Jonathan Robert Papelbon (/ˈpæpəlbɒn/; born November 23, 1980) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher.

[1] He was the oldest son of three to John, a staff sergeant in the United States Army, and Sheila, a corporate trust banker.

[4] In his senior year of high school, Papelbon committed to play college baseball for Mississippi State University.

[5] Papelbon was a closer for the Mississippi State Bulldogs and had a 9–6 record with 13 saves and 2.90 ERA in his three years on the team.

[8] After a 13–10 record for Class-A Lowell Spinners and Sarasota Red Sox from 2003 to 2004, Papelbon was 5–2 in 14 starts for Double-A Portland in 2005.

[9] Papelbon made his major league debut with the Red Sox on July 31, 2005, against the Minnesota Twins, in which he went 51⁄3 innings, struck out seven batters and issued five walks in Boston's 4–3 victory.

[10] Papelbon earned his first major league win on September 12, pitching three scoreless innings in an extra-inning game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

[11] In two postseason appearances in 2005, he pitched four scoreless innings against the eventual World Series Champion Chicago White Sox.

The Red Sox had plans of slotting Papelbon into their starting rotation prior to the regular season in 2006.

[13] In April 2006, Papelbon changed his hair to a Mohawk style, after Charlie Sheen's character Ricky Vaughn from the film Major League due to a wager with teammate Kevin Youkilis in which they bet whether he could start the season with 10 scoreless innings.

[8] On October 11, 2007, Papelbon was named the 2007 winner of the "DHL Presents the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Year Award.

[18] In Game 2 of the World Series, Papelbon was brought in with the bases empty and two outs in the eighth with the Red Sox leading 2–1 to face Rockies hitter Matt Holliday.

[20] On January 20, 2009, Papelbon agreed to a one-year $6.25 million contract with the Red Sox, avoiding arbitration.

Stanley prophetically commented to the Boston Herald in reference to Papelbon breaking the record ""He’s a great kid and competitor.

Just moments later, the Rays won their game against the Yankees with a walk-off home run by Evan Longoria to clinch the Wild Card, which capped off both an improbable late comeback from a 7–0 deficit in the eighth inning and a nine-game comeback in the standings against Boston and officially eliminating them from the playoffs.

His save total was the lowest of any of his complete MLB seasons to that point, and the Phillies finished with a 73–89 win–loss record.

[37] He lost more than two miles per hour off of his average fastball velocity, and after the season he said he had been playing with an injured hip.

[41] On September 14, 2014, Papelbon blew a save against the Miami Marlins, and was booed by the hometown Phillies fans at Citizens Bank Park.

"[43] In April 2015, he had a heated argument with radio/TV commentator Howard Eskin in the Phillies clubhouse, and the two needed to be separated and restrained.

[48] On September 23, Papelbon intentionally threw a pitch at Manny Machado's head, resulting in immediate ejection.

On December 6, 2015, Papelbon filed a grievance complaint against the Nationals organization, seeking the money he lost when he was suspended.

[55] During the offseason, Storen was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, cementing Papelbon as the team's closer.

Around 2011, his four-seam fastball reached 95 miles per hour (153 km/h),[62] but by 2013, one column on FanGraphs asserted that his velocity was "on the down side of that mountain", and that, for a reliever, he did not strike out enough hitters.

Peter Gammons tweeted that some teams were not interested in acquiring Papelbon because of his velocity decline as well as poor performance in clutch situations – in 2013, he converted only five of nine one-run save opportunities.

[68] He appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman on October 31, 2007, after the Red Sox won the 2007 World Series.

On December 20, 2007, Papelbon claimed that his dog "Boss" chewed up the ball that recorded the final out of the 2007 World Series.

[69] Papelbon is an avid fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars and attended games at TIAA Bank Field after the completion of the baseball season.