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Mel Rojas
Ultimate Mets Database popularity ranking: 237 of 1252 players
Melquiades Medrano Rojas
Born: December 10, 1966 at Haina, Dominican Republic
Throws: Right Bats: Right
Height: 5.11 Weight: 195

Mel Rojas was the most popular Ultimate Mets Database daily lookup on December 4, 2003, December 5, 2003, December 6, 2003, September 30, 2004, October 1, 2004, October 2, 2004, January 16, 2013, and April 3, 2015.

First Mets game: August 9, 1997
Last Mets game: September 8, 1998

Share your memories of Mel Rojas HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY: Jack Man was Rojas ever brutal! I'm sure we all have memories of big hits that Rojas gave up in his short tenure as a Met, but the worst was the home run he gave up to Paul O'Neill in the first game of the 1998 Subway Series at Shea. It was the 7th inning and the Mets were up 4-3. The Yankees put two guys on base and O'Neill comes up. Valentine pulls the starter and everyone in the bar is sure he's calling for Dennis Cook, because O'Neill can't hit lefties to save his life. Surprise. Here comes Rojas. Now Rojas, if you can believe it, was actually better against lefties than righties throughout his career, which was Valentine's rationale for bringing him in. But everyone in the bar knew that Cook was the guy in that spot, since he dominated lefties and O'Neill couldn't hit a southpaw. Of course, O'Neill ropes a three-run homer, the whole bar screams in disgust and the Mets lose. If that wasn't bad enough, who does Phillips get when he finally trades Rojas? Bobby Bonilla! Richard S. As his name was announced, 50,000 people would scream "Oh, s***!" He was the worst pitcher in Mets history! Michelle Paz I'm not the most knowledgable when it comes to stats and things like that, but I know enough about baseball and have been a Met fan long enough to say that: MEL ROJAS WAS JUST AWFUL! Whenever Bobby Valentine would put him in a game when people were ON BASE, I would just hang my head and ask, "Why, oh why?" To this day, I still wonder what the rationale Bobby V. had when putting Rojas in games. flushing flash I think Billy Preston summed up the Rojas-for-Bonilla trade best when he sang "Nothing from Nothing Leaves Nothing". murphy Rojas would come in the game, throw two splitters for strikes then try to sneak a fastball in. The ball would be hit like a rocket over the wall in left center. Rojas would stand on the mound looking like a deer in headlights...30,000 Mets fans screaming for his head. He would proceed to walk the next guy on 4 pitches...stop me if you've heard this before. And to think he combined with John Wetteland to make up the most dominating 1-2 punch in 1995. The Expos were going to the Series before the lockout. Rojas was the model for Mariano Rivera for the '96 Yankees. What the heck happened? Coach HoJo 20 April 25, 2001 I HATE YOU MEL ROJAS!!!! I REAL FREAKING HATE YOU As you can tell I really hate Mel Rojas. His lack of ability makes me think that one day a blind Siamese twin will be playing in the majors I remember a couple of weeks after the O'speil incident occurred I went to a Mets game. I was walking around in the halls of the stadium when I reached the mini restaurant area. From there I was able to see Rojas and Wendell playing catch. I proceeded to call Rojas a waste of space and one of the biggest losers this franchise has ever had. His response to that was a middle finger. It was pretty funny. This loser reminds me of an old Met from the bullpen. He was a loser who always blew games for us and IM surprised nobody made the comparison. Who do I speak of?...... {in Norm McDonald tone} You guessed it Anthony Young. kinerskorner April 26, 2001 lately ive been mentally underestimating how bad mel rojas actually was. hell, he was the worst pitcher of all time. although, he would probably be the ace on most american league staffs. RSB October 3, 2001 I saw the Mets play the Cubs in Chicago shortly after Rojas and Wendell had been acquired from the Cubs. The Wrigley Scorecard contained a section listing strategies for playing the Mets, which included the following comment: "Do not let Mel Rojas beat you. That would be embarrassing". Jon Dylan October 11, 2001 One of two men ever to give up a home run to that power- hitting machine Rafael Belliard. Rafael Belliard for christs sakes! The man had only one home run in more than a dozen seasons and this ass coughs up the second. Mr. Sparkle November 13, 2001 Probably the biggest bust as a relief pitcher I've ever scene in a Met uniform. I hate Rich Rodriguez but he never came in with the great track record Rojas did. Rojas was pretty damn good with the Expos and pitched for the Mets comparably to how the Expos play against the rest of the league. Benitez knows how to blow a big game but Rojas knew how to blow games of all magnitudes. Only Mel Rojas could have made me happy the Mets reacquired Bobby Bonilla. Now that's an accomplishment. He's definitely on the all time worst Mets players list along with the other three losers I mentioned above. Gordo December 11, 2001 "Over-the-Shoulder" Mel Rojas. Worst collapse by a pitcher this side of Mark Wohlers (who partially recovered). P.U. boggleyboo December 19, 2001 He was my favorite pitcher of all time. This guy had a .714 win/loss percentage in 1998! How could we have let him go for Bonilla!?!? I'll never forget that game I went to in April of '98 when the Mets won 5-4 in ten innings against the Reds. Rojas with the win, of course! I wonder what ever happened to him? Is he a free agent? The Mets should sign him to be their closer, he's a lot better than sir chokes-a-lot, Armando Get- Beat-ez. revolve February 5, 2002 Outside of the brutal first pitch homer to that jerk Paul O'Neill, there's one Mel Rojas memory of mine that sticks out. In a late August game against