8 things to know about new Chicago White Sox reliever Craig Kimbrel, including the origin of his 'pterodactylian' pitching stance

Craig Kimbrel was the top reliever available at the trade deadline. He gives the Chicago White Sox one of the best late-inning combinations in the majors along with Liam Hendriks.

He is an eight-time All-Star and was remarkable in the 2021 season with the Cubs, going 2-3 with a 0.49 ERA, 64 strikeouts, 23 saves and a 0.71 WHIP in 39 appearances (36⅔ innings).

After signing with the Cubs in June 2019, Kimbrel struggled, finishing the season with a 6.53 ERA, and those issues carried into the shortened 2020. But he got on track last September and since then owns a 0.41 ERA (two earned runs in 44 innings), going 24 of 26 in save opportunities. Kimbrel’s 2.1 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) leads all relievers.

ere are some things you might want to know about the “Fortnite”-loving pitcher whose nickname is “Dirty Craig.”

Sports Illustrated called it a “predatory, pterodactylian pose — bent at the waist, right arm held askance like an open wing.”

Kimbrel told the San Diego Union-Tribune that he used to keep his arm behind his back when he looked in for a sign, but that became too painful when he was suffering from biceps tendinitis in 2010. So he started holding it to the side.

“There’s many theories behind it,” Kimbrel said. “Some guys say I’m flexing. Some guys say the better I pitched, the cockier I got, the further and further out my arm got. I don’t know what it is. To me it’s just in a comfortable position and it’s how I pick up my signs. I don’t even think about.”

At a game in Philadelphia in 2014, fans behind home plate started mocking him, even little kids.

“I didn’t even see them until after the game,” Kimbrel told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “It was entertaining.”

In 2006, he broke his foot while working for his father, Mike, an electrician, when a stock of sheetrock panels fell. He was in a cast for three months.

To keep his arm in shape, he played long toss from his knees.

“He would throw a yellow, dimpled, rubber-coated ball the length of the field over and over,” Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci wrote in 2017. “Kimbrel believes this not only increased his arm strength, but also allowed him to learn about generating power from his torso by being forced to isolate his upper body.”

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White Sox relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel pumps his fist after getting the last out during the top of the ninth inning against the Indians at Guaranteed Rate Field on July 31, 2021. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

Out of high school in Huntsville, Ala., Kimbrel went to Wallace State Community College, roughly 40 miles north of Birmingham.

Major-leaguers Jake Elmore and Derek Holland also went to Wallace State, which was originally named George C. Wallace State Trade School of Cullman County.

During his two years there, 2007 and ’08, Kimbrel went 9-3 with a 2.88 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 81 innings as a sophomore and 8-0 with a 1.99 ERA as a freshman.

Kimbrel met his wife, Ashley Holt, at Wallace State, where she was a cheerleader.

In 2007, the Braves drafted him in the 33rd round, but he decided to stay in school. In 2008, the Braves drafted him again, this time in the third round (96th overall), and he signed.

Last year at Red Sox spring training, players became obsessed with the multiplayer survival video game set in a post-apocalyptic world.

The group of “Fornite” die-hards included Kimbrel, David Price, Chris Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez, Xander Bogaerts, Matt Barnes, Joe Kelly, J.D. Martinez and Heath Hembree, according to The Athletic.

“Let’s say we get back at 11 p.m. from a game, we’ll play until 1 a.m., 1:30 a.m., 2 a.m., depending on what time our game is the next day,” Price told The Athletic. “But day games or off days, we can put some time in.

“We have to make sure: ‘All right, we’ve got to eat. Let’s take 30 minutes, eat some lunch and see you back in 30.’ But you can lose track of time whenever you’re playing it.”

New White Sox pitcher Craig Kimbrel walks to the dugout after warming up before a game at Guaranteed Rate Field on July 31, 2021. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

Kimbrel, 31, has been an All-Star seven times: 2011 to ’14 and 2016 to ’18.

But even the two times he was not selected were pretty darn good.

In 2010 with the Braves, his first year in the majors, he appeared in 21 games (20 2/3 innings) with a 0.44 ERA and 1.210 WHIP. In 2015 with the Padres, he appeared in 61 games and had 39 saves, a 2.58 ERA and a 1.045 WHIP.

He was the youngest pitcher in MLB history to reach 300 saves.

And he led the National League in saves every season from 2011 to ’15.

His best seasons were with the Braves (2010-14), when he posted a 1.43 ERA, 0.903 WHIP and 148 saves. In 2015 with the Padres, his ERA rose to 2.58 and his WHIP to 1.045. Then over his three years with the Red Sox, his ERA was 2.44 with a 0.906 WHIP. His save rate in 2018 was 89.4%, second-lowest of his career.

He relied mostly on two pitches that season: a four-seam fastball (average 98 mph) and a knuckle-curve (87 mph).

He also had a rough patch in the 2018 playoffs, giving up three runs in 2 1/3 innings in the division series against the Yankees, four walks and two runs in four innings in the ALCS and two runs in four innings in the World Series.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Kimbrel was tipping his pitches during the playoffs, and to close out the last inning of the World Series-clinching game, Cora went with Chris Sale instead.

This might explain why the free agent didn’t get the six-year deal he was seeking and why he didn’t find a new team until June.

Sources: Chicago Tribune, Sports Illustrated, Baseball Reference, San Diego Union Tribune, ESPN, The Athletic, njcaa.org

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