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[[Category:San Francisco Giants players|Mesa, Jose]]
[[Category:San Francisco Giants players|Mesa, Jose]]
[[Category:Major league pitchers|Mesa, Jose]]
[[Category:Major league pitchers|Mesa, Jose]]
[[Category:People who have had Tommy John surgery|Mesa, Jose]]
[[Category: Sportspeople of the Dominican Republic|Mesa, Jose]]
[[Category: Sportspeople of the Dominican Republic|Mesa, Jose]]
[[Category:1966 births|Mesa, Jose]]
[[Category:1966 births|Mesa, Jose]]

Revision as of 01:20, 17 July 2005

José Ramón Nova Mesa [MAY-sah] (nickname "Joe Table"; born May 22, 1966 in Pueblo Viejo, Dominican Republic) is a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who currently plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He bats and throws right-handed.

Mesa began his major-league career as a starting pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles, who hoped that Mesa's superior fastball would earn him success in the starting role. After 48 starts of below-average results during four seasons, the Orioles traded Mesa to the Cleveland Indians in 1992. Cleveland continued to use Mesa as a starter through the end of 1993; that year, Mesa pitched a career-high 208-2/3 innings, although Mesa's earned-run average was worse than the league average ERA for the fifth consecutive season.

Mesa became a relief pitcher for the Indians in 1994, and, for the first season of his career, he posted an ERA better than the league average. In the role of closer during the 1995 season, Mesa pitched superbly; in 64 innings pitched over 62 appearances, Mesa had a 1.12 ERA, saved 46 games, and won 3. Thirty-eight of Mesa's 46 saves were recorded in consecutive appearances in save situations; this was a major-league record at the time. Mesa's performance in 1995 was instrumental to the Indians' 100-44 regular-season record and their first World Series appearance since 1954. In 1997, Mesa's 2.40 ERA, 16 saves, and 4 wins helped the Indians to their second World Series in three seasons.

Through the end of the 2004 season, Mesa has compiled a 75-93 record in 16 seasons, with a 4.27 ERA and 292 saves in 1369 innings.

Teams

Highlights

See also