1966
Born May 22, 1966
Pueblo Viejo, Azua, D.R.
José Mesa Marquee
b. May 22, 1966 · Baltimore Orioles 1987, 1990–1992, Cleveland Indians 1992–1998, San Francisco Giants 1998, Seattle Mariners 1999–2000, Philadelphia Phillies 2001–2003, 2007, Pittsburgh Pirates 2004–2005, Colorado Rockies 2006, Detroit Tigers 2007
In 1995 he saved 46 games to lead the American League, won the reliever of the year award and finished second in the Cy Young voting. Cleveland won 100 games in a 144-game season and reached the World Series. He was as dominant as a closer has been in a single year.
Two years later, in the ninth inning of the seventh game of the 1997 World Series, with Cleveland one inning from the title, he gave up the tying run. Florida won in the eleventh. It is the thing his name is attached to, and the 1995 season is the thing that ought to be.
Nineteen seasons and eight clubs gave him 321 saves, 22nd all-time, with a 4.36 earned run average across 1,548 innings — he began as a starter and made 95 starts before the move to the bullpen. The writers gave him no votes at all in 2013.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 2 | 1995, 1996 |
| Player of the Week | 2 | 1995, 2001 |
| Reliever of the Month | 1 | 2005 |
| Reliever of the Year Award | 1 | 1995 |
| The Sporting News Fireman of the Year | 1 | 1995 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | BAL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1990 | BAL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1991 | BAL | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1992 | BAL/CLE | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1993 | CLE | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1994 | CLE | 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1995 | CLE | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1996 | CLE | 69 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1997 | CLE | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1998 | CLE/SFG | 76 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1999 | SEA | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2000 | SEA | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2001 | PHI | 71 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2002 | PHI | 74 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2003 | PHI | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2004 | PIT | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2005 | PIT | 55 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 2006 | COL | 79 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2007 | DET/PHI | 56 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 1023 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | BAL | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 31.1 | 38 | 21 | 15 | 17 | 6.03 |
| 1990 | BAL | 3 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 46.2 | 37 | 20 | 27 | 24 | 3.86 |
| 1991 | BAL | 6 | 11 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 123.2 | 151 | 82 | 62 | 64 | 5.97 |
| 1992 | BAL/CLE | 7 | 12 | 28 | 27 | 0 | 160.2 | 169 | 82 | 70 | 62 | 4.59 |
| 1993 | CLE | 10 | 12 | 34 | 33 | 0 | 208.2 | 232 | 114 | 62 | 118 | 4.92 |
| 1994 | CLE | 7 | 5 | 51 | 0 | 2 | 73.0 | 71 | 31 | 26 | 63 | 3.82 |
| 1995 | CLE | 3 | 0 | 62 | 0 | 46 | 64.0 | 49 | 8 | 17 | 58 | 1.13 |
| 1996 | CLE | 2 | 7 | 69 | 0 | 39 | 72.1 | 69 | 30 | 28 | 64 | 3.73 |
| 1997 | CLE | 4 | 4 | 66 | 0 | 16 | 82.1 | 83 | 22 | 28 | 69 | 2.40 |
| 1998 | CLE/SFG | 8 | 7 | 76 | 0 | 1 | 84.2 | 91 | 43 | 38 | 63 | 4.57 |
| 1999 | SEA | 3 | 6 | 68 | 0 | 33 | 68.2 | 84 | 38 | 40 | 42 | 4.98 |
| 2000 | SEA | 4 | 6 | 66 | 0 | 1 | 80.2 | 89 | 48 | 41 | 84 | 5.36 |
| 2001 | PHI | 3 | 3 | 71 | 0 | 42 | 69.1 | 65 | 18 | 20 | 59 | 2.34 |
| 2002 | PHI | 4 | 6 | 74 | 0 | 45 | 75.2 | 65 | 25 | 39 | 64 | 2.97 |
| 2003 | PHI | 5 | 7 | 61 | 0 | 24 | 58.0 | 71 | 42 | 31 | 45 | 6.52 |
| 2004 | PIT | 5 | 2 | 70 | 0 | 43 | 69.1 | 78 | 25 | 20 | 37 | 3.25 |
| 2005 | PIT | 2 | 8 | 55 | 0 | 27 | 56.2 | 61 | 30 | 26 | 37 | 4.76 |
| 2006 | COL | 1 | 5 | 79 | 0 | 1 | 72.1 | 73 | 31 | 36 | 39 | 3.86 |
| 2007 | DET/PHI | 2 | 3 | 56 | 0 | 1 | 50.2 | 53 | 40 | 25 | 29 | 7.11 |
| Career | — | 80 | 109 | 1022 | 95 | 321 | 1548.2 | 1629 | 750 | 651 | 1038 | 4.36 |
On this day & linked events
1987
Major-league debut: José Mesa
José Mesa made a major-league debut on September 10, 1987.
2007
Final major-league game: José Mesa
José Mesa played a final major-league game on September 29, 2007.
Image: MESA.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0