August 17, 1999: The Baltimore Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins, 8-3 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Mike Mussina outpitched Joe Mays. Harold Baines and Jeff Conine hit home runs for the O's. Conine went 4-for-4, although the homer was a solo shot, and was his only RBI. Ron Coomer hit one out for the Twins. Cal Ripken, his playing streak having ended late the previous season, did not play in this game.
Jesse Orosco did. The 42-year-old native of Santa Barbara, California pitched to 1 batter, Todd Walker, in the top of the 7th inning, with 2 out, and nobody on. Walker hit 1-ball-no-strikes pitch deep to left-center field, but Brady Anderson caught it.
It was the 1,072nd appearance of Orosco's career, setting a new record for pitchers.
His 1st appearance was on April 5, 1979, for the New York Met at Wrigley Field in Chicago. That day, too, he pitched to just 1 batter, and got him out: In a foreshadowing of the 1986 World Series, he got Bill Buckner to fly out to right field, for the last out of a 10-6 Opening Day win for the Mets over the Chicago Cubs.
Orsoco would make the All-Star Game in the 1983 and 1984 seasons, saving a career-high 31 games for the Mets in 1984, as they got into a Pennant race for the 1st time since 1973. Famously, he got the last out of the 1986 World Series, striking out Marty Barrett of the Boston Red Sox, throwing his glove into the air, and dropping to his knees, that image making the front page of the next day's New York Daily News.
But he had a poor season in 1987, and the Mets traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was another bonehead trade for the Mets: They got a couple of serviceable relievers in Kevin Tapani and Wally Whitehurst, but neither was as good as a resurgent Orosco, who helped the Dodgers win the 1988 World Series.
He later pitched for the Cleveland Indians and the Milwaukee Brewers, and then, reunited with his Met bullpen mate Randy Myers, helped the Orioles reach the American League Championship Series in 1996 and 1997, although they didn't win it either time.
For many years, Cy Young held the record for most games pitched, with 906. With the way that the art of pitching had changed, it seemed likely that only a pitcher who specialized in relief could challenge that record. On July 24, 1968, pitching for the Chicago White Sox, Hoyt Wilhelm pitched in his 907th. Unfortunately, Wilhelm spoiled his own party by blowing a 9th-inning lead, and the White Sox lost to the Oakland Athletics.
On May 10, 1970, the day that the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup on Bobby Orr's "Flying Goal," Wilhelm pitched for the Atlanta Braves, becoming the 1st pitcher to make 1,000 appearances. He retired in 1972, having made 1,070. On September 26, 1998, Dennis Eckersley surpassed Wilhelm with his 1,071st appearance, the last of his career.
If you had to guess who would be the last active player from the 1986 World Champion New York Mets, you probably would have guessed their youngest player, Dwight Gooden, who was about to turn 22. But you would have been wrong.
In hindsight, it now seems obvious that it would be a lefthanded relief pitcher, like Orosco. He pitched his 1,252nd and last game on September 27, 2003, for the Minnesota Twins. His age, 46, almost matched his uniform number, 47. He finished with a record of 87-80, 144 saves, a 3.16 ERA, and a 1.263 WHIP.
Through the end of the 2021 season, the closest any pitcher has come to Orosco is Mike Stanton, with 1,178 games. A pitcher would have to average 63 games a season for 20 years to surpass Orosco.
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August 17, 1999 was a Tuesday. These other Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-2 at Yankee Stadium. Orlando "El Duque" Hernández was the winning pitcher. Tino Martinez pinch-hit a home run. Derek Jeter went 1-for-4 with an RBI.
* The New York Mets lost to the San Diego Padres, 3-2 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium). Woody Williams outpitched Al Leiter. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox, 12-1 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-5 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. Edgar Martinez went 2-for-4 with 2 home runs and a walk and 4 RBIs. Ken Griffey Jr. went 3-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians, 15-4 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh, Pirates, 7-4 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in
Cincinnati. Christ Stynes hit a home run in the bottom of the 12th inning to win it.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 3-1 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Anaheim Angels, 4-3 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Frank Thomas singled Ray Durham home with the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-5 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Craig Paquette doubled home 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th to win it.
* The Houston Astros beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-6 at the Astrodome in Houston.
* The Colorado Rockies beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2 at Coors Field in Denver. Neifi Pérez went 3-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBIs.
* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-0 at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) in Phoenix. Brian Anderson pitched a 3-hit shutout.
* The Florida Marlins beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
* And the Montreal Expos beat the San Francisco Giants, 2-1 at 3Com Park (as Candlestick Park was then known) in San Francisco. Brad Fullmer hit a home run in the top of the 12th inning.
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