Jesse Orosco

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Jesse Orosco
Jesse Orosco
Pitcher
Born: April 21, 1957 (1957-04-21) (age 51)
Santa Barbara, California
Batted: Right Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 5, 1979
for the New York Mets
Final game
September 27, 2003
for the Minnesota Twins
Career statistics
Games pitched     1,252
Saves     144
Earned run average     3.16
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Jesse Russell Orosco (born April 21, 1957 in Santa Barbara, California) is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who holds the major league record for career pitching appearances. He pitched most notably for the New York Mets in the 1980s. He won a World Series in 1986 with the Mets and in 1988 with the Dodgers. He threw left-handed, but batted right-handed. He retired in 2003 after having been with the Mets, Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, and Minnesota Twins. He retired when he was 46 years old, one of the oldest players to still be playing in the modern age (see List of oldest Major League Baseball players). Orosco's longevity was greatly aided by the increasing use of left-handed specialist relief pitchers from the 1990s onward; in his last several years, he was used almost exclusively in this role.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Orosco was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1978 amateur draft. In February 1979, the Twins traded Orosco to the New York Mets to complete a deal that had been made two months earlier. In December 1978 the Mets had traded veteran starter Jerry Koosman to the Twins for two players, one of whom was a player to be named later. The deal of that player, Orosco, completed the deal.

Orosco made his debut on April 5, 1979 with the Mets. He played his last game on September 27, 2003 with the Twins.

Orosco had his best seasons in the early and mid 1980s with the Mets. He had a career best 1.47 ERA in 1983. That year, he also won 13 games and saved 17, with 110 innings pitched, making his first All-Star Team and finishing third in the National League Cy Young Award voting. He had 31 saves in 1984, which was 3rd in the National League, and went 10-6 in 60 appearances; good enough for his second All-Star selection. In 1985, he began sharing closing duties for the Mets with right-hander Roger McDowell, giving the Mets a vaunted lefty/righty combo coming out of the bullpen to close games.

Orosco's clutch relief pitching in the 1986 postseason was one of the key reasons the Mets were world champions. He was on the mound for the final pitch of the final game of both the 1986 National League Championship Series against the Houston Astros, and the 1986 World Series against the Boston Red Sox. Orosco ended both series by striking out the final batter. Orosco also provided one of the most memorable images of that World Series; after striking out Marty Barrett to end the series, he threw his glove way up in the air and immediately dropped to his knees while catcher Gary Carter ran out to the mound to embrace him. For many years-and probably to the chagrin of Red Sox fans-this was the final scene shown during the ending credits of the syndicated Major League Baseball news show This Week in Baseball. Having also become the first (and only) relief pitcher to get three wins in one playoff series (which he accomplished in the NLCS against the Astros), Orosco would primarily be remembered for that year.

After getting traded away by the Mets in a huge deal involving over seven players, he found a very brief one year home with the Dodgers, and then signed with Cleveland and stayed there for three years.

His only real recognizable home besides the Mets came in Baltimore when he stayed with the Orioles for the latter half of the 1990s. While his best seasons came in New York, he would have an excellent 1997 season, finishing with a 2.32 ERA, his best since the '80s.

His seasons of being a very good reliever were still not finished though. He even helped the Yankees in his final season, 2003. That year, he was on 3 different teams and finished with 33 innings pitched. He would retire after that season, and finish a historic career. He will become eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009, however, his lifetime stats make him a longshot for the Hall. He was the last active MLB player from the 1970s, outlasting Rickey Henderson (the last active position player) by over a week, though Henderson would play a few more seasons with independent minor league teams, and officially retire in 2007.

He finished his career with an ERA of 3.16, and is the all-time record holder for Games, with 1252. He has 74 more than Cincinnati Reds' reliever Mike Stanton who is second with 1178.

[edit] Career totals

[edit] Pitching

[edit] Batting

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[edit] See also

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New York Mets 1986 World Series roster
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