Pedro Feliciano, longtime Mets aid pitcher, dies at 45

Longtime Mets reliever Pedro Feliciano, who pitched in components of 9 MLB seasons, died on Sunday. The Puerto Rico nationwide crew confirmed his death, which was first reported by ESPN’s Eduardo Perez. Feliciano was 45 years outdated.

The left-handed Feliciano hung out within the minors with varied organizations throughout his skilled profession. He pitched within the majors solely with the Mets, nevertheless, amassing 484 appearances. He accrued a 3.33 ERA (126 ERA+) and a 2.12 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Mets launched the next assertion on Feliciano’s passing:

Feliciano’s most notable attribute as a pitcher was his rubber arm.  His nickname turned “Perpetual Pedro” and he lived as much as it. Over a five-year span, from 2006-10, he averaged 82 appearances per season. So perpetual was Feliciano that he completed his profession with the second-most appearances in Mets franchise historical past, behind solely John Franco (who pitched in 695 video games with New York). 

The Mets initially acquired Feliciano in 2002 as a part of a commerce that despatched beginning pitcher Shawn Estes to the Cincinnati Reds. The nice irony is that Feliciano’s profession with the Mets was nearly over shortly after it started. He was designated for task simply months after being acquired, with the Detroit Tigers claiming him off waivers in October.

Feliciano, initially a Thirty first-round draft choose by the Dodgers, was launched by the Tigers over the next winter, paving the best way for him to return to the Mets group. A considerably related state of affairs unfolded years later, when the Mets bought Feliciano’s rights to Japan’s Fukuoka Daiei Hawks in January 2005. Feliciano would return a yr later to the Mets, permitting for the aforementioned five-year run.

Feliciano, who was born in Rio Pedras, additionally pitched for his native Puerto Rico within the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classics.