James Harold Sherfy (born December 27, 1991) 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

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. Sherfy was drafted by the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

in the tenth round of the

2013 Major League Baseball draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

. 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 Diamondbacks,

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

and

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

Career

Amateur career

Sherfy attended

Newbury Park High School Newbury Park High School, founded in 1967, is a co-educational public high school located in Newbury Park, California. Academics The school is one of two International Baccalaureate schools in Ventura County, the other being Rio Mesa High School ...

Newbury Park, California Newbury Park is a populated place and townReal Estate Communications, Inc. (1984). ''California Real Estate Directory''. Page 201. in Ventura County, California, United States. Most of it lies within the western Thousand Oaks city limits, while ...

, graduating in 2010. In his senior year, playing for the high school baseball team, he was named first-team All-

Marmonte League The Marmonte League is a high school athletic conference in California affiliated with the CIF Southern Section (CIF-SS). The league is composed of schools located in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Member schools Current As of the 2020–21 sch ...

after going 8-1 with a 2.25

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. Comp ...

. He played

at the

from 2011 to 2013. He was the

Ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

closer in 2010 and 2011, recording 40 saves during that time. In 2012, he led the

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

with 19 saves, and was second in strikeouts per 9 innings (13.6), fourth in hits per 9 innings (5.3), and fifth in

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 (93). In 2013, he was second in saves in the Pac-12 (21), and in strikeouts/nine innings (12.4). As a junior, he was named a first-team All-American by the

National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) is an association of baseball writers, broadcasters, and publicists in the United States. It was founded in 1962. The NCBWA compiles a preseason ranking of the top 35 teams in the nati ...

(NCBWA). Overall in his college career he was 7–3 with a 2.65

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 ...

(ERA) and 148

strikeouts 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 ...

in 102

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

(13.0 per nine innings).

Arizona Diamondbacks

Sherfy was drafted by the

in the tenth round, 300th overall, of the

. He made his professional debut with the Low-A

Hillsboro Hops The Hillsboro Hops are a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Northwest, northwest United States, located in Hillsboro, Oregon, a city in the Portland metropolitan area. The Hops are members of the Northwest League as an affiliate of the Ariz ...

, and was promoted to the Single-A

South Bend Silver Hawks South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

during the season. He finished his first season with a 1–1 record, 1.04 ERA, 29 strikeouts, and seven saves over innings. Sherfy started the 2014 season with the High-A

Visalia Rawhide The Visalia Rawhide are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Visalia, California, and have played their home games at Valley Strong Ballpark since their ...

, and also played with the Double-A

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

, posting a 5-1 record and 4.59 ERA in 48 appearances. In 2015, he spent the entire season in Mobile, logging a 1-6 record and 6.52 ERA in 44 games. He split the 2016 season between the Triple-A

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, which opened in 2009. ...

, Mobile, and Visalia, accumulating a 3-4 record and 2.77 ERA in 55.1 innings of work between the three teams. The Diamondbacks added Sherfy to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

after the 2016 season. He was assigned to Reno to begin the 2017 season. Sherfy made his MLB debut on August 20, 2017, pitching a scoreless inning of relief against the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. He finished his rookie season with 10.2 scoreless innings across 11 appearances. As of the end of the 2017 season, at 2-0 lifetime he was one of only two pitchers with a 1.000 winning percentage with Arizona who had more than one victory, with the other being

Craig Breslow Craig Andrew Breslow (pronounced BREHZ-loh; born August 8, 1980) is an American baseball executive and former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is currently the Assistant General Manager/Vice President, Director of Pitch ...

. In 2018, Sherfy spent the majority of the year in Reno, but logged a neat 1.65 ERA in 15 major league games. Sherfy hit some struggles in 2019, recording a 5.89 ERA in 17 appearances for Arizona. On January 9, 2020, Sherfy was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

by Arizona following the signing of Hector Rondon. He was outrighted to Triple-A Reno on January 16, and invited to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

as a non-roster invitee. Sherfy was released by the Diamondbacks organization on August 18, 2020. The release was due to an arm injury, according to the Diamondbacks.

San Francisco Giants

On February 3, 2021, Sherfy signed a minor league contract with the

that included an invitation to spring training. In May, Sherfy was named to the roster of the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball to ...

for the Americas Qualifying Event. On June 6, 2021, Sherfy was selected to the Giants’ 40-man roster, and placed on the 10-day injured list. He was activated and added to the active roster on June 9. Sherfy recorded a 4.22 ERA in 10 appearances before he was designated for assignment by the Giants on July 6.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On July 13, 2021, Sherfy was claimed off waivers by the

. He appeared in only four games for the Dodgers, allowing three runs in innings before he was placed on the injured list on July 24 because of right elbow inflammation. He missed the rest of the season. The Dodgers outrighted him to the minors and removed him from the 40-man roster on November 5. Sherfy rejected the outright assignment and elected free agency.

Gastonia Honey Hunters

On April 8, 2022, Sherfy signed with the

Gastonia Honey Hunters The Gastonia Honey Hunters are a professional baseball team based in Gastonia, North Carolina. They play in the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball, at CaroMont Health Park i ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. Sherfy made two appearances for the Honey Hunters, allowing two earned runs and striking out six in two innings of work. On April 27, he retired from professional baseball.

References

External links

Oregon Ducks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherfy, Jimmie 1991 births Living people People from Thousand Oaks, California Sportspeople from Ventura County, California Baseball players from California Major League Baseball pitchers Arizona Diamondbacks players San Francisco Giants players Los Angeles Dodgers players Oregon Ducks baseball players Hillsboro Hops players South Bend Silver Hawks players Visalia Rawhide players Salt River Rafters players Mobile BayBears players Reno Aces players Gastonia Honey Hunters players