We are approaching the greatest milestone the sports world will see in 2007 — Jose Mesa’s 1,000th game as an MLB pitcher. Okay, maybe only Jose Mesa and I feel that way, but it’s nice to have something to get excited about considering all the crap that’s been going on in sports lately.
Jose Mesa pitched in his 998th game yesterday as the Phillies beat the Padres. While scoping out the internet for recent articles about our main man Joe Table, I found something interesting.
According to Jose’s bio, he was born on May 22, 1966, and he and his wife Mirla had their first child on June 29, 1979. Jose Mesa was 13 years old on June 29, 1979. That’s possible, but kind of odd, right?
Well, maybe it’s not true. According to Jose’s Wikipedia entry:
On June 10, 2007 sportscaster John Clark of NBC10 Philadelphia reported on the TV show Sports Final that he had uncovered documents indicating that Mesa was in fact 47 years old. This would make Mesa one of the oldest active players currently in baseball and the oldest active pitcher today.
Also, Jose’s bio says that his daughter Yamely was born on January 15, 1984. A previous version listed her birthday as January 15, 1974. Was 1974 a typo? Does anybody out there know Yamely Mesa?
I’ll try to unravel the mystery of Jose Mesa’s age. I’d also welcome suggestions for fun ways to celebrate his 1,000th game — maybe I could bake a cake shaped like Omar Vizquel and have everybody throw scoops of ice cream at it.
July 22, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Steroids = anti-aging potion #9
July 23, 2007 at 7:49 am
They ran a report on one of the TV news magazines (20/20, 60 Minutes, et al) about the birth certificate mills they run down in the Dominican Republic (and the other islands) and how so many players down there assume a younger (and possibly dead) cousin’s identity so that MLB will think they’re not too old (aka, damaged goods). The Atlanta Braves and I think Arizona were busted big time, but don’t quote me on that.
It appears that if the prospects reach even 18 down there that they’re so malnourished that it shortens their careers to the point of being worthless. After 9/11 hundreds of these fake birth certificates were scrutinized a little further and uncovered as fakes.
So, the obligatory necessity being the mother of all invention takes place, as always. Point is, if Joe Table says he’s 30, then that means he’s probably closer to 50 for sure.
Now, since you’re Jose’s number one fan, it’s up to you to determine his true age and start getting that 50th “over the mound” birthday celebration party ready, complete with Omar tombstones everywhere. :-)
July 23, 2007 at 9:49 am
Which age matters?
True age?
Dog years?
Steroid adjusted age?
Kidney, pituitary gland, testes, pancreas & liver function age?
July 24, 2007 at 3:46 pm
HAHA! I love the “over the mound” birthday party idea. We can play “pin the color-coordinated glove” on Jose.