Mercedes Esquer

From BR Bullpen

Mercedes Esquer Llanes

  • Bats Right, Throws Left
  • Height 6' 0", Weight 147 lb.

BR Minors page

Biographical Information[edit]

Mercedes Esquer is a member of two Halls of Fame.

Esquer debuted in 1976 with Ciudad Victoria in the Mexican Center League. The 16-year-old was 5-6 with a 2.40 ERA, tying for 8th in the league in ERA. In '77, he starred for Ciudad Victoria (8-3, 1.52) and made his Mexican League debut, giving up two runs in three innings for the Monterrey Sultans. The left-hander finished third in the MCL in ERA and tossed a 7-inning perfect game against Fresnillo on June 18. Mercedes split 1978 between Ciudad Victoria (4-0, 0.51) and Monterrey (2-0, 3.60 in 23 G). Had he qualified, he would have led the MCL in ERA.

The San Sebastian native was with Monterrey full-time in 1979, going 6-7 with a 4.09 ERA. He was 9-7 with a 3.70 ERA in 1980 then 15-7 with a save and a 2.40 ERA in 1981, when he completed 15 of 28 starts. He ended his first stint with Monterrey in 1982 by going 6-11 with a 3.85 ERA, the only time he lost more than 10 games. He would win more than ten on seven different occasions.

Esquer than got his chance to play in the USA, from 1982-1985, in the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays chains. He was 0-2 with a 5.30 ERA for the '82 Portland Beavers then spent all of 1983 and 1984 with the Knoxville Blue Jays. He was 6-7 with a 5.27 ERA the first year, 0-2 with a save and a 3.06 ERA the second. He was excellent with Knoxville in a brief stint in 1985 (1-0, 0 R, 9 K in 6 IP) but it was his last chance in the US - he spent the remainder of the year with the Mexico City Tigers, going 3-1 with a 4.00 ERA.

Mercedes returned to Monterrey in 1986 and had a 9-9, 4.00 record while fanning a career-high 148. In '87, he fell to 8-10, 5.37 for the Sultans, his second and last season with double-digit losses. He moved to the Yucatan Lions and 1988 and would excel for them. His first year there, he was 14-6 with a 2.45 ERA and 15 complete games. He placed third in ERA behind Dave Walsh and Jesus Rios. In the winter, Esquer continued to shine, going 13-3 for the Mexicali Eagles to lead the Mexican Pacific League in victories. He also led in strikeouts (110) and gave up only 98 hits in 151 innings. His 2.09 ERA led all starters but did not lead the LMP as reliever Héctor Heredia was lower and pitched enough to qualify. He won league MVP honors.

At age 29 and in his 14th pro season, Esquer had a career year in Yucatan. He was 16-4 with a 1.98 ERA and 16 complete games in 23 starts. He led the Mexican League in ERA by .19 over Arturo Gonzalez after having nearly led the Mexican Pacific League the prior winter. In 1990, he fell to 8-4, 3.18, then was 6-6 with a 1.90 ERA for Guaymas in 1990-1991, finishing in the top 5 in the LMP in ERA. Back with Yucatan for the summer, he went 15-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 1991. He finished third in ERA behind Odell Jones and Alejandro Garza and was second in wins, two behind Juan Palafox.

The veteran southpaw struggled at 7-5, 4.12 in the winter of 1991-1992 but returned for another stellar summer (18-4, 2.24). He won his second ERA title, 34 points ahead of Miguel Munoz. He tied for second in victories, two behind Julio Purata, the pacesetter. Esquer had his worst year with Yucatan in 1993, going 10-9 with a 4.74 ERA and serving up 21 homers, tying his career worst. In 1994, he rebounded to 9-7, 2.55, tying Munoz for 9th in ERA. Mercedes split 1995 between Yucatan and Monterrey, with a composite record of 7-3, 2.64. Remaining with Monterrey, he was 7-6 with a 4.09 ERA in 1996.

Esquer posted a 6-2, 2.92 record for Guasave in 1996-1997, then went 13-3 with a 3.78 ERA for the 1997 Sultans. At age 38, he was 4-3 with a 3.62 ERA for Monterrey in '98, his 12th and last season with the team. Moving on to the Reynosa Broncos in 1999, Esquer bombed at 0-6, 5.25, his first time with an ERA over 5 in 12 years. It was also his first season with a losing record since 1987. In 2000, he rebounded to 11-3, 4.21 for Reynosa.

Through 2000, Esquer had a career Mexican League record of 190-113, 3.41 with one save. He had won another 25 games in other summer circuits, not to count his winter success and had two ERA titles. He was tied for 5th in the Mexican League in seasons pitched (despite having missed time in the USA), was 10th in starts (404), 13th in wins, 6th in strikeouts (1,837, trailing Ramon Arano, Jesus Rios, Angel Moreno, Antonio Pollorena and Vicente Romo), 8th in homers allowed (196) and 10th in wild pitches (109). He was 5th in winning percentage (2,000+ IP), trailing Ralph Garcia, Andres Ayon, Vicente Romo and Jesus Rios.

25 years after he had begun his pro career, Mercedes Esquer was not done yet, going 10-5 with a 3.35 ERA for Reynosa in 2001. He was 2-9 with a 4.72 ERA in 2002 for just his fourth losing record in 24 Mexican League campaigns. In '03, he was 7-7 with a 3.17 ERA, walking only 17 in 125 innings at age 43 and leading his club in ERA. He went 5-7 with a 5.92 ERA for the San Luis Potosi Cactus Pear Growers in 2004 then ended up in 2005 by going 3-7 with a 5.91 ERA for San Luis Potosi. He had pitched 30 seasons in the minor leagues.

His decline in performance after age 40 left him with a career Mexican League record of 217-148.

Esquer, who had played in seven Caribbean Series, was voted into the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009, one of the first ten Mexicans selected to that institution. He made Mexico's Salón de la Fama on the first ballot, in 2011, outpolling all other players, including fellow inductee and southpaw Teddy Higuera, a former AL ERA king.

Esquer coached for the Tabasco Olmecas in 2011 and the Rieleros de Aguascalientes in 2012.

Sources[edit]

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