Randall Jerome Messenger (born August 13, 1981) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

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 ...

, best known for his time with the

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 ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

. He is tall and weighs . He made his Major League debut on June 22, 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 fran ...

. Messenger graduated from

Sparks High School Sparks High School is a public high school located at 820 15th Street, Sparks, Nevada, United States. It serves about 1150 students as a member of the Washoe County School District. It is ranked in the top-1000 schools based on the number of AP ex ...

in 1999. Messenger is nicknamed Big Mess.

Professional career

Florida Marlins

He was drafted in the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft in the 11th round, 326th overall, by the Florida Marlins. In Messenger went 0–3 with a 7.52 ERA in 13 outings, including two starts, for

Gulf Coast League Marlins The Florida Complex League Marlins are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Miami Marlins, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Marlins. The team plays ...

. He also spent the with the GCL Marlins going 2–2 with a 4.83 ERA in 12 starts. Messenger went 2–1 with a 3.93 ERA in 14 relief outings for the Class-A

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play thei ...

of the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. He also was 7–4 with a 4.08 ERA in 18 starts for the Class-A Advanced

Brevard County Manatees The Brevard County Manatees were a minor league baseball team of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League from 1994 to 2016. They were based in Viera, Florida, and played their home games at Space Coast Stadium. The team left Brevard County af ...

of the Florida State League. In Messenger set a career high in wins with a record of 11–8 while posting a 4.37 ERA in 28 outings, including 27 starts, for the Class-A Advanced

Jupiter Hammerheads The Jupiter Hammerheads are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roger Dean ...

of the Florida State League. He was promoted to the Double-A

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and play their home games at Five County Stadium. ...

in . Messenger went 5–7 with a 5.46 ERA in 29 outings, including 23 starts. In he stayed with the Mudcats going 6–3 with a 2.58 ERA and 21 saves in 58 relief outings. Messenger went 4–2 with a 3.88 ERA in 39 relief outings for the Triple-A

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an e ...

in . He posted a 5.29 ERA in 29 relief outings for Marlins in his first stint on the Major Leagues. In Messenger went 2–7 with a 5.67 ERA in 59 relief outings for Marlins. He gave up three runs on one hit in four relief appearances for Triple-A Albuquerque. He tossed a scoreless inning for Class-A Advanced Jupiter. Messenger went 1–1 with a 2.66 ERA in 23 relief appearances for Marlins in .

San Francisco Giants

On May 31, , Messenger was traded to the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

for

Armando Benítez Armando Benítez (born November 3, 1972) is a Dominican former major league relief pitcher. Benítez debuted with the Baltimore Orioles in 1994 and within a few years became their closer. He was a reliever for several other organizations after Ba ...

. He did not allow an earned run in his first seven relief outings for Giants, spanning frames and finished the season with the Giants 1–3 with one save in 37 outings. On March 5, , he was optioned down to Triple-A

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

. He was released on March 12, but signed a new minor league deal with the Giants a few days later.

Seattle Mariners

After being released by the Giants, Messenger signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners on July 11, , and was assigned to the Triple-A

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960 ...

going 6–0 with one save and a 2.38 ERA in 12 outings with Tacoma. He was called up on August 25 where in 13 games he had a 3.55 ERA. Messenger was released by the Mariners on January 28, . He re-signed with the team to a minor league deal two days later. On October 29, he was outrighted off the 40-man roster. On November 9, 2009, he was granted free agency.

Hanshin Tigers

Messenger signed with the Hanshin Tigers on December 9, 2009. After splitting time as a starter and reliever for the Tigers in 2010, Messenger became a mainstay in the starting rotation from 2011. Through eight seasons with the Tigers at the end of 2017, Messenger has an 84–70 record with a 2.98 ERA and 1271 strikeouts in innings pitched. He also has 16 complete games and 10 shutouts. Messenger was selected for the 2018 NPB All-Star Game. He announced his retirement at the end of the 2019 season in September.

References

External links

NPB.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Messenger, Randy 1981 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from Nevada Brevard County Manatees players Carolina Mudcats players Fresno Grizzlies players Florida Marlins players Gulf Coast Marlins players Hanshin Tigers players Jupiter Hammerheads players Kane County Cougars players Major League Baseball pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Phoenix Desert Dogs players Sportspeople from Reno, Nevada San Francisco Giants players Seattle Mariners players Tacoma Rainiers players