Papelbon born for 9th-inning stage

Papelbon born for 9th-inning stage

Mississippi State always had it right with Jonathan Papelbon [stats].
When the big kid showed up as a freshman in Starkville, he was given a road map to the bullpen and was told he would be a closer. And so he was. And he was a good one. One of the best in the nation.
Selected by the Red Sox [team stats] in the 2003 amateur draft, Jonathan Papelbon then was redirected to the starting rotation – for a while, anyway. When he made his major league debut July 31, 2005, against the Minnesota Twins, he did so as a starter.

bostonherald.com
4/2/09