Joel Peralta #62

Joel Peralta…resides in Bonao, Dominican Republic…carries the nickname "El Campeón" (the Champion), coined by Joe Maddon during their time together with the Angels…the former shortstop idolized Tony Fernandez and Pedro Martinez as a youngster…didn't have his own mitt until the age of 14...his father drove a tractor in the sugar cane fields and his mother worked as a school janitor to support the family…considered quitting baseball in 2002 following a demotion from Double-A Arkansas to Class-A Cedar Rapids as a member of the Angels system, but his older brother, Frank, persuaded him to stick with it, and Joel responded by going 5-0 with 21 saves and a 0.95 ERA for the Kernels…signed by Oakland as a non-drafted free agent on July 4, 1996 by scout Luis Coronado.

2014

Finished second on the Rays staff with 69 appearances, despite missing time on the DL, July 13-27, with an illness… it was his first time on a Major League DL during his 10-year career...On July 4 at Detroit, made his 267th appearance in a Rays uniform, establishing a club record for most career appearances by a pitcher…he broke the mark held by Esteban Yan (1998-2002)...Allowed only 2-of-24 (8.3%) inherited runners to score…among pitchers with at least 20 inherited runners, this ranked second in the AL behind Cleveland's CC Lee (2-of-27, 7.0%) and was best mark in club history, topping Joaquin Benoit (8.7 in 2010)...Opposing hitters were 0-for-25 off him with two out and runners in scoring position…that's the best mark by a Major League pitcher since San Francisco's Scott Eyre had the same numbers in 2004...His 10.52 strikeouts per 9.0 innings was the second-highest mark of his career…in his last 24 appearances beginning on Aug 6, he walked one and struck out 24...Led the staff in holds for the fourth consecutive season with 18, tied with Brad Boxberger…has a club-record 115 holds with the Rays, second most in the majors since 2011 behind Washington's Tyler Clippard (124)...Pitched in 10 shutouts and had two 1-0 wins, the first reliever in Rays history to win two 1-0 games in a season

2013

Led the majors with a career-high 80 apps, a club record for a righty and 2nd overall in club history behind LH Randy Choate (85 in 2010)…it was his third straight season of 70-plus appearances…only four other pitchers in baseball have done this in each of the last three years: Tyler Clippard, Matt Belisle, John Axford and Joe Smith…no other Ray has had more than one season of 70 apps... Set a major league record with 41 holds, breaking SD Luke Gregerson's record of 40 in 2010…a pitcher gets a hold when he enters the game in a save situation, records at least one out and leaves the game having never relinquished the lead…it marked the second straight year that Peralta led the AL in holds (37 in 2012)…his 41 holds in 2013 and 37 holds in 2012 were the two highest totals by any AL reliever since 1952, as far back as Stats LLC has researched…no other Ray has recorded more than 26... His 227 apps since joining the Rays in 2011 are the most in the majors over that span…already ranks 4th in club history in career relief apps and can break the club record with 24 apps in 2014…he trails Dan Wheeler (250 over seven years), Esteban Yan (245 in five years) and J.P. Howell (234 in six years). Tallied a team-high 62 scoreless apps, 4th most in the majors and 3rd most in club history... Opponents hit .184 against him, the 8th-lowest mark in the AL…held lefties to a .163 average, 6th best in the AL…entered the game in the 8th inning in 60 of his 79 appearances…completed the 8th inning in 23 of Fernando Rodney's 37 saves... Over the last four seasons (2010-13), has held opponents to a .187 avg. (6th lowest in majors, min. 200 apps) and .252 OBP (5th lowest)... Since joining the Rays he owns a 2.02 ERA (106.2-IP, 24-ER) at Tropicana Field and a 4.71 ERA (99.1-IP, 52-ER) on the road…in 2013 at home had a 1.86 ERA and a .145 opp avg. (5th best in majors), compared to a 5.23 on the road...  In his Rays career, has faced the opposing team's 3-through-5 batters more than any other spots in the order and has held them to a .179 avg. (48-for-268)…opposing No. 3 hitters have batted .085 (7-for-82), lowest in the majors over that span (min. 50 AB)... His 8 losses were a new career high (prev. 6, 2012) and tied for the most ever by a Rays reliever (Travis Harper in 2003 and Esteban Yan in 2002)... Has allowed three walk-offs in his career, two of them coming in 2013, both at Boston: April 15 (Mike Napoli double) and June 18 (Game 2, Jonny Gomes home run)... Made his fourth Opening Day roster (also 2007 with KC, 2011-12 with Rays)... Pitched briefly with Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Winter League.

