Jose Mesa #49

Jose Ramon Mesa...he and his wife Mirla have six children; sons Ralph (6/29/79), Juan Jose (8/4/85), Jesse (8/17/88), and Jose Jr. (8/13/93), and daughters Yamely (1/15/84) and Yenny (7/16/87)...attended Santa School in the Dominican Republic...has 6 brothers...donates money, equipment and time to the San Lorenzo Club/Roberto Clemente League...split the $10,000 award for winning the 1995 Rolaids Relief Man Award between the La Nueva Vida Church in Cleveland and the Jose Mesa Foundation in the Dominican Republic...signed first pro contract with Toronto at the age of 15...was part of Major League Baseball tour of Japan following the 1996 season...Donates money, equipment and time to the San Lorenzo Club/Roberto Clemente League.

2006

Established a career high with 79 appearances for the Colorado Rockies...Allowed one run in his first 17 outings of the season April 3-May 3, posting a 0.55 ERA in 16.1 innings...Made the 900th appearance of his career on April 28 at Florida...Registered his lone save of the season on April 30 at Florida -- marks 13th straight season in which he recorded a save, the longest active streak in the majors...Equaled a career high with a five-game losing streak May 9-August 10...Compiled a 0.56 ERA (16.0IP/1ER) over an 18-outing stretch May 15-June 21...Posted a 1.98 ERA (13.2IP/3ER) in 14 appearances July 26-August 29...Finished 0-2 with a 3.05 ERA (41.1IP/14ER) in 46 appearances prior to the all-star break...posted a 1-3 record and 4.94 ERA (31.0IP/17ER) in 33 outings following the all-star break.

2005

Went 2-8 with a 4.76 ERA and 27 saves in 55 appearances for Pittsburgh, fewest outings since his first season as a reliever with Cleveland in 1993 (51)...established a major league record by recording a save in each of the Pirates' first 10 victories, surpassing previous high of 5 saves in 5 wins, which had been accomplished several times...went 27-for-34 in save situations and allowed 5 of 11 inherited runners to score...converted each of his first 13 save opportunities through May 15, including his 300th career save on April 27, 2005 vs. Houston after retiring side in order in the 9th inning...was tabbed as inaugural winner of the DHL Delivery Man of the Month Award for April, which recognizes the most outstanding relief pitcher...had a 2.57 ERA (14.0 ip, 4 er) through May 15, but was 14-for-21 in save situations and posted a 5.48 ERA (42.2 ip, 26 er) from that point on...allowed a run in first outing on April 8 at San Diego but still picked up the save...went 8 straight appearances (8.0 ip) without allowing a run from April 10-May 3...started a game-ending 1-6-3 double play for 9th save on May 3 at Houston...was leading all National League closers with 30 Rolaids Relief points following his 10th save on May 4 at Houston...suffered first blown save on May 17 vs. Chicago-NL and 2nd one the following day...tied club record by converting 23 straight save chances from Aug. 24, 2004-May 15, 2005...Went 0-4 with 2 blown saves and an 8.53 ERA (6.1 ip, 6 er) in a 6-game stretch from May 13-28...picked up first save in 16 days with 15th save on May 31 vs. Florida...earned a save in 4 straight appearances from May 31-June 7...dropped 5th straight decision and suffered 4th blown save on June 15 on Jason Giambi's walk-off homer in 10th inning at Yankee Stadium...produced sac bunt as a batter on July 3 at Milwaukee in what was just his 2nd career plate appearance...was ejected during argument with Cubs' Jerry Hairston on July 15 at Wrigley Field...allowed 2-run home run to Colorado's Todd Helton in the 10th inning on July 22 and took loss...struck out in only official career at-bat on July 23 vs. Colorado...earned win on Aug. 3 vs. San Diego...converted 10 straight save opportunities after June 15 before 4th blown save on Aug. 27 vs. Cincinnati...earned final save on Aug. 13 at Houston...suffered 4 straight blown saves from Aug. 27-Sept. 12...pitched 56.2 innings, fewest in any season as a reliever.

