Jeurys Familia | |||
---|---|---|---|
![]() Familia with the New York Mets
|
|||
New York Mets – No. 27
|
|||
Pitcher | |||
Born: Yaguate, San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic |
October 10, 1989 |||
|
|||
MLB debut
|
|||
September 4, 2012 for the New York Mets | |||
Career statistics
(through September 1, 2015) |
|||
Win–loss record | 4–6 | ||
Earned run average | 2.44 | ||
Strikeouts | 160 | ||
Holds | 24 | ||
Saves | 47 | ||
Teams
|
|||
|
Jeurys Familia (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxeuɾis faˈmilja]; born October 10, 1989) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball. Familia was signed by the New York Mets as a non-drafted free agent on July 13, 2007. On September 4, 2012 he was promoted to the major leagues and made his debut.[1]
Contents
Early life[edit]
Familia's father worked for the Dominican military and part-time at a gas station despite being hindered by a leg injury suffered in a childhood accident. Familia's mother worked at a small boutique. On their combined wages, the parents raised five children including Jeurys.[2][3]
Growing up in the Boca Chica section of Santo Domingo, Familia's favorite sport to play was basketball. He was especially fond of Allen Iverson and was also a fan of Kobe Bryant. He did not begin playing baseball until he was older and his friends had largely abandoned basketball in its favor. He did not have access to baseball equipment for most of his childhood.[2][3]
Professional career[edit]
Familia is 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and 230 pounds (100 kg); he bats and throws right-handed. Familia was signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent on July 13, 2007 for $100,000.
Minor leagues[edit]
2008−10[edit]
Familia pitched for the Gulf Coast Mets in 2008, compiling a 2−2 record with a 2.79 ERA in 51.2 innings pitched. In 2009 he pitched for the Single-A Savannah Sand Gnats, going 10−6 with a 2.69 ERA in 134 innings pitched. In 2010, Familia was promoted to the St. Lucie Mets of the Florida State League. He went 6–9 with a 5.58 ERA through 121 innings and struck out 10.2 batters per nine innings in a full season with St. Lucie. Also in 2010, Familia was selected to represent the Mets at the All-Star Futures Game where he pitched for the World Team.[4]
2011−12[edit]
Due to his sub-par performance in 2010, Familia began the 2011 season with the Single-A St. Lucie Mets. After six starts he went 1−1 with a 1.49 ERA in 36.1 innings. Familia was then promoted to the Double-A Binghamton Mets of the Eastern League. After his promotion to Binghamton, Familia went 4−4 with a 3.49 ERA in 87.2 innings. He finished the 2011 season across 2 minor league levels at 5−5 with a 2.90 ERA. Familia's performance made him an EAS Mid-Season All-Star. On November 18, 2011, Familia was added to the Mets 40 man roster.[5]
![](https://web.archive.org/web/20150920091837im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Jeurys_Familia_on_April_1%2C_2013.jpg/170px-Jeurys_Familia_on_April_1%2C_2013.jpg)
After getting back on track in 2011, Familia was promoted to the Mets Triple-A affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons of the International League, in 2012. Prior to starting his minor league season, Familia was invited to the Mets Spring Training Camp.[6] Familia was also ranked at 84th on MLB.com's best 100 prospects list and 3rd in the Mets organization prior to the start of the 2012 campaign.[7] Through 28 starts with Buffalo, Familia went 9–9 with a 4.73 ERA. On September 4, Familia was called up the New York Mets due to expanded September rosters.[1]
Major leagues[edit]
On September 4, 2012, Familia made his major league debut against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. He pitched a scoreless eighth inning, striking out the first batter he faced, Lance Berkman.[8] Although Familia has predominantly started in the minors, he was used out of the bullpen as a reliever in his inaugural season.
Familia made the Mets' roster for Opening Day in 2013.[9] He made one appearance before being optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas for Aaron Laffey. After 4 appearances there, he was recalled on April 17, replacing Greg Burke. After 7 appearances with the Mets, he was placed on the disabled list on May 12 with tendinitis in his right elbow.[10] After starting a rehab assignment in St. Lucie, his elbow got worse, and he underwent surgery on June 5.[11] After making one rehab start in St. Lucie and one in Brooklyn, he was activated by the Mets on September 14.[12] He made one appearance before the end of the season. In 9 games with New York in 2013, he finished 3 games with a 4.22 ERA and a .293 OBA, striking out 8 in 10.2 innings.
Familia became the established eighth inning pitcher, or the "set-up man" in front of the closer, Jenrry Mejia, in 2014.[13] When Mejia was suspended during the 2015 season, Familia became the Mets' closer.[14][15] Familia made to the final vote of the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game but lost to Carlos Martinez. Familia struggled after the all-star break, blowing three consecutive saves in a row in late July, including giving up a game-winning home run to Justin Upton in a game where the Mets blew a six run lead on July 30, 2015.[16] In the following weeks, however, he dramatically turned things around with sixteen consecutive scoreless innings, zero earned runs, and eight converted saves in eight opportunities.[17]
Personal[edit]
Familia's son, Jeurys, Jr. was born to his fiancée Bianca Rivas on June 12, 2015, while the elder Familia saved a win against the Atlanta Braves.[18] In the summer of 2015, Familia also completed construction on a new house for his parents back in the Dominican Republic. Construction on the house had begun in 2014 but was delayed when Familia decided to pay for surgery to repair a leg injury which had plagued his father since childhood.[3]
Awards and honors[edit]
Minor leagues[edit]
- EAS Mid-Season All-Star (2011)
- All-Star Futures Game Selection (2010)
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Mets call up six players from Triple-A Buffalo". MLB.com. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
- ^ a b Serby, Steve (May 9, 2015). "Jeurys Familia talks thrill of closing, adjusting to U.S. and Jenrry Mejia". New York Post. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
- ^ a b c Carig, Marc (June 14, 2015). "Jeurys Familia builds a house for his family in Dominican Republic". Newsday. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
- ^ "Familia gets call to Anaheim for Futures Game". MLB.com. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
- ^ "Mets add 7 prospects to 40-man roster". MLB.com. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
- ^ "Mets prospects give rotation bright future". Mets.com. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
- ^ "2012 Prospect Watch". MLB.com. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
- ^ "Mets unable to back Harvey in loss to Cards". MLB.com. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
- ^ "Eight Mets players enjoying Opening Day for the first time". NJ.com. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ^ "Mets recall RHP Greg Burke; Place RHP Jeurys Familia on the 15-Day DL". Mets Press Release. May 12, 2013.
- ^ Carig, Marc (June 4, 2013). "Jeurys Familia will have arthroscopic surgery on right elbow Wednesday". Newsday.
- ^ Castillo, Jorge (September 14, 2013). "Mets activate Jeurys Familia from disabled list". The Star-Ledger.
- ^ Craig, Marc (July 8, 2014). "Jeurys Familia has become top setup man for Mets". Newsday. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
- ^ Tasch, Justin (April 15, 2015). "Mets new closer Jeurys Familia earns save, despite home run". New York Daily News. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
- ^ "Collins sticking with Familia in closer's role". Major League Baseball. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ^ http://metsblog.com/metsblog/mets-blow-7-1-lead-lose-as-familia-blows-save-in-ninth-after-delay/
- ^ http://m.mlb.com/news/article/146361306/jeurys-familia-on-a-roll-in-august
- ^ DiComo, Anthony (June 13, 2015). "Familia's son born while closer locked down save". MLB.com. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
External links[edit]
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)