Francisco de la Rosa Jiménez (March 3, 1966 – January 6, 2011) was a

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He made two appearances in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

during the 1991 season. Listed at 5' 11", 185 lbs., he threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

Career

Born in

La Romana, Dominican Republic La Romana is a municipality and capital of the southeastern province of La Romana, opposite Catalina Island. It is one of the 10 largest cities in the Dominican Republic with a population estimated in 2010 at 130,426 within the city limits ( m ...

, he developed as a ballplayer around the San Pedro de Macoris area, a hotbed of future Major League talent at the time. He signed with

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

Epy Guerrero Epifanio Obdulio "Epy" Guerrero (January 3, 1942 - May 23, 2013) was a Dominican baseball scout who signed more than 50 Major League Baseball (MLB) players for the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers. Epy w ...

in 1985, and spent one season with the

GCL Blue Jays The Florida Complex League Blue Jays are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays. The team plays it ...

, in which he went 0–1 with a 5.52

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 16 relief appearances, before being released by Toronto. De la Rosa joined the Baltimore Orioles organization in 1988, and went 3–4 with a 4.61 ERA for the

Hagerstown Suns The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They played their home g ...

of the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. Though he had been used primarily as a

reliever In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

, he was converted to a starter with Hagerstown in 1990, now of the double A Eastern League. In that role, De la Rosa was 9–5 with a 2.06 ERA. After compiling a 4–1 record with a 2.67 ERA for the triple A

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

in 1991, De la Rosa received a September call-up to the Orioles, making his Major League debut on September 7 against the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. Inheriting a bases loaded, two out situation, he retired

Bill Pecota William Joseph Pecota (born February 16, 1960) is a former Major League Baseball infielder. He is the namesake of PECOTA, a sabermetric created by Nate Silver and owned by Baseball Prospectus. Early years Pecota attended Peterson High School i ...

on a fly ball to left to end the eighth inning. He then loaded the bases himself in the ninth before escaping the inning without giving up a run. De la Rosa's next appearance came a month later against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

. Entering the game with the Yankees having already scored five runs in the third inning, De la Rosa recorded the final two outs of the inning without giving up another run. He pitched a perfect fourth before the Yankees got to him for three runs in the fifth. Prior to the start of the 1992 season, the Orioles sent De la Rosa to the Yankees to complete an earlier deal in which they acquired Alan Mills for a player to be named later. In two seasons with the Yankees' triple A affiliate, the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

, De la Rosa was 7–2 with a 4.93 ERA. De la Rosa pitched for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

' Triple-A affiliate, the

Louisville Redbirds Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

in 1995, and the

Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks One of the six founding members of the modern Northern League in 1993, the Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks were league members from 1993 to 1998. They played their home games at Port Arthur Stadium in Thunder Bay, Ontario. 1993 Season The Whiskey ...

of the independent Northern League in 1996. He also played for a long time with the

Estrellas Orientales Estrellas Orientales (English: Eastern Stars), also known as Estrellas de Oriente, is a baseball team in the Dominican Winter League. Based in San Pedro de Macorís, the team has historically struggled, winning championships only in 1936, 1954, 196 ...

of the

Dominican Winter Baseball League Dominican may refer to: * Someone or something from or related to the Dominican Republic ( , stress on the "mi"), on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean ** People of the Dominican Republic ** Demographics of the Domi ...

, earning the nickname "Tiger Tamer" for his performance against the

Licey Tigers Tigres del Licey (English: Licey Tigers) is a professional baseball team in the Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM). The team was founded in 1907 and based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It is one of two LIDOM franchises based in ...

. De la Rosa continued to pitch in independent leagues in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

before moving to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, where he lived with his brothers until his death at 44.

Sources

External links

Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:De La Rosa, Francisco 1966 births 2011 deaths Baltimore Orioles players Columbus Clippers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Frederick Keys players Gulf Coast Blue Jays players Hagerstown Suns players Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic People from La Romana, Dominican Republic Sportspeople from San Pedro de Macorís Rochester Red Wings players Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks players China Times Eagles players Piratas de Campeche players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Taiwan