Melquíades Rojas Medrano (born December 10, 1966) is a Dominican former

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)

relief pitcher 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 weat ...

. From 1990 to 1999, he played for the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

, Chicago Cubs,

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

and

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

and the Detroit Tigers of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

Career

His best season was in 1992, when he posted a 7-1 record in 68 relief appearances. Rojas had an amazing 1.43 ERA in 100.2 innings, and a WHIP of 1.043. He primarily was the set up man for closer

John Wetteland John Karl Wetteland (born August 21, 1966) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (1989–2000). He pitched for four teams: the Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos, New York Yankees, and Texas Rang ...

(37 saves in 1992), but Rojas was able to accumulate 10 saves that season. On May 11, 1994, Rojas struck out three batters on nine pitches in the ninth inning of a 4-3 win over the New York Mets. Rojas became the 19th National League pitcher and the 28th pitcher in major-league history to accomplish an

immaculate inning In baseball, a strikeout occurs when a pitcher throws three strikes to a batter during his time at bat. An immaculate inning occurs when a pitcher strikes out all three batters he faces in one inning, using the minimum possible number of pitche ...

. Mel Rojas joined Sinon Bulls of

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

in Taiwan in 2004, played 11 games, posted 3 saves with 1.20 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 15 innings, but then was released by the team after the season ended.

Personal life

Mel Rojas is the nephew of Felipe, Jesús, and

Matty Alou Mateo "Matty" Rojas Alou (December 22, 1938 – November 3, 2011) was a Dominican former professional baseball player and manager. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1974. He also played in Nippon Professiona ...

and the cousin of

Moisés Alou Moisés Rojas-Alou Beltré (; ; born July 3, 1966) is a Dominican-American former outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for 17 seasons in the National League. In 1,942 career games, Alou had a batting average of .303 with 2,134 hits, ...

. Mel Rojas' son, Mel Rojas Jr. was selected 84th overall in the

2010 Major League Baseball Draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pi ...

by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played for the

KT Wiz KT Wiz ( ko, KT 위즈) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Suwon. They are a member of the KBO League. Their home stadium is Suwon Baseball Stadium in Suwon. History On 11 January 2013, the Korea Baseball Organization offi ...

of the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

from 2017 until 2020, winning the league MVP in 2020. He is currently playing for

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

of the NPB.

References

External links

1966 births Living people Alou family Bridgeport Bluefish players Burlington Expos players Chicago Cubs players Detroit Tigers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Gulf Coast Expos players Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Expos players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball pitchers Montreal Expos players Nashua Pride players New York Mets players Ottawa Lynx players Pawtucket Red Sox players Rockford Expos players Sarasota Red Sox players West Palm Beach Expos players People from Bajos de Haina {{DominicanRepublic-baseball-pitcher-stub