Jim Maloney

James William Maloney (born June 2, 1940) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds (1960–1970) and California Angels. One of the hardest-throwing pitchers of the 1960s, Maloney threw two no-hitters, won ten or more games from 1963 to 1969, and recorded over 200 strikeouts for four consecutive seasons.

Early years Maloney was born and raised in Fresno, California. His parents were Earl and Marjorie (née Kickashear) Maloney, and he has a sister, Jeanne. His father was a sandlot and semi-professional baseball player on the West Coast in the 1930s, who later opened one of the largest used car dealerships in Fresno.

After playing Little League and Babe Ruth baseball, Maloney earned a reputation as one of the finest athletes in the history of Fresno High School.

Career At age 21 in 1961, Maloney had one appearance in relief in the World Series, hurling of an inning early in the fifth and final game as the Reds fell to the New York Yankees.

In 1963, Maloney was 23–7 and struck out 265 batters; in 1965, he was 20–9 and struck out 244; in 1966, he was 16–8 and struck out 216; and in 1968, he was 16–10 and struck out 181.

Injuries shortened his career, robbing him of the chance to pitch for the "Big Red Machine"—the fabled Cincinnati NL dynasty from 1970–79. Maloney ruptured his Achilles tendon in the 1970 preseason and tried to pitch through it, but was ineffective. He pitched in only seven games for the Reds and he was winless in three starts. He was traded to the Angels for Greg Garrett on December 15, 1970. He was winless in four starts and nine appearances in relief in 1971, then retired.

Over his career, he won 134 games and lost 84, with an ERA of 3.19. In 1973, he was elected to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame. As a hitter, Maloney was better than average, posting a .201 batting average (126-for-628) with 7 home runs, 53 RBI, 51 runs, and 33 bases on balls. Defensively, he was about average, recording a .957 fielding percentage. But rookie right fielder Johnny Lewis led off with a home run to center in the top of the 11th and Maloney lost the game 1–0. At the time, that game was officially recognized as a no-hitter, but the rules were later changed to omit no-hit games that were broken up in extra innings. Maloney had given up a second hit in the 11th inning; at the time he had three one-hitters to his credit. Maloney gave up 10 walks and hit a batter, the most baserunners allowed in a no-hitter since 1901. He threw 187 pitches in the game while striking out 12. With the win, he got another raise of a thousand dollars.

His second currently official no-hitter was on April 30, 1969, in which he beat the Houston Astros 10–0 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, caught by 21-year-old Johnny Bench. He struck out 13 batters and issued five walks.

The next night Don Wilson of the Astros pitched his second career no-hitter in a 4–0 Astros victory. Back-to-back no-hitters lhad only been thrown once before in major league history, with Gaylord Perry and Ray Washburn doing so in September .

Personal life Maloney and his wife Lyn reside in Fresno, where he served as director of the city's Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Council. He has three children with his first wife Carolyn.