Pedro Feliciano

Pedro Juan Feliciano Molina (born August 25, 1976), nicknamed "The Perpetual Pedro", is a former professional baseball left-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets between 2002 and 2013.

Early life

Feliciano graduated from Jose S. Algeria High School in Dorado, Puerto Rico.

Professional career

Early career

In 1995 he was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 31st round of the amateur draft and began his professional career with the Great Falls Dodgers in the Pioneer League. His progress through the minor leagues was slow and marred by injuries. After four years in the Rookie and Class A leagues, he suffered a shoulder injury in 1999 which prevented him from playing all season. He returned in 2000, pitching at the AA level, with one inning for the AAA Albuquerque Dukes. In 2001, he struggled in AAA after pitching well in AA. After six years of service in the minor leagues without promotion to the Majors, he became a free agent.

Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets (2002–2004)

Feliciano signed with the Cincinnati Reds for the 2002 season, but was traded to the New York Mets in August along with Brady Clark for Shawn Estes. On September 4, 2002, Feliciano made his Major League debut pitching two scoreless innings of relief against the Florida Marlins. In the three years following, he had mixed success with the Mets, being recalled from and optioned to the AAA Norfolk Tides several times in 2003 and 2004.

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (2005)

Feliciano spent the 2005 season with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Japanese Pacific League.

Second stint with the New York Mets (2006–2010)

Feliciano returned to the Mets as a left-handed specialist for the 2006 and 2007 seasons. In 2008 and 2009, he operated in the bullpen as the Mets' primary situational left-hander.

Feliciano with the Mets

In 2007, he recorded his first career big-league save against the Philadelphia Phillies.

In 2008, he led the majors in games pitched, with 86. In 58 of those games, the greatest number in the majors, he recorded fewer than three outs. He also led the majors in days pitched on zero days rest, with 36.^[1]

Due to his large number of appearances, he has been nicknamed "Perpetual Pedro" by Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen.

In 2010, he passed Hall of Famer Tom Seaver in games pitched for the Mets with 459 and is now second all time to John Franco.

Pedro lead the majors in appearances in 2008, 2009, and 2010. He has had the most appearances from 2007–2010. His 344 relief appearances over those four years, is a Major League Baseball record.

New York Yankees (2011–2012)

In January 2011, Feliciano signed a two-year deal worth approximately $8 million with the New York Yankees.^[2][3] Early in the 2011 season, Feliciano was placed on the disabled list due to soreness in his left shoulder. On April 25, orthopedist James Andrews recommended a six-week strengthening program for the pitcher. The Yankees front office claimed the reason behind Feliciano's injury was that the Mets had overused him. The cause of Feliciano's trip to the disabled list was a torn capsule and rotator cuff in his left arm, requiring arthroscopic surgery. Because of this, Feliciano was shut down for the entire 2011 season. Feliciano underwent another shoulder surgery in the 2011 off-season and started the 2012 season on the 60-day disabled list. Late in the 2012 season between August and September, Feliciano was issued to rehab at the Double-A Trenton Thunder.^[4] Feliciano still did not make any appearance with the majors that year. His contract with the Yankees expired after the 2012 season and left the team without ever throwing a single pitch.

Third stint with the New York Mets (2013)

On January 21, 2013, Feliciano signed a minor league deal with the Mets.^[5]

On August 2, 2013 Feliciano made his first appearance of the year with the Mets against the Kansas City Royals and induced a ground out from Alex Gordon in the top of the 9th inning.^[6]

St. Louis Cardinals

On May 25, 2014, Feliciano signed a minor league contract with the St. Louis Cardinals.^[7]

Chicago Cubs

On February 4, 2015, Feliciano signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs.^[8]

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)