Elmer Dessens
Born: 1/13/1971 in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico
MLB Debut: 1996-06-24 | Final Game: 2010-10-02
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 200 lbs
Biography
Elmer Dessens was a professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1996 to 2010. Born in 1971, Dessens had a career that spanned over a decade, during which he showcased his skills on the mound with a record of 52-64 and an earned run average (ERA) of 4.44. His career was marked by versatility, as he contributed both as a starter and a reliever, which allowed him to adapt to the evolving demands of the game during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Throughout his time in the major leagues, Dessens struck out 693 batters and recorded 5 saves, reflecting his ability to handle high-pressure situations and his effectiveness against opposing hitters. His career included stints with several teams, where he was known for his gritty competitiveness and ability to pitch in crucial moments. Dessens' contributions came during a period characterized by offensive power and the increasing significance of specialized relief pitching, allowing him to carve out a niche as a reliable option for his managers. His journey through the league exemplified the challenges faced by pitchers in a highly competitive environment, and he remains a notable figure in the history of baseball for his dedication to the craft.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | 64 | 441 | 140 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1174.3 | 1300 | 579 | 145 | 348 | 693 | 4.44 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | PIT | NL | 0 | 2 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25.0 | 40 | 23 | 4 | 13 | 8.28 | 602.7 |
| 1997 | PIT | NL | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 | 0.0 |
| 1998 | PIT | NL | 2 | 6 | 43 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74.7 | 90 | 47 | 25 | 43 | 5.67 | -571.0 |
| 2000 | CIN | NL | 11 | 5 | 40 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 147.3 | 170 | 70 | 43 | 85 | 4.28 | 3682.0 |
| 2001 | CIN | NL | 10 | 14 | 34 | 34 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 205.0 | 221 | 102 | 56 | 128 | 4.48 | -1315.2 |
| 2002 | CIN | NL | 7 | 8 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 178.0 | 173 | 60 | 49 | 93 | 3.03 | -1548.5 |
| 2003 | AZ | NL | 8 | 8 | 34 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 175.7 | 212 | 99 | 57 | 113 | 5.07 | - |
| 2004 | AZ | NL | 1 | 6 | 38 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 85.3 | 107 | 45 | 23 | 55 | 4.75 | - |
| 2004 | LAD | NL | 1 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19.7 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 18 | 3.20 | - |
| 2005 | LAD | NL | 1 | 2 | 28 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65.7 | 63 | 26 | 19 | 37 | 3.56 | - |
| 2006 | KCR | AL | 5 | 7 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 54.0 | 63 | 27 | 13 | 36 | 4.50 | - |
| 2006 | LAD | NL | 0 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23.0 | 23 | 12 | 9 | 16 | 4.70 | - |
| 2007 | COL | NL | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19.0 | 21 | 16 | 9 | 10 | 7.58 | -566.3 |
| 2007 | MIL | NL | 1 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 | 24 | 11 | 3 | 12 | 6.60 | -137.9 |
| 2008 | ATL | NL | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 22.50 | 0.0 |
| 2009 | NYN | NL | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32.7 | 24 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 3.31 | -830.4 |
| 2010 | NYN | NL | 4 | 2 | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47.0 | 41 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 2.30 | -756.4 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 445 | 240 | 14 | 39 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 22 | 65 | 0.163 | 0.233 | 0.188 | 0.420 | -410.6 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | PIT | NL | 15 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.400 | 0.0 |
| 1997 | PIT | NL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1998 | PIT | NL | 43 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 2000 | CIN | NL | 40 | 40 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 0.100 | 0.0 |
| 2001 | CIN | NL | 35 | 57 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 0.193 | -410.6 |
| 2002 | CIN | NL | 31 | 45 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 0.200 | 0.0 |
| 2003 | AZ | NL | 36 | 46 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 0.196 | 0.0 |
| 2004 | AZ | NL | 38 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0.167 | 0.0 |
| 2004 | LAD | NL | 12 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.250 | 0.0 |
| 2005 | LAD | NL | 28 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 2006 | KCR | AL | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2006 | LAD | NL | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 2007 | COL | NL | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 2007 | MIL | NL | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2008 | ATL | NL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2009 | NYN | NL | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2010 | NYN | NL | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | NLDS1 | LAN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6.75 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | NLDS1 | LAN | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6.75 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 441 | 140 | 66 | 174 | 4 | 14 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | PIT | P | 15 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | PIT | P | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | PIT | P | 43 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| 2000 | CIN | P | 40 | 16 | 10 | 26 | 0 | 3 |
| 2001 | CIN | P | 34 | 34 | 6 | 26 | 0 | 3 |
| 2002 | CIN | P | 30 | 30 | 12 | 27 | 1 | 3 |
| 2003 | ARI | P | 34 | 30 | 9 | 18 | 0 | 2 |
| 2004 | ARI | P | 38 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| 2004 | LAN | P | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | LAN | P | 28 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 2 |
| 2006 | KCA | P | 43 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | LAN | P | 19 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | COL | P | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | MIL | P | 12 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 2008 | ATL | P | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | NYN | P | 28 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | NYN | P | 53 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 441 |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | MIL | NL | $1,700,000 |
| 2006 | KCA | AL | $1,700,000 |
| 2005 | LAN | NL | $1,300,000 |
| 2004 | ARI | NL | $4,000,000 |
| 2003 | ARI | NL | $3,000,000 |
| 2002 | CIN | NL | $1,825,000 |
| 2001 | CIN | NL | $475,000 |
| 1998 | PIT | NL | $180,000 |
| 1996 | PIT | NL | $109,000 |
| Total Career Earnings | $14,289,000 | ||