POSTSEASON: Made 3 appearances, all scoreless, giving him 6 scoreless apps to begin his postseason career…however, in Game 4 of the ALDS vs. Boston, entered the 7th inning leading 1-0 and inherited runners on 1B and 3B from Jake McGee…both runners would score, on a wild pitch and a single, the decisive runs in the series-ending loss.

2012

Finished his eighth major league season with a career-high 76 appearances, tied with teammate Fernando Rodney for second in the AL...together they trailed only LH Randy Choate (85 games in 2010) for second in club history, and they ranked first among righthanders...Became the first Ray to have two seasons of 70-plus appearances...leads all AL relievers with 147 apps over the past two seasons...Led the majors with 37 holds, the most by an AL reliever since 1952, as far back as Stats Inc. has researched, and 11 more than any Rays pitcher has ever recorded...Entered the game in the eighth inning in 64 of his 76 apps...completed the eighth inning in 33 of Fernando Rodney's 48 saves...also recorded saves: May 2 vs. SEA and May 11 vs. OAK. His career-high 84 SO tied for sixth most among AL relievers...struck out a career-high 11.28 batters per 9 IP, 10th highest in the AL...Had a .200 opp avg. (49-for-245)...his .254 opp OBP was the fifth-lowest mark among AL relievers...over the last three seasons (2010-12) has held opponents to a .188 avg. and .240 OBP, which rank fifth and third among major league relievers during that time, respectively (min. 150 apps)...Allowed nine HR in 67 IP, tied for fifth most among AL relievers...permitted 16 over the last two seasons...also fifth highest among AL relievers...Had a 2.88 ERA (34.1-IP, 11-ER) in 39 apps at home compared to a 4.41 ERA (32.2-IP, 16-ER) in 37 apps on the road...From July 16-Aug 13, allowed only one run in 15 appearances (14.2-IP, 0.61 ERA) and struck out 25 of his 51 batters faced in that span...Served an eight-game suspension from June 22-29, stemming from his ejection June 19 at WAS...was ejected before throwing a pitch when--at the urging of Nationals Manager Davey Johnson--umpires found a foreign substance on his glove...it was the first ejection of his career...In his first 4 apps of the season (April 6-13), threw 64 pitches over 1.2 IP, allowing seven runs on five hits and four BB in that span...after that, pitched to a 2.76 ERA (65.1-IP, 20-ER) with 81 SO and 13 BB over his final 73 outings...Made his third Opening Day roster (also 2007 with KC, 2011 with Rays)...Pitched briefly with Gigantes del Cibao in the 2012 Dominican Winter League.

2011

Made a career-high 71 apps and recorded 6 saves, his first saves since 2007...only one pitcher-major league save leader DET Jose Valverde-had more appearances in the AL...became the 6th Rays pitcher to appear in at least 70 games in a season...Seventeen of his final 18 apps (beginning Aug 7) were scoreless...had a 0.47 ERA (19-IP, 1-ER) in that span, only allowing 10 base runners (8-H, 2-BB) while striking out 20...During the final 24-game run in which the Rays made up 9 games in the AL Wild Card race in September, he made 7 apps, all scoreless (7- IP, 3-H) and the Rays won all 7 games while he saved 4...entered September with only 4 saves in his entire career...was filling in for closer Kyle Farnsworth who was out with elbow tenderness...Earned saves in back-to-back apps, Sep 17- 18 at BOS, giving the Rays 3 wins in a crucial 4-game series that brought them to within 2 games of Boston in the AL Wild Card race...Held first batters faced to a .072 (5-for-69) average, the best mark in the majors...per Stats Inc., since records first became available in 1974, only one ML reliever (min. 60 AB) finished a season with a better number: NYY Mariano Rivera in 1999 (.048, 3-for-62)...Lefthanders hit .155 (17-for-110) against him, the 2nd-lowest mark among major league relievers (min. 100 AB) in 2011 behind BAL/ TEX Koji Uehara (.130)...also the lowest season mark in Rays history (min. 100 AB)...overall opponents hit .188 (44-for-234), 8th lowest among AL relievers...Allowed 8.25 base runners per 9 IP, 2nd lowest among AL relievers behind Uehara (6.51) and just ahead of Rivera (8.36)...Held opposing batters to a .185 (10-for-54) avg. with RISP and .120 (3-for-25) avg. with RISP and 2 outs...in 36 home apps, held opponents to a .118 (13-for-110) avg. and posted a 1.34 ERA (33.2-IP, 5-ER)...Over his last 34 apps (since June 28), opponents hit .160 (17-for-106) against him...Two of the 7 home runs he surrendered were hit by SEA Miguel Olivo in back-to-back plate apps June 3-4...POSTSEASON: Appeared in 3 games of the ALDS and did not allow a run...pitched in Game 2, 3 and 4.