2004

Spent entire season with Pittsburgh...Ranked fifth among National League relievers in saves and second with 65 games finished (St. Louis' Jason Isringhausen was first with 66)...Was one of 10 major league pitchers with 40 or more saves...Became just the sixth pitcher in history with four seasons of 40 saves or more...Went 43-for-48 in save opportunities and fell three saves shy of Mike Williams' club record of 46 set in 2002...Established club record for consecutive saves in one season with 18 straight from 4/5 (Opening Day) thru 6/29...Made Pittsburgh debut on 4/5 vs. Philadelphia and registered 250th career save (the Phillies had been the only team he had not recorded a save against in his career)...Retired the first batter he faced in 19 of his first 20 appearances...Did not allow a run in his first nine appearances (8.1ip)...Was scored upon for first time while recording seventh save on 4/30 @Milwaukee...Took sole possession of 20th place on career saves list with #257 on 5/1 @Milwaukee...Notched a save in four straight outings from 5/14-22...Needed just five pitches for his 12th save on 5/20 vs. San Diego...Lowered his ERA to 0.47 following his outing on 5/22 (19.1ip/1er)...Was scored upon in back-to-back appearances on 5/26 and 5/29...Improved to 16-for-16 in save situations on 6/17 vs. Anaheim, tying club record for most consecutive saves in one season, accomplished twice by Mike Williams...Picked up first win as a Pirate on 6/28 vs. St. Louis...Had streak of 18 straight saves end with first "blown save" on 6/30 vs. St. Louis, but still picked up the win...Established club record with a save in 11 consecutive appearances from 7/3-25 (the old mark was 10 straight by Mike Williams in 2002)...Appeared in 800th career game on 7/16 vs. Florida...Suffered second "blown save" and first loss on 7/29 vs. Atlanta...Had "blown saves" in back-to-back appearances on 8/10-11 vs. San Francisco. ...Surrendered four home runs and a total of eight runs in 6.0ip during a five-game stretch from 8/10 thru 8/19, but came away with three victories and one save...Suffered fifth and final "blown save" on 8/19 @St. Louis...Converted each of his final 10 save opportunities...Ended the season with 292 career saves, good for 19th place on the all-time saves list...Agreed to terms on a new contract on 11/11 (club option for the 2006 season).

2003

Spent entire season with Philadelphia...Converted 24 of his 28 save opportunities and finished the season as the club's all-time saves leader (111)...Finished 10th among National League leaders in saves and tied for eighth in games finished (47)...Recorded 18 of his 24 saves before the All-Star break...Posted a 4.73 ERA (40.0ip/21er) in 37 games before the break, but a 10.50 ERA (18.0ip/21er) in 24 contests after...Retired all three batters he faced and earned the save on Opening Day @Florida on 3/31...Recorded first victory on 4/8 vs. Atlanta...Suffered four straight losses from 4/11 thru 6/5...Surrendered five runs in 0.2ip on 5/13 vs. Arizona...Picked up a save in both games of a doubleheader on 6/1 vs. Montreal; the third time he did so with Philadelphia...Earned a win in back-to-back outings on 6/19 and 6/21...Appeared in five straight games from 6/26-30, throwing 7.0 scoreless frames...Pitched 3.0 scoreless innings on 6/27 @Baltimore, his longest career outing with Philly...Passed Steve Bedrosian and became Phillies all-time leader in saves with #104 on 6/29 @Baltimore...Was charged with five earned runs while retiring just one batter on 7/26 @Florida...Was scored upon in three consecutive outings from 8/2-8 (1.1ip/7er)...Made eight straight scoreless appearances from 8/10-31 (7.1ip)...Recorded last save on 8/31 @New York (NL)...Was scored upon in four of his six outings during the month of September (4.0ip/9r/9er).

2002

Became 1st Phillie to record two 40-save seasons, let alone back-to-back, and set the club single-season record with 45, falling one shy of his career high of 46 in 1995 . . . Finished 4th in NL in saves, 6th in games finished (64) and 3rd in save opportunities (54), behind only John Smoltz (59) and Eric Gagne (56) . . . Led all Phillies relievers in strikeouts (64) and appearances (74) . . . His 74 appearances were a career high . . . Appeared in 6 straight team games, 5/3-9, for first time in career (1-0, 5 saves) . . . Earned his 200th career save, 6/30 at BAL . . . Posted a 0.69 ERA in 11 June appearances . . . Earned the save in 7 straight appearances, 7/23-8/5 . . . His 10 saves in August set a club record and were tied for most in NL (Eric Gagne and Billy Wagner) . . . Saved both ends of a doubleheader, 9/21 at CIN . . . Set the club single-season record with his 44th save, 9/22 at CIN, recording the final out in the last game at Cinergy Field, passing Mitch Willliams' 43 in 1993 . . . His 45 saves give him 87 in his Phillies career, placing him 5th on the all-time franchise list; needs 3 more to tie Ron Reed for 4th place . . . Pitched more than 1.0 inning 6 times, compared to just once in 2001 . . . Held opposing hitters to a .231 avg . . . Finished 5th in NL Rolaids Relief Man standings with 113 points.

