Reese Kaplan -- Forgotten Setup Guys Part 5 of 6

Shawn Estes will always have a not-too-warm spot in Mets fans’ collective memories as the designated headhunter asked to throw at Roger Clemens after the infamous World Series game in 2000 when he threw a bat at Mike Piazza.  Estes threw it about a foot behind him, nowhere near beaning him and the fans were not happy.  He did redeem himself somewhat later by homering off Clemens en route to a Mets 8-0 victory over the poster child for 'Roid Rage. 

However, Estes’ greatest contribution to the Mets came when he was sent to the Cincinnati Reds the that August for a package that included Brady Clark, Raul Gonzalez, Elvin Andujar and a little known middle reliever who would come to be known as Perpetual Pedro Feliciano.

During his 12 year big league career interrupted by injuries and minor league assignments, Feliciano finished with a 22-21 record over 484 games in which he never made a start and only compiled 4 saves.  His ERA, however, at 3.33, demonstrates the quality he brought as a middle reliever.  For a three year period from 2008 to 2010 he led the league in appearances with 86, 88 and 92 respectively, earning him his moniker.  His 344 appearances over a three-year period still stands as a major league record and he is second in games pitched for the Mets to John Franco.

Feliciano actually had three separate stints with the Mets.  He was on that Tidewater shuttle during 2002 and 2004.  He pitched credibly but not all that impressively.  He left the Mets to try his hand in Japan for the 2005 season with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks for a year before returning to the Mets in 2006 for the first of five very productive years.

During the 2006 season Pedro pitched to his best-ever year, with a 7-2 record over 64 games with a sparkling 2.09 ERA.  His workload would steadily increase over the next four seasons before he decided to test the free agent waters and crossed town to the Yankees who waved relatively big money at him.  The fans were not happy.

A quote from that time period, “Benedict Arnold aka Pedro Feliciano recently said "’t's everybody's dream to be a Yankee.’ When I heard that, I threw up in my mouth big time! He's no different than Johnny Damon who took the coward's way out by shaving and getting a haircut to play for the Bronx Evil Empire. I don't wish the best of luck to Pedro in his new role in the Bronx. I hope he gets lit up like the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree every time he pitches, especially when he faces Red Sox Nation and of course his old mates in Flushing!”

Unfortunately he suffered shoulder problems likely due from chronic overuse, and during the two years he was on the Yankee payroll he never made it to the majors between rest, rehab and minor league stints. 

In 2013 the Mets signed him once again, bringing the favorite lefty home, but his shoulder and arm were not what they once were, limiting him to 25 games covering just 11 innings of pitching.  He hung up his spikes after that season, and oddly only pitched in the majors for Mets but with time in the Yankees and Japan in between.