2010

Emerged as a key member of the Nationals bullpen after signing with Washington as a minor league free agent in December 2009 ... compiled a 2.02 ERA (49-IP, 11-ER) over 39 relief apps after his contract was selected from Triple-A Syracuse on June 21. ... Helped revitalize the Nats relief corps as they went from 30th in the majors in ERA, 28th in opp avg. and 29th in base runners allowed (in 2009) to 5th, 6th and 5th respectively (in 2010). ... From the time of his debut (June 22) through season's end, ranked 3rd among NL relievers with 49 IP, trailing only ATL Jonny Venters (52) and COL Matt Belisle (49.2)...also ranked among NL relief leaders (min. 30 apps) during that stretch with a .214 opponents' OBP (2nd), 7.35 base runners per 9 innings (2nd), 1.7 BB/9 IP (6th), 5.4 SO/BB ratio (7th), 5.5 H/9 IP (8th) and a .170 opp avg. (8th) - all career bests. ... Recorded 49 SO against 9 BB. ... Posted a .139 (5-for-36) opp avg. with RISP... limited right-handed hitters to a .145 (16-for- 110) avg. ... crafted a 0.93 ERA (9.2-IP, 1-ER) in 8 apps when pitching on zero days' rest. ... Allowed only 1 earned run in his final 15 IP, beginning Aug 26 (14 apps). ... Converted all 20 save opportunities for Syracuse... ranked 4th in the minors in saves at the time of his call-up ... led the Nationals system in saves over the full season...went 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA (33.1-IP, 4-ER) and 10.3 SO/9 IP. ... Following the season, pitched for Gigantes del Cibao of the Dominican Winter League ... recorded 10 saves and a 1.59 ERA (17-IP, 10-H, 3-ER, 2-BB, 25-SO) in 17 apps.

2009

Split season between COL and Colorado Springs of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League after being released by KCR at the conclusion of Spring Training...signed with COL as free agent on April 8...won all 6 decisions with COL...lost all 3 decisions during pair of stints with the Rockies...pocketed 5 holds in 11 scoreless appearances from May 25-June 23...when walking none for COL, ERA was 4.58...when walking at least one, ERA rose to 10.29.

2008

Pitched for both KCR and Omaha of Triple-A Pacific Coast League...allowed 15 homers in 52.2 innings with KCR, topping all of baseball with 2.56 homers/9.0 innings (minimum 50.0 IP)...posted .247 batting average against...worked career-long 3.1 innings on August 8 vs. MIN...was touched for back-to-back homers, August 14 at CWS...didn't surrender a run in 10 games (18.2 IP) while posting 2 saves for Omaha.

2007

Spent his 1st full season at the Major League level, recording a 3.80 ERA and tossing a career-high 87.2 innings as the workhorse in the Royals bullpen... Joel's innings were the most by a KC reliever since Rusty Meacham tossed 101.2 innings in 1992...His 87.2 innings were fi fth among relievers in baseball and second behind Minnesota's Matt Guerrier in the A.L...Struck out 66 while walking just 19, posting a 3.47 strikeout-to-walk ratio...has 123 strikeouts against 36 walks in his Royals career (3.42 K/BB)...Pitched more than 1 inning in 35 of his 62 appearances and tossed 2 innings or more in 16 outings...Experienced success against left-handed hitters, holding them to a .248 average (31-for-125) while righties hit .290 (62-for-214) against him...Finished off a memorable Opening Day win over Boston striking out 4 in 1.2 scoreless innings of relief on April 2...Settled in after a rough start that saw him post a 0-2 record and a 7.94 ERA through his first 10 outings...recorded a 3.18 ERA the remainder of the season in 52 outings (76.1 innings)...Struck out at least 1 batter in 16 of 17 games from May 16 to July 1 (24 total)...Had an afternoon to remember on May 20 in Colorado...pitched out of a jam in the bottom of the 11th, added a 2-run double and later scored in the Royals 5-run top of the 12th and finished off his win with a scoreless bottom of the 12th...the double came in the first at bat of his Major League career...Recorded his second career save, finishing off the final 3 innings in a 10-0 win over Texas on July 29...Went 1-0 with 1 save and a 2.25 ERA in a 21-outing stretch from May 20 to July 29...opponents hit just .238 against him during the stretch and he issued just 5 walks in 40 innings.