expansion Arizona--the last game of the season before I returned to college--Mel Rojas came into a game the Mets were trailing 4-0 in the top of the ninth. With soda being half priced after the 7th, I decided to make a quick run to the concession stand maybe a section or two down from my mezzannine seats. There was no line--it was pretty empty that day anyway, and many had left by then. So I purchased my soda and returned, to learn that in the short time I had gone to purchase two sodas, Mel Rojas had given up 5 runs. My friend and I decided that that had to be the absolute fastest anyone's given up that many runs, and of course, it was Mel Rojas. The ultimate kicker in that game though, was that the Mets went on to rally for 4 in the 9th, thus had it not been for Mel Rojas, they would have at least tied it. Doug Sisk should forever thank Mel Rojas for doing his best to erase Doug's awful bullpen legacy. Bill McCabe February 19, 2002 Oh God...how many nightmares did Mel cause? He is probably the *worst* relief pitcher I have ever had the misfortune of having to endure again and again. I hope he's happy wherever he is...I'm sure the Mets are still paying him for something. Tom April 24, 2002 This guy is a joke. Can you imagine that we had him and Rich Rodriguez in the same bullpen? How he got to this level is beyond me. He was stealing money and he should give it back to clear his conscience. Gregory Gewirtz January 25, 2003 Brian Bohanon gave up the homer to Rafael Belliard, not Rojas. vermerf February 6, 2003 I was living in Chicago when they made the Rojas trade. I flew back to NY just so I could boo him as a Met. Booing him as a Cub was just booing a bad baseball player. Booing him as a Met brought me back to my childhood. flushing flash April 15, 2003 I sometimes wonder why it is that some successful pitchers in Major League Baseball lose everything they have so quickly. Often the cause is some kind of mental block that can't be shaken, such as those that plagued Steve Blass and Rick Ankiel. I never heard such a theory regarding Mel Rojas, but the proof is indisputable. In 1992, Mel was the best set up man in baseball, winning seven games, saving ten and posting a 1.43 ERA. He yielded just 71 hits in 100.2 innings. He never repeated that success with Montreal, but his ERA's for the next four seasons were a respectable 2.92, 3.32, 4.12 and 3.22. Then he went to the Cubs in 1997 and the wheels started to fall off. He was traded to the Mets that season and they came off altogether. In 1998 Mel gave up 68 hits in 58 innings and had a 6.05 ERA. In September, with the wild card on the line, Bobby Valentine did not let Rojas within 50 feet of a pitcher's mound. In 1999 Mel pitched a few games with LA, Detroit and Montreal and had double digit ERA's with all three. What happened, Mel? nathan May 27, 2003 Bobby V just kept bringing this guy in to blow game after game. It was torture. I remember Screaming Rojas No Mas from the stands when he was brought into a game I attended. I hate it when I go to the game and the Mets lose. That guy Rojas sucked- I really developed a visceral hatred for him- he blew so many games in a season where every game was important for the Mets. Old Man July 6, 2003 I was at a game in August of '97 against the Padres. The Mets had rallied from behind to tie the game. 9th inning, and in comes Rojas, and the whole of Shea let out a collective groan. We knew what was coming. Rojas allows three runs in the top of the 9th and the stadium empties out. He was boo'ed unmercifully, except for a fake applause when he finally got the third out. The Mets came back to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th with Todd Hundley hitting a home run, and actually won it in 11 with a bases loaded walk to Carlos Baerga. After the disasterous ninth, Rojas came back and pitched a scoreless 10th. I was actually impressed by his guts in coming back out, though I guess the 100 or so fans who didn't shuffle out could only boo so loudly. The game was a very memorable one for me, with the Mets continually coming back in dramatic fashion, and winning on a walk to a guy who couldn't hit. Unfortunately, Mel Rojas made it memorable for the wrong reason. Larry September 12, 2004 I think it's just best for all of us to just pretend that this guy never existed and never wore a Met uniform. Joe P. October 11, 2004 I remember watching an interleague game from Toronto and they showed the Mets bullpen. It was right after a few games where Rojas was tattooed (which can be any in his Met tenure). It was as if Mel had the plague. He was sitting by himself in the lower bench, and the rest of the relievers were sitting up and away from him on a higher seat. It would have been funny if it wasn't so sad. The announcers even commented on it. Master of the Universe February 16, 2005 Never before or since Mel Rojas have I seen a pitcher look petrified on the mound. Whenver he came in Rojas must have known that a disaster was pending because he looked scared stiff. With good reason. Jonathan Stern May 21, 2005 Come on, Mets fans. Don't hold back. Tell us how you really feel about Mel Rojas. It's interesting that in the trade that brought him here, Rojas was viewed as the centerpiece, Turk Wendell the throwaway. Turk ended up being the best part of the deal for either team. He certainly looks petrified in the above picture. Stu Baron June 25, 2008 The amazing thing about Rojas is that he was even worse than Doug Risk! PJ September 6, 2013 His lasting contribution is the teeball-type homer he gave up to Paul O'Neill fresh out of the bullpen. As was mentioned, Dennis Cook was the pitcher we were all expecting to face O'Neill because he was good at busting it inside to lefties. Bobby V. goes with Rojas instead and I think the ball still hasn't landed yet.

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