Rain can't slow Joe Nathan's Twins Hall of Fame ceremony

Pitchers were trained, the guest of honor said Saturday as he began his Twins Hall of Fame induction speech, that "it was always our job to try to get off the field as fast as we could. So in closing …"

Ah, Joe Nathan. No Twins pitcher ever closed better.

Nathan got a hearty laugh at sold-out Target Field, and a rousing reception, too. His 260 saves with the Twins, and his 90.3% conversion rate, stand as franchise records, though as Michael Cuddyer pointed out in introducing the four-time All-Star, "I don't need numbers to [know that] Joe Nathan belongs in the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame… because I knew every single time I went to my position [with Nathan on the mound], I could have taken a lawn chair. That game was over."

After being introduced — with his signature entrance music, "Stand Up and Shout," blaring once more in the background — Nathan thanked former general manager Terry Ryan for trading for him, and his parents and family for their support. But he had some heartfelt words, too, about the core of the Twins teams that won AL Central championships in 2004, 2006 and 2009 with him as closer.

"We had a special team and a special group of guys that accomplished so much," said Nathan, who wrestled with his emotion during his speech. "I learned so much from each and every one of you, and I know this would not be possible without you guys." It was the fourth straight year that a key member of those teams — following Cuddyer, Torii Hunter and Johan Santana — was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame.

Former team President Jerry Bell will be inducted before Sunday's game.

The induction closed, as is tradition, with a ceremonial first pitch, but in a twist, Nathan chose to serve as catcher. His 14-year-old son Cole threw the pitch, but only after imitating his father's familiar lip-smacking exhale first.