José Ynocencio Sosa (December 28, 1952 – June 8, 2013) was a

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

who played from 1975 through 1976 for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

. Listed at 5' 11", 158 lb., he batted and threw right-handed. Born in

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

, Sosa came from a baseball family that included his cousins

Felipe Alou Felipe Rojas Alou (born May 12, 1935) is a Dominican former professional outfielder, first baseman, coach and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He managed the Montreal Expos (1992–2001) and the San Francisco Giants (2003–2006). The fir ...

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

Jesús Alou Jesús María Rojas Alou (, March 24, 1942 – March 10, 2023) was a Dominican professional baseball outfielder. During a 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played for the San Francisco Giants (1963–68), the Houston Astros (1969� ...

and

Moisés Alou Moisés Rojas-Alou Beltré (; ; born July 3, 1966) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who has played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1990 to 2008. He played in MLB for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Montreal Expos, ...

, being also related to

Mel Rojas Melquíades Rojas Medrano (born December 10, 1966) is a Dominican former Major League Baseball (MLB) relief pitcher. From 1990 to 1999, he played for the Montreal Expos, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers of the National Leagu ...

. Sosa was signed by the Astros as an amateur free agent in 1970 and started his career in their minor league system, playing for them at three different levels before joining the big club late in the 1975 midseason. During a game against the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

on July 30, 1975, Sosa secured his place in the record books when he belted a three-run

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

off Danny Frisella at the

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, formerly and also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, was the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas, United States. It seated around 50,000 fans, with a record atte ...

, to become both the first Dominican pitcher and the first Astros player ever to hit a home run in his first major league

plate appearance In baseball, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner. This ha ...

. He also earned the save as the Astros came out with an 8–4 victory. Sosa spent most of 1976 at Triple A and rejoined the Astros for a few games during three recalls. He then returned to the minors from 1977 to 1978 and never appeared in a major league game again. In a two-season career, Sosa posted a 1–3 record with one save and a 4.60

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 34 games (two starts), allowing nine runs on 67 hits and six walks, while

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Television in the Republic of Ireland, Irish television legal drama television series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017, based on ''The Good Wife'' by Robert King (writer), Robert and Michelle King. Prod ...

36 over innings of work. He went 41–53 with a 4.25 ERA in 202 minor league games. Sosa also pitched for the

Leones del Escogido Leones del Escogido (English: ''Chosen One Lions'' or ''Lions of Chosen One'' or ''Picked Lions'') is a professional baseball team in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Established in , Leones are the third most successful team in the Dominican Pr ...

of the

Dominican Winter League The Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League ( or LIDOM) is a professional baseball Winter league baseball, winter league consisting of six teams spread across the Dominican Republic; it is the highest level of professional baseball played ...

from 1977 to 1978. He finished with a 9–13 record and a 2.96 ERA in 111 games. Following his playing retirement, he served as their

bullpen coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...

for several seasons.Groups.Google.com – The Santo Domingo Diario Libre: José Sosa obituary
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sosa, Jose 1952 births 2013 deaths Cedar Rapids Astros players Charleston Charlies players Cocoa Astros players Columbus Astros players Covington Astros players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Houston Astros players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 20th-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Memphis Blues players Baseball players from Santo Domingo Alou family

See also

References

External links