Cooperstown Choices: Jose Mesa
With the Hall Of Fame election announcement coming on January 9, 2013, it is time to review the ballot, go over the names, and decide who belongs in the Hall Of Fame.
There are twenty four men on the ballot for the first time this year and we will take a look at each one individually prior to official announcements. You can find all of the profiles in the I-70 Baseball Exclusives: Cooperstown Choices 2013 menu at the top of the page.
In this article, we take a look at Jose Mesa
Mesa’s 19 year major league career spanned eight teams, most notably the Cleveland Indians. While in Cleveland he would be selected to two All Star rosters, finish second in the 1995 Cy Young Award voting and fourth in the 1995 Most Valuable Player voting.
Year | Tm | W | L | G | GS | GF | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1987 | BAL | 1 | 3 | 6.03 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 31.1 | 38 | 23 | 21 | 15 | 17 | 73 | 4.9 |
1990 | BAL | 3 | 2 | 3.86 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 46.2 | 37 | 20 | 20 | 27 | 24 | 99 | 4.6 |
1991 | BAL | 6 | 11 | 5.97 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 123.2 | 151 | 86 | 82 | 62 | 64 | 67 | 4.7 |
1992 | TOT | 7 | 12 | 4.59 | 28 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 160.2 | 169 | 86 | 82 | 70 | 62 | 86 | 3.5 |
1992 | BAL | 3 | 8 | 5.19 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 67.2 | 77 | 41 | 39 | 27 | 22 | 77 | 2.9 |
1992 | CLE | 4 | 4 | 4.16 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 93.0 | 92 | 45 | 43 | 43 | 40 | 94 | 3.9 |
1993 | CLE | 10 | 12 | 4.92 | 34 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 208.2 | 232 | 122 | 114 | 62 | 118 | 88 | 5.1 |
1994 | CLE | 7 | 5 | 3.82 | 51 | 0 | 22 | 2 | 73.0 | 71 | 33 | 31 | 26 | 63 | 123 | 7.8 |
1995 | CLE | 3 | 0 | 1.13 | 62 | 0 | 57 | 46 | 64.0 | 49 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 58 | 418 | 8.2 |
1996 | CLE | 2 | 7 | 3.73 | 69 | 0 | 60 | 39 | 72.1 | 69 | 32 | 30 | 28 | 64 | 130 | 8.0 |
1997 | CLE | 4 | 4 | 2.40 | 66 | 0 | 38 | 16 | 82.1 | 83 | 28 | 22 | 28 | 69 | 195 | 7.5 |
1998 | TOT | 8 | 7 | 4.57 | 76 | 0 | 36 | 1 | 84.2 | 91 | 50 | 43 | 38 | 63 | 99 | 6.7 |
1998 | CLE | 3 | 4 | 5.17 | 44 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 54.0 | 61 | 36 | 31 | 20 | 35 | 92 | 5.8 |
1998 | SFG | 5 | 3 | 3.52 | 32 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 30.2 | 30 | 14 | 12 | 18 | 28 | 116 | 8.2 |
1999 | SEA | 3 | 6 | 4.98 | 68 | 0 | 60 | 33 | 68.2 | 84 | 42 | 38 | 40 | 42 | 100 | 5.5 |
2000 | SEA | 4 | 6 | 5.36 | 66 | 0 | 29 | 1 | 80.2 | 89 | 48 | 48 | 41 | 84 | 86 | 9.4 |
2001 | PHI | 3 | 3 | 2.34 | 71 | 0 | 59 | 42 | 69.1 | 65 | 26 | 18 | 20 | 59 | 182 | 7.7 |
2002 | PHI | 4 | 6 | 2.97 | 74 | 0 | 64 | 45 | 75.2 | 65 | 26 | 25 | 39 | 64 | 131 | 7.6 |
2003 | PHI | 5 | 7 | 6.52 | 61 | 0 | 47 | 24 | 58.0 | 71 | 44 | 42 | 31 | 45 | 62 | 7.0 |
2004 | PIT | 5 | 2 | 3.25 | 70 | 0 | 65 | 43 | 69.1 | 78 | 26 | 25 | 20 | 37 | 132 | 4.8 |
2005 | PIT | 2 | 8 | 4.76 | 55 | 0 | 48 | 27 | 56.2 | 61 | 30 | 30 | 26 | 37 | 88 | 5.9 |
2006 | COL | 1 | 5 | 3.86 | 79 | 0 | 26 | 1 | 72.1 | 73 | 32 | 31 | 36 | 39 | 128 | 4.9 |
2007 | TOT | 2 | 3 | 7.11 | 56 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 50.2 | 53 | 48 | 40 | 25 | 29 | 65 | 5.2 |
2007 | DET | 1 | 1 | 12.34 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 11.2 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 38 | 6.9 |
2007 | PHI | 1 | 2 | 5.54 | 40 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 39.0 | 34 | 32 | 24 | 19 | 20 | 83 | 4.6 |
19 Yrs | 80 | 109 | 4.36 | 1022 | 95 | 633 | 321 | 1548.2 | 1629 | 811 | 750 | 651 | 1038 | 100 | 6.0 | |
162 Game Avg. | 5 | 7 | 4.36 | 62 | 6 | 39 | 20 | 94 | 99 | 49 | 46 | 40 | 63 | 100 | 6.0 | |
W | L | G | GS | GF | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | |||||
CLE (7 yrs) | 33 | 36 | 3.88 | 341 | 48 | 195 | 104 | 647.1 | 657 | 305 | 279 | 224 | 447 | 116 | 6.2 | |
PHI (4 yrs) | 13 | 18 | 4.05 | 246 | 0 | 183 | 112 | 242.0 | 235 | 128 | 109 | 109 | 188 | 102 | 7.0 | |
BAL (4 yrs) | 13 | 24 | 5.41 | 49 | 47 | 1 | 0 | 269.1 | 303 | 170 | 162 | 131 | 127 | 74 | 4.2 | |
PIT (2 yrs) | 7 | 10 | 3.93 | 125 | 0 | 113 | 70 | 126.0 | 139 | 56 | 55 | 46 | 74 | 108 | 5.3 | |
SEA (2 yrs) | 7 | 12 | 5.18 | 134 | 0 | 89 | 34 | 149.1 | 173 | 90 | 86 | 81 | 126 | 92 | 7.6 | |
COL (1 yr) | 1 | 5 | 3.86 | 79 | 0 | 26 | 1 | 72.1 | 73 | 32 | 31 | 36 | 39 | 128 | 4.9 | |
SFG (1 yr) | 5 | 3 | 3.52 | 32 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 30.2 | 30 | 14 | 12 | 18 | 28 | 116 | 8.2 | |
DET (1 yr) | 1 | 1 | 12.34 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 11.2 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 38 | 6.9 | |
AL (13 yrs) | 54 | 73 | 4.53 | 540 | 95 | 293 | 138 | 1077.2 | 1152 | 581 | 543 | 442 | 709 | 97 | 5.9 | |
NL (8 yrs) | 26 | 36 | 3.96 | 482 | 0 | 340 | 183 | 471.0 | 477 | 230 | 207 | 209 | 329 | 108 | 6.3 |
Why He Should Get In
His 321 saves ranks him 14th in major league baseball over his career. For a good portion of his career, he was considered one of the best closers in baseball.
Why He Should Not Get In
Closers are still not getting into the Hall Of Fame easily and Mesa would have a hill to climb to get there. With players ahead of him with more than 400 saves, he will be hard pressed to force his way in to Cooperstown.
Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball
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