Athletes - Jesse Orosco

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	Athletes - Jesse Orosco

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, with whom he won a World Series in 1986. He threw left-handed, but batted right-handed. He retired in 2003 after having been with the Los Angeles 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. 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.

Biography

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

Orosco helped the Mets win a World Series in 1986. He was on the mound, for not only the final pitch of the final game of the 1986 National League Championship Series against the Houston Astros, but also for the final pitch of the 1986 World Series against the Boston Red Sox. He became the first relief pitcher to get 3 wins in one playoff series. He would always be remembered primarily for that year.

He had his best ERA in 1983 when it finished at 1.47. That year, he won 13 games and saved 17, with 110 innings pitched. Also in 1983, Orosco made his first All-Star Game. He definitely had his best seasons with the Mets. He had 31 saves in 1984, 3rd in the National League. That year, he went 10-6 in 60 appearances and made the All-Star team again.

After getting traded away by the Mets in a huge deal involving over 7 players, he found a very brief one year home with the Dodgers, and then signed with Cleveland and stayed there for 3 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 2008, however, his lifetime stats make him a longshot for the Hall.

He finished his career with an ERA of 3.16. Orosco holds the all-time record for Games, with 1252. He has almost 200 more than 2nd place John Franco (1088).

Career Totals

Pitching

Wins - 87
Losses - 80
Games - 1252
Games started - 4
Saves - 144
Innings pitched - 1295.0
Hits - 1055
Runs - 512
Earned runs - 455
Home runs - 113
Bases on balls - 581
Strikeouts - 1179
Hit batsmen - 34
Avg. ERA - 3.16
Winning percentage - .521

Batting

At bats - 59
Runs - 3
Hits - 10
Extra base hits - 0
RBIs - 4
Basesd on balls - 8
Strikeouts - 25
Batting average - .169
On base percentage - .261
Total bases - 10

Info

Made the NL All-Star team in 1983 and 1984
Went 3-1 in postseason play, all-time
Pitched 5 scoreless innings in the 1986 World Series
Led the league in Games in 1995 (65)
Ranks #1 in Games on the All-time leaderboard
Ranks #63 (tie) in Saves on the All-time leaderboard

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