Joe Strong

Joe Strong
Joe Strong
	Pitcher
	Born: September 9, 1962 (age 62); Fairfield, California, U.S.
	Batted: Switch Threw: Right
Professional debut
	CPBL: March 17, 1990, for the Wei Chuan Dragons
	MLB: May 11, 2000, for the Florida Marlins
Last appearance
	CPBL: June 15, 1996, for the China Times Eagles
	MLB: May 5, 2001, for the Florida Marlins
CPBL statistics
Win–loss record	47–33
Earned run average	2.71
Strikeouts	385
KBO statistics
Win–loss record	6–5
Earned run average	2.95
Strikeouts	54
MLB statistics
Win–loss record	1–1
Earned run average	5.81
Strikeouts	22
	Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
	Wei Chuan Dragons (1990–1992); China Times Eagles (1996); Hyundai Unicorns (1998); Florida Marlins (2000–2001);
Career highlights and awards
	Taiwan Series champion (1990);

Joseph Benjamin Strong (born September 9, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Strong played for the Florida Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2000 to 2001.

Career

Strong attended the University of California, Riverside, where he played college baseball for the Highlanders during the 1984 season.^[1] He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 15th round of the 1984 MLB draft. He was a replacement player during spring training in 1995, and was barred from joining the Major League Baseball Players Association. After being released by the Chicago Cubs organization in 1995 and playing for the independent Surrey Glaciers of the Western Baseball League, he was inactive for two years, but returned to play in the Korea Baseball Organization in 1998.^[2] In February 1999, he signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, became a free agent at the end of the season, and signed with the Florida Marlins in February 2000. After having played in five countries over 16 years, Strong made his MLB debut for the Marlins on May 11, 2000, becoming the oldest MLB rookie in 40 years.^[3]

On June 17, 2000, Strong picked up his only MLB save. He retired the final out of the 11th inning to preserve a 4-3 Marlins victory over the Pirates.^[4] He played for the Marlins again in 2001 and became a free agent after the season ended. In 2002, he played for the Milwaukee Brewers' Triple-A affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians. In 2004, his final season, he played for the independent Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League.