"Ian Happ just looked helpless against Hader," “Josh Hader is a freaking beast” - Milwaukee Brewers closer Josh Hader awes Twitter after slamming the door shut on the Chicago Cubs
Josh Hader is the best closer in baseball. The Milwaukee Brewers phenom has appeared 16 times this season and converted the save in each one of them. He's thrown 14.2 innings and allowed just three hits and six walks. This season, batters are 3-for-48 against Hader. He's struck out 22 of them.
That's dominance. What's more, Josh Hader hasn't allowed a single run since July 28, 2021. That's more than 10 months ago. Going back even further, Hader has faced 951 batters since 2018, heavy volume for a closer, considering that counts the shortened 2020 season. Of those 951 batters, Hader's struck out 436, which is almost half. His strikeout rate over the past five years has been 45.9%.
This afternoon, the Milwaukee Brewers closer slammed the door shut on the Chicago Cubs. He tacked on three more strikeouts to his massive career totals. Here's how Twitter reacted.
Milwaukee Brewers closer Josh Hader awes Twitter after slamming the door shut on the Chicago Cubs
Here's a video replay showing Hader's dominance today. He struck out the side and made it look easy.
"Josh Hader doing Josh Hader things." - @Rob Friedman
There's so many marvellous statistics surrounding Josh Hader right now. This user brought up the fact that he hasn't allowed a run in almost a year.
"Josh Hader hasn't given up a run since July 28th of 2021. That's insane. He's recorded 108 outs in that time." - @Daniel Tappa
Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ is a good hitter. Many teams are interested in acquiring the switch-hitter at the deadline. But as this fan put it, he looked "helpless" against Hader today.
"Happ just looked helpless against Hader. But I guess a lot of players look helpless against Josh Hader." - @Mark Gruskin
Rollie Fingers, one of the most effective relievers in MLB history, dominated throughout the 1970s and into the early 80s. This user thinks Hader is his "spiritual successor."
"Josh Hader is the spiritual successor to Rollie Fingers and despite not being a brewers fan, I’m here for it" - @weesto
It's all fun and games for Milwaukee Brewers fans, but playing against Hader is not fun. This Chicago Cubs fan obviously did not enjoy watching Hader slam the door on his team.
"MLB TV showed me a Josh Hader hype reel before AND after he shut the Cubs down in the 9th. This is literally targeted harassment." - @Ryan Bowers
This fan hopes Hader's arm holds up "for a decade plus." That's a long time for any pitcher's arm to last. But then again, this is Josh Hader.
"Josh Hader is a freaking beast , simply an amazing talent i hope his arm holds up for a decade plus .We're witnessing greatness." - @Bart Williams
This user points out that everyone around the league should be talking about Josh Hader. He's not wrong. Hader is sorely underappreciated by MLB media.
"Josh Hader has pitched 37 consecutive scoreless innings - this should be the biggest talking point in MLB." - @Dan
This Cubs fan has learned how to cope. It's not Chicago's fault that Josh Hader was pitching.
"Not their fault, Josh Hader came in for the save." - @Keston Huira believer
Mark your calenders for July 28, Milwaukee Brewers fans. The countdown to Josh Hader going scoreless for an entire year begins now.