Art Mahaffey

Arthur Mahaffey Jr. (born June 4, 1938) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the National League (NL) Philadelphia Phillies (–) and St. Louis Cardinals . He batted and threw right-handed. In a seven-season MLB career, Mahaffey posted a 59–64 record, with 639 strikeouts, and a 4.17 earned run average (ERA), in 999.0 innings pitched.

Early life Mahaffey was born on June 4, 1938, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Western Hills High School in Cincinnati. His father had been a professional boxer, under the name Kid Mahaffey. He played high school and American Legion baseball.

Mahaffey's parents moved from their home of 22 years in Cincinnati, to another part of Cincinnati so Mahaffey could play baseball both at Western Hills under coach Paul Nohr, and for the French-Bauer Bentley Legion Post under coach Joe Hawk. The Bentley teams played 60-70 games a summer, and coach Hawk practiced the team four hours a day, even on game days. In addition to Mahaffey, other major league players who learned under Hawk included Don Zimmer, Herm Wehmeier, Dick Drott, Jim Brosnan and Russ Nixon.

Bentley was state champion in 1954, with Mahaffey as its star pitcher. In the same year, at just 16-years old, Mahaffey was an honorable mention selection to the Hamilton County Class A high school baseball All-Star Team. He had a 27–4 won–loss record in high school, and a 28–3 record for Bentley.

Professional baseball Mahaffey was signed as an amateur free agent by the Philadelphia Phillies on June 29, 1956. Ten teams had been interested in signing Mahaffey. He wanted to play for a National League team so he could play some games in his hometown, but thought he had a better chance of making the team with the Phillies rather than the Cincinnati Reds. He then played with the Class B Highpoint-Thomasville Hi-Toms of the Carolina League, under manager Frank Lucchesi. He had a 5–1 record and 2.12 ERA in six starts, before missing the second half of the 1958 season after having either an appendectomy or hernia. At Williamsport, Mahaffey had an 8–0 record in nine starts, with a 1.67 ERA. He was recalled to Buffalo in June, winning five of his first six decisions by early August. At one point he had 12 consecutive wins between the two teams. Overall, he was 8–5 with a 4.42 ERA at Buffalo in 1959, with 81 strikeouts and 47 bases-on-balls in 108 innings pitched.

In 1960, Mahaffey pitched in 22 games for Buffalo, with an 11–9 record and 3.74 ERA, before being called up to the Phillies on July 28.

Major leagues

Philadelphia Phillies Mahaffey played in his first Phillies game on July 30, 1960. He pitched the final two innings of a game against the St. Louis Cardinals. He retired the three batters he faced in the seventh inning. In the eighth, Bill White led off with a single to right field and then was picked off by Mahaffey at first base. The next batter, Curt Flood, singled to center field, and he, too, was picked off by Mahaffey, who threw to first with Flood tagged out on a throw from first to second. In his very next game, against the San Francisco Giants, Mahaffey picked off the next hitter to get a base hit against him, Jim Marshall. In only his second winning start, he pitched a complete game six-hitter in a 3–2 victory over the Milwaukee Braves, led by future Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews (who hit a two-run home run). He finished the Phillies' season with a 7–3 record, an ERA of 2.31, 14 games played, while finishing third in the 1960 NL Rookie of the Year balloting (which was won by Frank Howard of the Los Angeles Dodgers).

Mahaffey set a club record with 17 strikeouts in a game against the Chicago Cubs on April 23, 1961. Though he ended the season with an ERA of 4.10, and a record of 11–19 (leading the NL in losses), in 36 games, he was selected to represent the Phillies on both 1961 NL All-Star teams; pitching two scoreless innings in the July 31 game that ended it the first tie in All-Star game history. The team finished in last place, winning only 47 games and losing 107. Mahaffey did not win a game from June 25 to August 22, but on August 22 he pitched a one-hit shutout against the Chicago Cubs. Only a slow hop single by future Hall of Fame third baseman Ron Santo in the first inning kept Mahaffey from a no-hitter.

In 1962, Mahaffey pitched the NL's opening day game against the Reds, and would go on to have his best season. Mahaffey ended the season with a record of 19–14, and a 3.94 ERA, with a career high 177 strikeouts, in 41 games, completing 20 of 39 starts. He finished 26th in balloting for NL Most Valuable Player (MVP), despite leading the league in home runs allowed with 36, and earned runs allowed with 120. He pitched 274 innings that year, despite having a sore arm.

On April 29, 1963, Mahaffey became the first Phillie to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Mahaffey and others wondered why manager Gene Mauch had used the lefthanded Shantz against the righthanded Carty in that situation. Righthander Ed Roebuck came in to relieve Shantz. Shantz had come to the Phillies in mid-August, and had pitched well in the final month-and-a-half of his 16-year career, only giving up seven runs in 31.1 innings pitched (2.01 ERA). The game against the Braves was the last appearance of his career.

Final years Mahaffey was traded by the Phillies on October 27, 1965, along with catcher Pat Corrales, and outfielder Alex Johnson, to the Cardinals, in exchange for shortstop Dick Groat, catcher Bob Uecker, and first baseman Bill White.

He played part of the 1966 season for the Triple-A Tulsa Oilers, the Cardinals affiliate in the Pacific Coast League, where he was 4–4 with a 5.05 ERA. In 1967, Mahaffey was dealt along with Jerry Buchek and Tony Martínez from the Cardinals to the New York Mets for Ed Bressoud, Danny Napoleon and cash on April 1, 1967. In early 1967, he unsuccessfully tried out for the Giants. He split the 1967 season, his last, between the Mets' Triple-A affiliate, the Jacksonville Suns, and the Chicago Cubs' Double-A affiliate, the Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs, and never again played in the major leagues, retiring at age 29.

Highlights Two time All-Star (1961–62) Picked off the first three players who had base hits against him: Curt Flood and Bill White of the St. Louis Cardinals (July 30, 1960) and Jim Marshall of the San Francisco Giants (July 31, 1960). He had 13 pickoffs and four balks in his career. In 1962, Mahaffey became the last pitcher to strike out at least 12 batters and hit a grand slam in a game.