Is This The End Of Joe Table?

The Detroit Tigers made a pretty bold move this weekend. They released Jose Mesa, he of the 12.34 ERA this season, which could mean the end of a career that's spanned four presidencies, eight teams and induced counless vomiting binges from coast to coast. It would be easy to say that this is the end of the line for the 41-year old righthander if it weren't for the fact that he's already had more comebacks than John Travolta. Like the portly actor Mesa has mixed in the occasional standout season with sustained mediocrity and an ever-expanding waistline in his career as a pitcher, fighter and lover.

He failed as a starter in Baltimore and Cleveland before finding success as a closer with the Indians 1995 American League champions. He made his lone All-Star appearance that year (though he made the team and didn't pitch in '96) and saved 101 games through 1997 before losing the closer's job to Mike Jackson and getting dealt to San Francisco. His 5.00 ERA in the '95 and '97 World Series probably expedited his departure from the reservation and helped give rise to his reputation as a guy who couldn't get the job done in the clutch. He shuffled through a couple of terrible seasons in Seattle, including a brutal 12.46 ERA in the 2000 ALCS, before rebounding with 87 more saves for the Phillies in 2001 and 2002. A poor 2003 was followed by a good year with the Pirates in '04. He lost the closer job in Pittsburgh and eased into middle relief with Colorado last summer before heading to Detroit. All in all he's piled up 320 saves, good for 13th on the all-time list, and a 4.33 career ERA.

That's the statistical record but there's more to Mesa's legacy than that. He had a long-running feud with his former teammate Omar Vizquel after the shortstop blamed the closer for losing the 1997 World Series for the Indians. Mesa responded by saying that he would hit Vizquel with a pitch every time they met in the future. He made good on it too, beaning Vizquel in 2002 and again in 2006 although they had further matchups that ended without incident later that season. Each man is a member of the Top 100 Greatest Cleveland Indians of All Time and every baseball fan avidly awaits their tearful reconciliation at a Mike Hargrove day to be named later.

The most interesting thing about Mesa, however, has nothing to do with his baseball exploits. It has to do with his sexual ones. A look at his bio reveals that Jose and his lovely wife Mirla have six children. The eldest, a daughter named Yamely, was born in 1974 which means that Mesa was seven when she was born. Even if that's a misprint, and it probably is, their son Ralph was born in 1979. That's more reasonable, Mesa was 13 at that point after all. For someone who made their living late in games Mesa certainly got an early start at the game of life.