2006 Detroit Tigers: Where are they now?

Nate Robertson

Nate Robertson spent the majority of his major league career watching the ball leave the yard. He gave up 160 home runs across his nine big league seasons, an average of 27 per season.

While his results were never great, Robertson epitomizes the “innings-eater” moniker, making 28 or more starts five seasons in a row for Detroit.

Robertson was originally drafted in the fifth round by the Florida Marlins in 1999. He was traded to the Detroit Tigers before the 2003 season. He made his team debut later that year, starting eight games down the stretch and pitching to a 5.44 ERA.

From 2004-2008 Robertson averaged 190 innings per year. He had an ugly 4.81 ERA and and 1.43 WHIP however, and surrendered 135 home runs.

His best season in that window was (surprise!) 2006, when Robertson went 13-13 with a 3.84 ERA and a 118 ERA+.

He also made three starts in the playoffs, going 1-2 with a 5.17 ERA. His first start was a 5.0 inning, seven run disaster against the Yankees. He threw five shutout innings against the A’s and five innings with just two runs against the Cardinals in the World Series.

Robertson was sent back to the Marlins in March of 2010 and bounced around the minor leagues for the next four seasons. He made 21 more big league appearances in 2010 but never reached the big leagues again after that.

Robertson is currently the President and part-owner of the Wichita Wingnuts, an Independent League baseball team in Kansas. In addition, he is also the pitching coach at his alma mater Maize High School.