Eric George O'Flaherty (born February 5, 1985) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

, and

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. O'Flaherty was the first reliever in MLB history to record an

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

below 1.00 with at least 70 appearances in a season, and was the first

in Mariners franchise history to begin his MLB career with seven consecutive

wins WINS may refer to: *WINS (AM), an all-news radio station in New York City *WINS-FM, a radio station in New York City *World Institute for Nuclear Security *Windows Internet Name Service *WINS (solution stack), a set of software subsystems *Wireles ...

Early career

O'Flaherty graduated from Walla Walla High School in Walla Walla, Washington. As a senior at Walla Walla High School, he had a 5–2

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

, an

(ERA) of 1.99, and 83

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s. He earned Pitcher of the Year honors in the Big Nine Conference. The

selected O'Flaherty in the sixth round of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft. He was the 176th pick overall. He was the first player since Drew Bledsoe was drafted that went to Walla Walla High School. As of 2022 he is currently an assistant baseball coach at Walla Walla High School

Professional career

Minor leagues

O'Flaherty quickly made his way through the Mariners' minor league affiliate teams. He started 2006 with the Single-A Inland Empire 66ers where he had a 3.45 ERA and struck out 33 batters in 16 relief appearances. On May 27, he moved to the Doulble-A

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in San Antonio, Texas, and are named for the Spanish missions around which the city was founded. ...

where he had a record of 2–2 with an ERA of 1.14 and seven saves in 25 games. He moved again that same season to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers on August 9; he would stay with them until his August 16 appearance with the Mariners. His combined minor league record in 2006 was 3–3 with a 2.01 ERA, eight saves, and 73 strikeouts in 43 games. AAAA3478 Eric O'Flaherty

Seattle Mariners

O'Flaherty made his debut in the major leagues on August 16, 2006, against the

. He pitched 2/3 of an inning, faced 4 batters, allowed one

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...

, one

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ov ...

, and got his first

in the major leagues. On the same day of O'Flaherty's debut, the

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington st ...

reported that his "big-league visit was too short to qualify as a cup of coffee". The night before he had flown in from Triple-A Tacoma in order to replace a seemingly injured

Rafael Soriano Rafael Soriano (born December 19, 1979) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, and Chicago ...

. When O'Flaherty arrived, Soriano convinced coaches he was healthy enough to remain on the Mariners' roster, so O'Flaherty was sidelined out of uniform for the rest of the night. The next day, however,

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

Greg Dobbs Gregory Stuart Dobbs (born July 2, 1978), is an American former professional baseball infielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, Florida / Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals. Dobbs w ...

was returned to Triple-A, allowing O'Flaherty to pitch his first major league game. During his debut season in 2006, O'Flaherty faced some challenges: however, his pitching became more refined in the 2007 season and O'Flaherty quickly become a mainstay relief pitcher for the Mariners. Things went downhill for him in 2008. In 7 games for the Mariners, O'Flaherty gave up 15 earned runs for a 20.25 ERA and was optioned to the minors.

Atlanta Braves

On November 20, 2008, O'Flaherty was claimed off waivers by the

. On April 7, 2009, O'Flaherty made his Braves debut, pitching 1 and 1/3 scoreless innings and allowing one hit. He spent the entire 2009 season on the active roster and finished the year with a 3.04

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Compa ...

, a 1.243 WHIP, and a 39-to-18 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 56 and 1/3 innings. O'Flaherty was particularly effective against left-handed batters, who hit only .215 and posted a .270 on base average and a .290 slugging average off of him. O'Flaherty served as an important part of the Braves bullpen during the 2011 season where he pitched primarily during the 7th inning. Along with Craig Kimbrel and

Jonny Venters Jonathan William Venters (born March 20, 1985) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals. Career Minor leagues Venters was ...

, the three formed the back end of the Braves bullpen. As of August 21, 2011 the trio had three of the six lowest ERAs in the NL. In fact, O'Flaherty became the first pitcher ever to post a sub-1.00 ERA in 70 or more appearances. In January 2012, the Braves and O'Flaherty agreed on a 1-year deal worth $2.49 million, that nearly tripled O'Flaherty's previous salary of $895,000. O'Flaherty performed well in the 2012 season playing 64 games with a 3-0 and a 1.73 ERA. O'Flaherty was placed on the disabled list on May 18, 2013, due to a left elbow strain. An MRI revealed that there was a torn UCL in his left elbow. O'Flaherty underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

on May 21, 2013, and was knocked out for the rest of the 2013 season.

Oakland Athletics

O'Flaherty signed a two-year contract with the

on January 22, 2014. In 2015, O'Flaherty spent time on the 15-day disabled list. He was activated from the DL on June 2. After struggling to a 5.91 ERA for the A's, O'Flaherty was designated for assignment on August 1.

New York Mets

The

acquired O'Flaherty and cash considerations for a player to be named later, minor league pitcher Darwin Frias, on August 4, 2015. He pitched in many relief appearances throughout the regular season, and made the postseason roster. He subsequently became a free agent.

Second stint with Braves

Eric O'Flaherty Pittsburgh Pirates (Cropped)

O'Flaherty signed a minor league deal with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

on February 11, 2016. On March 27, he was traded to the

. O'Flaherty pitched to a 6.91 ERA in 39 games, and spent two stints on the disabled list, the first time for a strained knee. He returned to the DL for on August 19 with neuritis, ending his season. The Braves resigned O'Flaherty to a minor league contract in December. He was released on July 21, 2017, to create room for

Anthony Recker Anthony Vito Recker (born August 29, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher and first baseman. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, and Atlanta Braves. Base ...

who had his contract purchased.

Pitching style

O'Flaherty's main weapon was a sinker in the low 90s that he threw about half the time. He complemented the sinker with a four-seam fastball, a slider in the mid 80s, and a changeup in the mid 80s. His pitch selection did not vary greatly between right-handed and left-handed hitters, although lefties tended to see fewer sinkers and more sliders. O'Flaherty often favored the slider when he was ahead in the count.

References

External links

O'Flaherty's Minor League stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oflaherty, Eric 1985 births Living people Baseball players from Seattle Sportspeople from Walla Walla, Washington Major League Baseball pitchers Seattle Mariners players Atlanta Braves players Oakland Athletics players New York Mets players Arizona League Mariners players Everett AquaSox players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino players Tacoma Rainiers players San Antonio Missions players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players Gwinnett Braves players Stockton Ports players Sacramento River Cats players Nashville Sounds players