2006

Made a career-high 64 appearances in 2006 and was one of KC's most reliable relievers, recording a 1-3 record, a 4.40 ERA (73.2 IP, 36 ER) and 1 save...Was steady in his 48 night games, going 1-3 with a 3.27 ERA (55.0 IP, 53 H, 20 ER), compared to a 0-0 mark and a 7.71 ERA (18.2 IP, 16 ER) in 16 day games...Retired the 1st batter he faced in 45 of 64 games and allowed 19 of 54 inherited runners to score (35.2 percent)...Recalled from Omaha on April 17 after going 1-0 with 1 save and a 4.50 ERA (4.0 IP, 2 ER) in 3 outings...also made 3 appearances from July 22-26, tossing 3.2 scoreless innings...Earned his 1st Royals victory and 2nd Major League win May 9 vs. Cleveland, a 10-7 victory...allowed 3 hits and 2 ER in 2.1 innings...Had 8 scoreless appearances in 10 games from April 21-May 13...recorded a 2.38 ERA (11.1 IP, 3 ER) over that stretch...Charged with a 7-5 loss vs. Toronto on July 8 after giving up 3 hits and 2 ER, including a solo home run to Shea Hillenbrand in the 7th inning...Took a 5-4 loss at Boston on July 17...allowed a 3-run homer to Doug Mirabelli in the 7th after being handed a 4-1 lead with 2 runners on...Optioned to Omaha on July 22 and recalled on July 31 for the rest of season.  Took KC's 3-2 loss at Minnesota on Sept. 26 after entering the game in the 7th with the game tied, 2-2...allowed 4 hits and 1 unearned run in 2.0 innings...Earned his 1st Major League save on Sept. 29 at Detroit in KC's 9-7, 11-inning victory (0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER)...Did not allow a baserunner in 3 straight games from Aug. 18-23 (5.1 IP, 0 H, 3 SO)...did not allow an earned run in 8 of his last 9 outings (9.1 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 ER) from Sept. 9-Oct. 1.

2005

Appeared in the Majors for the 1st time in his career, making 28 appearances for the A.L. West Champion Los Angeles Angels...went 1-0 with a 3.89 ERA...allowed just 28 hits and 14 walks in 34.2 innings, while striking out 30...opponents hit just .219 against him...allowed runs in just 8 of his 28 appearances...Made his Major League debut on May 25, tossing 2.1 hitless innings and striking out four against the eventual World Champion White Sox...Earned his first Major League win on July 6 vs. Minnesota...Began the season at Salt Lake (AAA) and went 4-1 with a 2.70 ERA and 10 saves in 19 games...allowed just 11 hits and 6 walks in 20.0 innings.

2004

Fanned 68 batters in 56.0 innings-or 10.9 batters per 9.0 innings-with Salt Lake of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League... missed action with right bicept strain.

2003

Pitching for Double-A Arkansas, registered 20 saves to rank 5th in the Texas League...debuted in Triple-A, pitching to one batter (walk) on August 2 at Omaha.

2002

Combined to go 5-0 with 21 saves and 2.49 ERA in 53 relief appearances with Arkansas and Cedar Rapids of the Single-A Midwest League...with Cedar Rapids, 21 saves tied for 4th in Midwest League...fanned 10.1 batters per 9.0 innings during 41-game stint with Cedar Rapids.

2001

Combined on a 25 saves and 2.92 ERA with Arkansas and Cedar Rapids...23 saves ranked 2nd in the Midwest League.

2000

In first domestic season, went 2-1 with one save and 6.59 ERA in 14 games/one start with Boise of the short-season Northwest League and Butte of the Rookie-level Pioneer League...allowed only 2 home runs in 27.1 innings in 2000.

1999

Signed with LAA as minor-league free agent, February 25...converted to pitcher...in initial season on the mound, went 2-3 with 12 saves and 2.50 ERA in 24 relief appearances for ANA's Rookie-level Domincan Summer League ballclub.

1998

Missed entire season due to injury...was released by OAK on June 4.

1997

Began pro career as outfielder in OAK organization, and batted .247 in 52 games in the Dominican Summer League.