Jesús Colomé
Jesús Colomé de la Cruz is a Dominican former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Washington Nationals, Milwaukee Brewers and Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball.
Professional career
Oakland Athletics
Jesús Colomé was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Oakland Athletics at age 18, in 1996. He had made it to Double-A as a starting pitcher when, on July 28, 2000, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Todd Belitz and Jim Mecir.Tampa Bay Devil Rays
The Devil Rays converted him to a relief pitcher, and he made his major league debut with them on June 21, 2001. He finished with a 3.33 ERA. Colomé was one of the only pitchers to throw over 100 mph, but he had bad control. The next season, he posted an 8.27 ERA. He returned to his old form in 2004, in 2003 he struck out a career high 69 batters.On August 26, 2005, Colomé was involved in a serious car accident in the Dominican Republic. Two months later, he was released by the Devil Rays.
New York Yankees
Colomé signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees in 2006. At the end of the season, spent entirely in the minors, he opted for free agency.Washington Nationals
Colomé then signed with the Washington Nationals. He came north with the Nationals following the spring season and started off pitching well. By Memorial Day he was 4–0, and was fifth in the league with 26 appearances, posting a 2.20 ERA and prompting MLB writer Bill Ladson to write, "Jesús Colomé is the Nationals' best reliever, and one could argue that he should be considered for the All-Star Game." Ladson credited Colome's resurgence in his reliance on pitches other than his once dominating fastball.On December 10, 2008, he was released by the Nationals. He was re-signed by the Nationals to a minor league contract on January 15, 2009. He competed for a spot on the Nationals' roster in spring training, but was sent to the minor leagues on April 4, 2009.