Jesse Orosco

[William Malone]

Jesse Russell Orosco  was born in Santa Barbara, California on April 21, 1957.

He was selected by the Minnesota Twins in round two of the 1978 January Draft, but didn't pitch in a big league game for the club until 2003. After recording a 1.13 ERA over 40.0 innings with the Rookie-level Elizabethton Twins in 1978, Orosco was traded to the New York Mets in a blockbuster deal that brought All-Star starting pitcher Jerry Koosman to Minnesota. Koosman won 20 games and posted a 7.2 bWAR during his first season with the Twins, but that was his age 36 season and his career decline began shortly after.

Meanwhile, Orosco established himself as an All-Star reliever in the mid-1980's with the Mets. He was 3-0 with two saves and a 1.98 ERA over eight relief appearances during the 1986 postseason, striking out 16 hitters over 13.2 innings of work. That 16th strikeout, which victimized Boston Red Sox second baseman Marty Barrett, closed out the World Series.

The left handed reliever would go onto pitch in a Major League record 1,252 games, and there were several stops along the way between the Mets and a reunion with the Twins organization. Orosco was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1988, winning his second ring during his first season out west. He also pitched for the Cleveland Indians (1989-91), Milwaukee Brewers (1992-94), Baltimore Orioles (1995-99), St. Louis Cardinals (2000) and then one more stop with the Dodgers (2001-02). Orosco singed with the San Diego Padres ahead of the 2003 season, and that's when his body finally realized he was 46-years old.

San Diego traded him to the New York Yankees for cash after he put up a 7.56 ERA in 25.0 inning. His numbers with the Yankees were even worse, and the Twins acquired Orosco just before the waiver trade deadline closed on August 31st. This reunited him with his former Met teammate Ron Gardenhire, who was also born in 1957. But while Gardenhire hadn't played a Major League game since 1985, Orosco was going to pitch in a tight AL Central race.

While most of the eight outings for Orosco were in lower leverage, he did get one huge out for the Twins on September 24th against Cleveland. In a tie game, Rick Reed turned the ball over to Orosco with a runner on second and two outs in the eighth inning. The savvy veteran got Indians left fielder Jody Gerut to fly out, Michael Cuddyer homered to lead off the top of the ninth, and Eddie Guardado locked things down to finish out the game. It was the 87th, and final, win of Orosco's 24-year Major League tenure.

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