Jenrry Mejía
| Jenrry Mejía | |||
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Mejía with the New York Mets
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| New York Mets – No. 58 | |||
| Pitcher | |||
| Born: October 11, 1989 Azua, Dominican Republic |
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 7, 2010 for the New York Mets | |||
| MLB statistics (through July 12, 2015) |
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| Win–loss record | 8-14 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.83 | ||
| Strikeouts | 155 | ||
| Saves | 28 | ||
| Holds | 5 | ||
| Teams | |||
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Jenrry Manuel Mejía (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxenri meˈxi.a]; born October 11, 1989) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball. He signed with the Mets as an international free agent on April 4, 2007. He was named the Mets closer in May of 2014, however he lost the job after he was suspended for using banned substances.
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Early life[edit]
Growing up, Mejía lived with his parents and younger brother in a neighborhood called Herrera, near Santo Domingo's former airport of the same name.[1] Starting at age 11, he made his living by shining shoes, earning about 300 pesos a day.[1] He did not play baseball until he was 15 years old, only becoming interested in the sport once he realized that players were able to earn a large signing bonus.[1] He drew some interest from the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, but was not seen at that time as a top talent because he was small and slight of build.[1] He ultimately signed with the Mets for $16,500.[1]
Baseball career[edit]
Minor leagues[edit]
In 2007, Mejía played for the DSL Mets. He recorded a 2–3 record with a 2.47 ERA 14 games (7 starts). The next year Mejía pitched for the GCL Mets and the Brooklyn Cyclones. His combined statistics were a 5–2 record, with a 2.89 ERA in 14 starts.[citation needed]
Mejía started the 2009 season pitching for the Single-A St. Lucie Mets. He was 4–1 with a 1.97 ERA. Then, he and Bradley Holt were both promoted to Double-A Binghamton. There he posted a 0–5 record with a 4.47 ERA in 10 starts. He also missed seven weeks with a strained middle finger on his pitching hand.[1] Because of his success in the 2009 season, he was named the 48th best prospect in the major leagues in the MLB.com Midseason Top 50 Prospect list. After the 2009 season, the Mets assigned him to the Surprise Rafters of the Arizona Fall League. In February 2010, Mejía was ranked as the 56th best prospect in all of baseball by Baseball America.[citation needed]
2010[edit]
Mejía made the Mets 2010 opening day roster as a relief pitcher, making him the youngest Met to make an opening day roster since Dwight Gooden.[2] He made his major league debut on April 7, 2010.[citation needed] On June 29, 2010 Mejia was sent back down to Double-A Binghamton to become a starter and Bobby Parnell took his spot in the Mets bullpen.[citation needed] On September 4, 2010, Mejia made his first major league start for the Mets at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs. Mike Nickeas, who caught Mejia, also made his debut in the majors on the same day.[citation needed]
2011[edit]
After starting for the Mets' Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo on April 29, 2011, Mejia left the game after four innings due to elbow discomfort. He was diagnosed a few days later with a complete tear of his medial collateral ligament and required Tommy John surgery.[3]
2013[edit]
Mejia was activated from the 60-day disabled list on July 26, 2013, and started the first game of a day-night doubleheader against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. He pitched 7 scoreless innings, giving up 7 hits, striking out 7, and walking none en route to his first win of the season.[4]
2014[edit]
In 2014, Mejia won the Mets' fifth starter role out of Spring Training beating out Daisuke Matsuzaka and John Lannan. Mejia's first start and win came on April 4th at Citi Field against the Cincinnati Reds in which he went 6 innings striking out 8 and allowing 4 hits, 1 run, and 5 walks. After struggling as a starter, Mejia was moved into the bullpen. The Mets began using Mejia as the closer, after the release of former closer Kyle Farnsworth. On May 25, Mejia played a key role in a double header against the Arizona Diamondbacks. In the first game, Mejia gave up a run off a fielder's choice to Diamondbacks shortstop Chris Owings in the top of the 9th inning. The Mets would go on to lose the first game 2-1. However in the second game, Mejia again pitched the 9th inning, this time earning his 3rd save of the season in a 4-2 Mets victory.
2015[edit]
On Opening Day, Mejía was warming up for a 9th inning save, but injured his elbow. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list the next day with elbow inflammation, retroactive to April 5. On April 11, it was announced that Mejía had been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for use of stanozolol.[5] Despite returning to the Mets in July, Mejía was replaced as closer by Jeurys Familia. On July 28, 2015, Major League Baseball announced that Mejia had failed a test for stanozolol again and Boldenone, receiving a 162-game suspension.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f Costa, Brian. "Mets pitching prospect Jenrry Mejia leaves shoe shining days behind for good", The Star-Ledger (New Jersey), March 14, 2010.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ "Daniel Murphy drives in 5; Jenrry Mejia wins season debut for Mets". ESPN. July 26, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
- ^ Wilmoth, Charlie (April 11, 2015). "Jenrry Mejia Receives 80-Game Suspension". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
- ^ "Mets’ Jenrry Mejia banned 162 games after 2nd failed PED test". New York Post. July 28, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
External links[edit]
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jenrry Mejía. |
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- 1989 births
- Living people
- New York Mets players
- All-Star Futures Game players
- Major League Baseball pitchers
- Dominican Summer League Mets players
- Gulf Coast Mets players
- Brooklyn Cyclones players
- St. Lucie Mets players
- Binghamton Mets players
- Surprise Rafters players
- Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
- Tigres del Licey players
- Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic
- Major League Baseball players suspended for drug offenses
- Dominican Republic sportspeople in doping cases