Dominican baseball player (born 1950)
Baseball player
Elias Sosa Martinez
(born June 10, 1950) is a Dominican former
professional baseball
pitcher
. He was signed by the
San Francisco Giants
of
Major League Baseball
(MLB) as an amateur free agent on March 4, 1968, and played for the Giants (1972?1974),
St. Louis Cardinals
(1975),
Atlanta Braves
(1975?1976),
Los Angeles Dodgers
(1976?1977),
Oakland Athletics
(1978),
Montreal Expos
(1979?1981),
Detroit Tigers
(1982), and
San Diego Padres
(1983).
Sosa was used almost exclusively in relief during his 12-year MLB career. He appeared in 601 games, just three as a starter, and performed as both a
closer
and a long reliever. He twice had an
earned run average
(ERA) below 2.00 (1977 and 1979), and in his
rookie
year, 1973, he won 10 games, saved 18, and pitched in 71 games, all of which would become career highs.
In 1973, he saved nine of teammate
Ron Bryant
's
major league
-leading 24 wins, including #20.
He finished in the top ten
American League
or
National League
pitchers four times for
games pitched
and
games finished
, three times for
saves
, and once for
winning percentage
.
Other career highlights include:
- 3 scoreless innings to earn a
save
against the
Philadelphia Phillies
(June 2, 1973)
- won games on two consecutive days vs. the
Atlanta Braves
, pitching a combined 4 scoreless innings with 4 strikeouts, no walks, and giving up just one hit (September 1 and 2, 1973)
- 4 scoreless innings to earn a save against the
Cincinnati Reds
(July 26, 1974)
- 4 innings, allowing just one run (unearned), to earn a save against the
San Francisco Giants
(May 23, 1976)
- 4.1 scoreless innings, with a career-high 6 strikeouts, for a no decision vs. the
San Diego Padres
(July 10, 1977)
- 3 perfect innings to earn a save against the
Toronto Blue Jays
(May 2, 1978)
- 4 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, to earn a save against the
San Diego Padres
(July 15, 1979)
Sosa allowed just 64 career
home runs
, or one for every 14.1
innings pitched
. He gave up the second home run of three hit by
Reggie Jackson
of the
New York Yankees
in Game 6 of the
1977 World Series
. For his career, he finished with 59 wins, 51 losses, 83
saves
, 330
games finished
, and an ERA of 3.32.
In 1989 he played for the
St. Petersburg Pelicans
of the
Senior Professional Baseball Association
.
See also
[
edit
]
External links
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