2001

Finished 5th in NL in saves (42), 4th in games finished (59) and 4th in save % (42-46, .913) . . . Had 5th-best ERA among NL relievers (2.34); tied for 8th-best in majors . . . Had 2nd-highest save total in Phillies history and became 3rd Phillie to reach 40 or more saves, joining Mitch Williams (43, 1993) and Steve Bedrosian (40, 1987) . . . Broke Bedrosian's Phillies record of most saves in a season by a right-handed pitcher . . . Blew save opportunity on Opening Night, 4/2 at FLA, when he balked in the tying run, but then converted 14 straight, 4/3-5/27 . . . Finished 4th in Rolaids NL Relief Pitcher standings with 118 points and was Rolaids NL Relief Pitcher of the Month for May (10 saves, 3.29 ERA) . . . His 10 saves in May were the most in any month by a Phillies pitcher since Heathcliff Slocumb saved 12 in May, 1995 . . . Saved both ends of DH, 6/28 vs FLA, and appeared in both ends, 10/6 at CIN . . . 1st Phillie to have 24 saves at All-Star break since Bedrosian in 1987 . . . Tied his career high with 18.0 consecutive scoreless innings, 6/30-8/15 . . . Was ejected for hitting STL's Jim Edmonds with a pitch, 8/19 and served 2-game suspension, 8/28-29 . . . Did not allow an earned run in 23.2 consecutive innings, 6/28-9/2 . . . Earned the save in 21 straight chances, 5/30-9/1, falling one shy of tying Al Holland's franchise-record streak of 22 from 1983-84 . . . Named NL Co-Player of the Week (with Albert Pujols), 9/17-23, after going 2-0, 2 saves, 0.00 ERA (4.0 IP).

2000

Appeared in 66 games for SEA, 3rd on club . . . 6th straight season appeared in 60 or more games . . . Threw 80.2 innings, 9th among AL relievers . . . Threw 3.0 innings 4/16 vs TOR, longest outing since 7/27/97 vs OAK . . . Recorded only save 5/13 vs OAK . . . Was 0-0, 1.88 ERA in 11 appearances in June (14.1 IP, 3 ER) . . . Scored on in just 2 of 11 June appearances and just 5 of 21 appearances, 6/3-7/25 (23.1 IP, 7 ER) . . . Pitched 3.0 scoreless innings (1 H, 3 BB, 2 SO) in 5-4, 19-inning win 8/1 vs BOS . . . Season-high 3.1 IP 8/30 vs NYY (3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO) . . . Had a 4.15 ERA (56.1 IP, 26 ER) after May.

1999

Tied SEA record with 33 saves . . . Became just 2nd pitcher in franchise history to top 30 saves (Mike Schooler - 33 in 1989; 30 in '90) . . . Save total was 8th-highest career total in club history . . . Allowed no runs in 4 straight outings, 4/17-25, recording 3 saves . . . Registered saves in 4 consecutive outings twice, 6/26-7/3 (1 R, 6 IP) and 7/30-8/3 . . . Notched record-tying 33rd save 9/16 at TB.

1998

Split season between CLE and SF . . . Had career-high 7 game winning streak, 6/30/97-5/3/98 . . . Earned only save of season 5/31 at TOR . . . Traded to SF 7/23 . . . Finished season unscored upon in 17 of last 20 appearances (19 IP, 12 H, 3 ER, 18 SO, 1.42 ERA).

1997

Began season on restricted list after off-season legal trouble . . . Placed on 25-man roster 4/11 vs ANA . . . Saved 16 games in 21 chances . . . Was 4-1 with a 0.86 ERA over final 47 outings (63 IP, 48 H, 6 ER, 18 BB, 50 SO) . . . Recorded 1st win of season 6/30 vs HOU . . . Tossed career-high 4.1 innings in relief 6/20 vs NYY, longest outing since 1993 . . . Was 1-0, 3.95 ERA in 11 postseason appearances (13.2 IP, 2O H, 6 ER, 5 BB, 12 SO) . . . Saved 4 games in 7 chances.

1997

Began season on restricted list after off-season legal trouble . . . Placed on 25-man roster 4/11 vs ANA . . . Saved 16 games in 21 chances . . . Was 4-1 with a 0.86 ERA over final 47 outings (63 IP, 48 H, 6 ER, 18 BB, 50 SO) . . . Recorded 1st win of season 6/30 vs HOU . . . Tossed career-high 4.1 innings in relief 6/20 vs NYY, longest outing since 1993 . . . Was 1-0, 3.95 ERA in 11 postseason appearances (13.2 IP, 2O H, 6 ER, 5 BB, 12 SO) . . . Saved 4 games in 7 chances.

1996

Saved 39 games in 44 opportunities . . . 2nd in AL in saves (39), trailing John Wetteland's 43 . . . Converted first 20 save opportunities . . . 1st blown save was 6/4 vs SEA, snapping a string of 28 saves dating back to 1995 . . . It also marked his 1st loss since 7/18/94 vs TEX . . . Saved 2 games for 3rd time in career, 5/3 vs SEA . . . Named to 2nd straight AL All-Star team (did not pitch) . . . Was 13-for-16 in one-run save opportunities . . . Toured with MLB All-Stars through Japan in off-season.

