Joseph Benjamin Strong (born September 9, 1962) is an American former professional baseball

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 ...

. Strong played for the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

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), ...

(MLB) from to .

Career

Strong attended the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the Highlanders during the 1984 season. He was drafted by the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

in the 15th round of the

1984 MLB draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1984 Major League Baseball draft. Other notable players *Jeff Blauser†, 1st round (secondary phase), 4th overall by the Atlanta Braves *Greg Maddux‡, 2nd round, 31st ...

. He was a

replacement player In professional sports, a replacement player is an athlete who is not a member of the league's players association and plays during a labor dispute such as a strike or lockout, serving as a strikebreaker. Instances of replacement players Nation ...

during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in , and was barred from joining the Major League Baseball Players Association. After being released by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

organization in 1995 and playing for the independent

Surrey Glaciers The Yuba-Sutter Gold Sox were a summer collegiate wood-bat baseball club based in Marysville, California, in the United States, that began as an independent professional team in 1995. They played their home games at Bryant Field (stadium), Bryant ...

of the

Western Baseball League The Western Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in the Western United States and Western Canada. Its member teams were not associated with any Major League Baseball teams. It operated from 1995 to 2002. The league was founde ...

, he was inactive for two years, but returned to play in the

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and KBO ...

in . In February , he signed with the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home venu ...

, became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

at the end of the season, and signed with the Florida Marlins in February . After having played in five countries over 16 years, Strong made his MLB debut for the Marlins on May 11, 2000, becoming the oldest MLB rookie in 40 years. On June 17, 2000, Strong picked up his only MLB save. He retired the final out of the 11th inning to preserve a 4-3 Marlins victory over the Pirates. He played for the Marlins again in 2001 and became a free agent after the season ended. In , he played for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

' Triple-A affiliate, the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

. In , his final season, he played for the independent

Camden Riversharks The Camden Riversharks were an American professional baseball team based in Camden, New Jersey, from 2001 to 2015. They were a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not at that time affiliat ...

of the Atlantic League.

References

External links

Career statistics and player information
from

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strong, Joe 1962 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American expatriate baseball players in South Korea American expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Baseball players from California Bridgeport Bluefish players Broncos de Reynosa players Calgary Cannons players Camden Riversharks players China Times Eagles players Durham Bulls players Florida Marlins players Huntsville Stars players Hyundai Unicorns players Indianapolis Indians players KBO League pitchers Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Leones de Yucatán players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball replacement players Medford A's players Mexican League baseball pitchers Orlando Rays players People from Fairfield, California Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Reno Silver Sox players San Bernardino Spirit players Surrey Glaciers players UC Riverside Highlanders baseball players Wei Chuan Dragons players Wichita Wranglers players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople