Jesse Orosco pitched in more games than any pitcher, ever, 1,252, over 24 years. He was an All Star in 1983 & 1984 with the New York Mets. He posted a 1.47 ERA, with a 13-7 record, & 17 saves in 1983, then followed that up the next year with 31 saves, a 10-6 mark, and a 2.59 ERA. 1984 was the only year Jesse was the number one closer on his team. As a lefthanded reliever he was able to stick around forever in the major leagues by becoming a lefty specialist.
He is one of the reasons, fathers, today, place a baseball in the left hand of their infant’s sons. The best way to make it to the big leagues and stay there, is as a lefthanded pitcher.
All this said about Jesse Orosco, I have to ask, “Why is this guy even on the ballot?”
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Why is he even on the Ballot? |
While we wait for January 12 ballot results, The Baseball Zealot will be profiling those players who are on the 2009 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. Read the rest the of the profiles.
TB,
I fired up Orosco’s stats and he does have pretty good (great?) numbers for the type of pitcher he is. Considering that for most of his career, he barely pitched an inning/game (if that), he managed to last long enough to punch out 1279 batters.
But the fact is, he never got the sexy stats even for a relief pitcher. He “only” got 144 saves. And stats like that won’t get you into the Hall of Fame.
I went on a hunch thinking HOF nominee buddy Dan Plesac would be on Orosco’s “Similar Pitcher” list.
He’s listed #5.