1996

Saved 39 games in 44 opportunities . . . 2nd in AL in saves (39), trailing John Wetteland's 43 . . . Converted first 20 save opportunities . . . 1st blown save was 6/4 vs SEA, snapping a string of 28 saves dating back to 1995 . . . It also marked his 1st loss since 7/18/94 vs TEX . . . Saved 2 games for 3rd time in career, 5/3 vs SEA . . . Named to 2nd straight AL All-Star team (did not pitch) . . . Was 13-for-16 in one-run save opportunities . . . Toured with MLB All-Stars through Japan in off-season.

1995

Assumed closer role for CLE . . . Recorded ML-high 46 saves in 48 opportunities . . . Set franchise single-season save record (46), passing Doug Jones' 43 set in 1990 . . . Won Rolaids AL Reliever of the Year . . . Won The Sporting News' AL Fireman of the Year . . . Voted Man of the Year by Cleveland BBWAA Chapter . . . Named the relief pitcher on the Associated Press ML All-Star team . . . Finished 2nd in BBWAA Cy Young Award voting and 4th in MVP voting . . . Only blown saves of season were 8/25 vs DET and 9/3 vs DET . . . 1.13 ERA was lowest in ML by relief pitcher . . . Named to 1st All-Star team, tossed a scoreless 9th inning . . . Broke Dennis Eckersley's 1992 ML record with saves in each of his first 38 opportunities . . . Set record 8/20 vs MIL . . . Did not allow an ER between 6/8 and 8/25 (29 G, 29 IP) . . . Saved both ends of DH on two different occasions . . . Indians were 60-2 in his 62 appearances . . . Posted 0.28 ERA at home in 30 games (31.2 IP, 16 H, 1 ER) . . . Had save in 14 straight appearances, 5/20-6/17 . . . Held hitters to .122 average with runners in scoring position, lowest in AL . . . Was 1-0 with 2.70 ERA in 8 postseason appearances (10.0 IP, 8 H, 3 ER) . . . Won Game 3 of the World Series . . .

1994

Used strictly out of the bullpen for 1st time in career . . . Ranked 2nd in AL in appearances (51, behind Bob Wickman) and in relief innings (73.0), tied for 3rd in relief wins (7) . . . Earned 1st ML save 4/12 at CAL . . . Played for Licey of the Dominican Winter League.

1993

Led CLE staff in wins (10), starts (33), CG (3), IP (208.2) and SO (118) . . . Opened season by serving a 3-game suspension for a brawl with CIN's Hal Morris during spring training . . . Pitched longest outing of career 4/15 at BOS, tossing 9.1 innings in ND vs Roger Clemens . . . Recorded career-high 10th win 9/10 . . . Walked only 2.7 batters per 9 IP, 10th-best in AL.

1992

Began season in Orioles rotation . . . Traded to CLE 7/14 . . . Went 4-2, 2.87 ERA in first 12 starts . . . Pitched 7-0 SHO 9/4 vs SEA . . . Gave up Robin Yount's 3,000th hit 9/9.

1991

Threw 1st ML CG and SHO 5/6 at CAL . . . Optioned to Rochester (AAA) 7/1-8/15 . . . Struck out career-high 9 and allowed career-low 3 hits in CG win 8/15 vs TEX . . . On DL 8/21-9/6 with inflamed right elbow.

1990

Began season rehabbing elbow at Hagerstown (AA) . . . Recorded 1st win at any level since 1987 . . . Threw one-hitter 7/23 vs Reading . . . Promoted to triple-A in August . . . Recalled by BAL 8/28 . . . Pitched into 6th inning in all 7 ML starts and only once allowed more than 3 runs . . . Opponents hit just .218 against him.

1989

Underwent surgery again on right elbow 6/16 . . . Pitched briefly at triple-A and double-A.

1988

Limited to 11 games after undergoing surgery on right elbow, 7/29.

1987

Led Southern League in starts (35) and innings (193.1) for Knoxville . . . Traded to BAL, 8/31, and immediately added to ML roster . . . Made ML debut 9/10 at BOS (ND, 6 IP, 3 ER) . . . Lost first 3 decisions . . . Earned 1st ML win 9/20 at DET.

1986

Recorded 12 victories over 32 starts for Ventura and Knoxville (AA) . . . Threw 183.2 innings.

1985

Spent season at Kinston.

1984

Combined for a 9-5 record with Florence (A) and Kinston (A).

1983

Allowed South Atlantic League-high 116 runs.

1982

Made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays in 1982...Led the Gulf Coast League with three shutouts.