Yusmeiro Petit, Relief Pitcher
Date of Birth: 11/22/1984
Birthplace: Maracaibo, Venezuela
Yusmeiro Petit, relief pitcher, played baseball as a child in Venezuela. In 1994, at the age of 10, he played in the Little League World Series.
Petit first signed with the New York Mets in November, 2001. He was a starting pitcher in the Mets' minor league system from 2003 through 2005.
The Mets traded Petit to the Miami Marlins in November, 2005. He made his first appearances in the major leagues in 2006, pitching in 1 game as a starter and 14 games in relief with the Marlins. In 26.1 innings, he had a 9.57 ERA. He also pitched as a starter in 17 games in the minors that season.
Petit was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in March, 2007. He pitched in 10 games as a starter and 4 games in relief with the Diamondbacks in 2007. He had a 4.58 ERA in 57.0 innings. The following season, he split his time as a starter and as a reliever, finishing the season with 3 wins and 5 losses and a 4.31 ERA in 56.1 innings. He had a full season in the majors in 2009, pitching 89.2 innings in 17 games as a starting pitcher and 6 games of relief with the Diamondbacks. He finished the season with 3 wins and 10 losses, 74 strikeouts to 34 walks, and a 5.82 ERA.
The Seattle Mariners claimed Petit off waivers on November 4, 2009. He spent the entire 2010 season in the minors. He was released by the Mariners on April 29, 2011. He spent the 2011 season in the Mexican League.
Petit signed with the San Francisco Giants in January, 2012. He pitched in one game as a starter with the Giants in 2012. He spent the rest of the season in the minors. The following season, he split his time between the majors and the minors, pitching in 7 games as a starter and 1 game as a reliever with the Giants. He had 4 wins and 1 loss and a 3.56 ERA in 48.0 innings.
Petit had his best season so far in 2014. He set MLB records for the most consecutive batters retired with 46 and for the most consecutive perfect innings pitched with 15-1/3. He finished the season with 5 wins and 5 losses, 133 strikeouts to just 22 walks, and a 3.69 ERA in 117.0 innings in 12 games as a starting pitcher and 27 games as a reliever. In 2015, as only a relief pitcher, he had a 3.67 ERA in 76.0 innings in a career high 42 games.
Petit signed with the Washington Nationals on December 14, 2015. He finished the 2016 season with 3 wins and 5 losses, 1 save, 49 strikeouts to 15 walks, and a 4.50 ERA in 62.0 innings in 36 games.
Petit became a free agent on November 3, 2016. He signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels on February 8, 2017. He finished the 2017 season with 5 wins and 2 losses, 4 saves, 101 strikeouts to 18 walks, and a 2.76 ERA in 91.1 innings in 60 games.
Petit elected free agency on November 2, 2017. He signed with the Oakland Athletics on December 7, 2017. He finished the 2018 season with 7 wins and 3 losses, 76 strikeouts to 18 walks, and a 3.00 ERA in 93.0 innings in 74 games.
Petit finished the 2019 season with 5 wins and 3 losses, 71 strikeouts to 10 walks, and a 2.71 ERA in 83.0 innings in 80 games. In the postseason, he pitched 2.2 innings in 1 game, and he gave up 2 hits and 1 run. He struck out 2 batters and walked none, and he had an ERA of 3.38.
Petit pitched in 26 games in 2020. He finished the season with 2 wins and 1 loss and a 1.66 ERA in 21.2 innings.
Petit finished the 2021 season with 8 wins and 3 losses, 37 strikeouts to 12 walks, and a 3.92 ERA in 78.0 innings in 78 games.
Petit became a free agent on November 3, 2021. He signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres on May 3, 2022. He was released a month later, on June 9th.
Career pitching statistics for Petit through 2021 include:
- 515 games played
- 904.0 innings pitched
- 50-44 win-loss record
- 767 strikeouts to 205 walks
- 3.93 ERA
Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Yusmeiro Petit
ESPN - Yusmeiro Petit