José Ramón Nova Mesa [MAY-sah] (may have been born on May 22, 1966 (see Controversies) in Pueblo Viejo, Azua, Dominican Republic), is a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who last pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies. He throws and pitches right-handed.
Mesa was initially signed as an amateur free agent by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1981, originally as an outfielder. He was traded to the Baltimore Orioles, during the 1987 season for starting pitcher Mike Flanagan. Mesa began his major-league career as a starting pitcher with the 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 appearance in three seasons. However his inability to hold a one run lead in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 1997 World Series was a black mark on his career, and Cleveland traded him mid-way through the following season.
Through the end of the 2005 season, Mesa had compiled a 77-101 record in 17 seasons, with a 4.29 ERA and 319 saves in 1425 innings. On December 10, 2006, he signed with the Tigers. He was released by the team following their 7-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on June 3, 2007. In 16 appearances with the team, he was 1-1 with a 12.34 ERA. On June 8, 2007 he signed a minor league deal with the Phillies, making his second stint with the team. Mesa's contract with the Phillies expired--making him a free agent--at the end of the 2007 season. It still remains to be seen if he will be resigned with the Phillies or another team; however, because of questions regarding his age and his lackluster post-season pitching performance it seems unlikely that he will return for 2008.
Jose Mesa is known for using two different colored baseball gloves, one for home games and a different one for away games (i.e. Red for Phillies home games, blue for Phillies away games).
