to a .226 batting average and struck out 79 batters in just 71.2 innings ...Had 9 saves in which he pitched more than 1.0 inning ...Set club records for saves, save opportunities (54), save percentage (90.7%) and save streaks (19 and 21 games) ...Ranked second in the American League in saves to the Yankees' Mariano Rivera (53).....his 49 saves were the fifth-highest total in American League history ...Converted his first 19 save opportunities of the season from 4/7-6/10 before suffering his first blown save on 6/15 at Cincinnati.....the streak was the longest in club history, surpassing the previous record of 17 shared by John Wetteland (1999) and Jeff Zimmerman (2001) ...Broke his own club record by recording 21 consecutive save opportunities from 6/23-8/28 ...Was Rangers Player of the Month for August as he went 1-0 with a 0.73 ERA and 10 saves in 12 appearances ...Suffered all of his losses in the month of September as he went 0-4 with a 3.86 ERA ...Surrendered his only home run of the season on 9/29 vs. Anaheim, a 2-run shot by Troy Glaus ...Finished second in the Rolaids Relief Man standings behind the Yankees' Mariano Rivera.

2003

Went 5-8 with a 2.94 ERA and 15 saves in 73 relief appearances for Texas...Set a career high in appearances, leading the team in that category and ranking sixth in the American League ...Held opponents to a .230 batting average and struck out a career-high 90 batters in a career-high 82.2 innings ...Was third among American League relievers in strikeouts ...Opened the season in the setup role and became the closer after Ugueth Urbina was traded to Florida on 7/11 ...Was 15-for-25 in save opportunities.....his 10 blown saves tied for the American League lead.....was 13-for-17 after officially becoming the closer ...Had 4 saves in which he pitched more than 1.0 inning.

2002

Went 2-0 with a 1.79 ERA and 10 saves in 39 relief appearances during three stints with Texas ...Held opponents to a .204 batting average and struck out 41 batters in 45.1 innings ...Was 10-for-12 in save opportunities ...His first Major League save came on 6/19 at Chicago-NL ...Was on the 15-day disabled list from 6/25-7/26 with a strained right shoulder ...Tossed 19.1 consecutive scoreless innings over 19 appearances from 8/7-9/24 ...Appeared in 11 games (1 start) at Triple-A Oklahoma, going 0-2 with a 5.84 ERA and 2 saves.....made 4 rehab appearances there between 7/20-7/25.

2001

Missed most of the year with a stress fracture in his back...Made just 15 relief appearances between Triple-A Oklahoma (12g) and the Rangers (3g).

2000

Went 1-2 with a 5.35 ERA in 56 relief appearances during two stints with Texas...Led American League rookies in relief innings (77.1) ...Earned his lone victory on 4/4 vs. Chicago-AL, his first appearance of the season ...Made 3 relief appearances at Triple-A Oklahoma between 8/8-8/13, going 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA and 1 save.

1999

Spent most of the season at Double-A Jacksonville, where he went 4-1 with a 1.38 ERA and 27 saves in 47 relief appearances ...Led the Southern League in saves ...Was named Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year by Howe Sportsdata ...Was also selected to Baseball Weekly's Minor League All-Star Team, Topps' Double-A All-Star Team and Baseball America's Double-A All-Star Team ...Was selected to the Southern League Postseason All-Star Team ...Participated in the All-Star Futures Game on 7/11 at Fenway Park ...Was recalled by Detroit on 8/2 ...Went 2-2 with a 3.32 ERA in 20 relief appearances with the Tigers ...Made his Major League debut on 8/2 vs. Chicago-AL (1ip, 1h, 2k) ...Did not allow a run in his first 11 big-league appearances, covering 10.0 innings ...Earned his first Major League victory on 8/31 vs. Texas (1ip, 1h, 2bb-1int, 1k) ...Following the season pitched for Escogido of the Dominican Winter League (16g, 3-0, 0.41) ...Was traded to Texas, along with LHP Justin Thompson, LHP Alan Webb, INF Frank Catalanotto, C Bill Haselman and OF Gabe Kapler, for OF Juan Gonzalez, RHP Danny Patterson and C Gregg Zaun on 11/2.

1998

Pitched in 18 games combined between Jacksonville and Lakeland before undergoing season-ending elbow surgery in late July...Despite missing more than half the season, ranked 3rd on Jacksonville with 8 saves...Saved 5 consecutive games, April 25-May 4...Through May 6, led SL with 7 saves...Earned only win on May 10 at Carolina in 1.2 innings of relief...Finished May 1-0, 1.50 with 4 saves...Was placed on the d.l. on May 22 with an ailing right elbow...After missing nearly a month of action, appeared in one game with Lakeland, surrendering a base hit to the only batter faced...Underwent season-ending surgery to correct a stress fracture in right elbow, performed on July 29 by Dr. Terry Lock at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

1997

In 1st season as a reliever with West Michigan, captured the National Association Minor League Rolaids Relief Award...Was ranked by Baseball America as the top prospect in the Midwest League...Baseball America also named him the Midwest League's best reliever and owner of best fastball...Earned the Tigers' minor league pitcher of the year honor after leading the organization in saves (35)...Led Detroit minor leaguers in saves and games (50) and had a 0.99 era, the lowest on the team among pitchers with at least 50 innings...Did not allow an earned run 4 of 5 months, issuing 6 in June...Was named to the mid- and post-season Midwest League all-star teams...Opponents hit.193...Averaged 11.1 strikeouts per 9 innings, fanning 67 in 54.1 innings...Named Howe Sportsdata's minor league pitcher of the month for May after going 1-1 with 12 saves and 3 unearned runs in 17.1 innings...Pitched for Escogido in the Dominican Winter League.

1996

Pitched 4 games combined at Fayetteville and Jamestown in 1996...Began the year with Fayetteville, appearing in 2 games/one start...Started 2 games with Jamestown in the New York-Penn League, both no-decisions, with a 0.82 era...Was placed on the d.l. June 28 due to a right elbow injury and missed the remainder of the season...Began the 1995 season with Fayetteville...Made 4 starts, going 0-3, 6.30...Fanned 19 in 20 innings...Went to Jamestown and appeared in 15 games/14 starts...Began pro career at 16 years of age, playing in the Dominican Summer League in 1994, going 4-3, 3.90 in 12 starts.

1995

At Class A Fayetteville and Jamestown combined to go 4-10, 5.42 in 18 starts and 1 relief appearance.

1994

In his first professional season pitched in the Dominican Summer League.