Jesse Orosco

Jesse Orosco pitched in the major leagues for 24 seasons and holds the career record for pitching appearances with 1,252, a record that is unlikely to ever be broken. He spent three seasons (1992-94) pitching for Milwaukee.

Jesse Russell Orosco was born in Santa Barbara, California and was drafted by St. Louis in the seventh round of the 1977 MLB January draft but stayed at Santa Barbara City College until the following January, when he was picked in the second round by the Minnesota Twins. The left-handed reliever made his pro debut at Elizabethton in the Rookie Appalachian League and then was traded to the New York Mets in February 1979. He made his big-league debut that season, appearing in 18 games to start the season before being sent down to Triple-A Tidewater, where he started 15 games.

In 1982, Orosco became a full-time major league reliever for the Mets. Over the next six seasons for New York, he averaged 58 appearances and 18 saves per season, including a career-high 31 saves in 1984. Orosco earned his only two All-Star appearances with the Mets in 1983 and 1984.

Two weeks before Christmas 1987, Orosco was involved in a three-team trade (Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland A’s, New York Mets) that included Kevin Tapani, Wally Whitehurst, Alfredo Griffin, Jay Howell, Bob Welch, and Matt Young. Orosco spent one season with the Dodgers before signing as a free agent with Cleveland.

After three solid seasons with the Indians (130 ERA+, 3.68 FIP), Orosco was dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers in December 1991. He spent the next three campaigns as a high-leverage lefthander, setting up closers Doug Henry and Mike Fetters. After the 1994 season, Orosco signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles, where he became a stalwart from 1995-1999.

Much like a hired gun, Orosco spent the next four seasons pitching for St. Louis, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York Yankees, and Minnesota. Orosco was traded from the Yankees to Minnesota in August 2003, neatly bookending his professional career, ending with the team that signed him out of college. The Twins, who made the postseason in 2003, elected to leave Orosco off the ALDS roster in the series with the Yankees. 

Orosco was a key player with the 1986 World Series winning Mets, earning two saves against Boston in the infamous ‘Bill Buckner Series.’ He struck out Buckner with the bases loaded in the eighth inning of Game 6 and ended the Series by striking out Marty Barrett as the final out in Game 7.

He made 24 appearances in four different postseasons, notching two wins and two saves.