Remembering the Nationals first great closer Chad Cordero in this edition of the 20th anniversary series
In the early years of Nationals baseball, Chad Cordero was a fixture in the closer role. The Chief as he was known had a fun personality, and gave the Nats some elite play during their infancy. In particular, his 2005 season was something magical.
That season, he led the league with 47 saves. He also posted a 1.82 ERA with a sub-1 WHIP. That year, he racked up the accolades, with an all-star appearance, a top 5 Cy Young finish, and even finished 14th in MVP voting. Along with that production, the 23 year old Cordero had a charismatic presence that captivated the new Nationals fans. Cordero was one of the best up and coming relievers in baseball at the time.
Cordero had a somewhat unusual journey to the big leagues. After being drafted in the first round in 2003, he made his big league debut that same year for the Expos, and quickly became a fixture.
From 2004 to 2007, Cordero averaged 72 appearances per season, posting a 2.83 ERA in that span. In a funny twist, Cordero would always outperform his advanced stats. From 2004 to 2007, his FIP was 4.08, well above a run over his ERA in that time. However, with that long of a sample size, it was clear the sabermetrics missed something with Cordero The Chief was one of the most reliable pitchers in baseball.
However, in 2008 Cordero’s career would abruptly halt. At just 26 years old, Cordero would blow out his shoulder. He never pitched for the Nationals again, and only pitched in nine more MLB games after that. Cordero tried very hard to comeback but could never recapture his old magic.
While he could have done so much more in the game if his body held up, Cordero’s joy and enthusiasm made him beloved in DC. As a little kid, the Chief was one of my favorite players. My dad, who took me to so many games as a small child also loved Cordero, and brings him up to me on occasion to this day.
While the team was never great with him around, he brought so much joy to a burgeoning fanbase. When the Nationals brought the Chief back to join their youth academy last June, it brought back some fond memories. When baseball came back to DC, the new fanbase needed characters to latch on to, and Cordero was certainly one of them.