Skip to main content

Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 86

Art Mahaffey was a pitcher with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1960-1965. Signed by the Phils as an amateur free agent in 1956, he made his Major League debut at the age of 22, after four seasons in the minors.

Upon his arrival in the Majors, midway through the 1960 season, Mahaffey, a 6-feet-1-inch right-hander, swiftly made quite an impact with the Phillies. In his first MLB game, on July 30th, 1960, Mahaffey was used in relief against the Cardinals. He pitched a 1-2-3 8th inning and then allowed two runners (Bill White and Curt Flood, who each reached on singles) in the final frame, both of which he picked off. Mahaffey pitched again the next day and picked off Jim Marshall of the Giants, successfully erasing the first three men that scored base hits against him in the Majors.

In 14 games (12 starts) that season, Mahaffey posted a 7-3 record, including 5 complete games and a shutout, with a 2.31 ERA. Mahaffey finished third in National League Rookie of the Year voting, behind the Dodgers' Frank Howard and Phils teammate Pancho Herrera.

In 1961, after losing his first start 2-0, despite allowing just three hits, Mahaffey bounced back in overpowering fashion. On April 23rd, in a home game against the Cubs, Mahaffey set the Phillies record by striking out 17 batters en route to a 6-0 victory over Chicago. Unfortunately for the Phillies, it was one of very few highlights that year, as the disappointing franchise lost 107 games.

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Mahaffey pitched better than his 11-19 record would indicate, that season. He made the NL All-star team, even though he led the league in losses. Mahaffey stayed hot late into that season, tossing a one-hitter against the Cubs in August. Mahaffey followed that up with a 3-0 shutout of the Braves in his very next outing.

The 1962 season would bring another All-star nod for Mahaffey. In 41 appearances that year, 39 of which were starts, Mahaffey posted a 19-14 record with a 3.94 ERA and threw a career high 274 innings. His 20 complete games were second most in the Majors, behind Warren Spahn's 22. On August 2nd that year, in a game against the Mets at the Polo Grounds, Mahaffey accomplished a rare feat. En route to a 9-4 complete game victory, Mahaffey struck out 12 batters and laced a grand slam in the third inning. No Major League pitcher since has struck out that many in the same game he notched a homer with the bases loaded.

Mahaffey had a rough season in 1963, as the high work load seemed to take its toll on the righty hurler. Mahaffey only won 7 of his 26 games, while earning a solid 3.99 ERA. Mahaffey would have a winning record once again in 1964, when he went 12-9 with an ERA of 4.52.

Mahaffey was with the club during the famed 1964 Phillies collapse, in which they had a 6 1/2 game lead in the pennant race with 12 games left and lost 10 straight match ups to finish in second place. Mahaffey started two games during the losing streak.

By the following season, Mahaffey's ERA became bloated (6.21) and his win total was emaciated (2), as he pitched mostly in relief.

Following the 1965 season, Mahaffey was traded to the Cardinals along with Pat Corrales and Alex Johnson for shortstop Dick Groat, catcher Bob Uecker and first baseman Bill White, who was, of course, the same Bill White that Mahaffey picked off in his Major League debut.

Mahaffey would throw 35 innings for the Cards, before being traded to the Mets, but he never played for New York.

Today, Mahaffey resides in Allentown, PA.
____________________________________________________________


You can follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Connect with PhoulBallz.com on Facebook by clicking HERE.

Comments

Jay Floyd said…
Mahaffey was definitely one of the more interesting guys I've done a History Lesson on in a while.

Popular posts from this blog

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

Jason Knapp Q&A

PhoulBallz .com was fortunate enough to meet with Phillies prospect Jason Knapp just one day after he caught the attention of the baseball world with his 7 shut out innings, 14 strike out performance against the Indians' Lake County team. - I asked Jason, the Lakewood BlueClaw , for some thoughts about his big game... I had pretty good command of three pitches (fastball, curve, change up). I was on the same page with my catcher, D'Arnaud , and I ended up, ya know, I felt pretty good. - In a great performance like that, how much credit goes to Travis D'Arnaud , the catcher? More than you might expect, definitely. I didn't shake him off once. He told me what to throw and I do what I'm told. And if it works out, a lot of the credit goes to the catcher. - Does the lack of run support (Lakewood has scored 3 total runs in his 3 starts), in your few starts, increase your stress level, or enhance your focus? No, I just try to go out and do my job every outing. Ya know, we...

Eric B Needs to be Cut (and My Name is Rakim)

While the Phillies are on a hot streak this month, one player on the team is not. Eric Bruntlett is 1-for-12 in July. Since the start of May, Bruntlett's apex in batting average has been .167 on June 14th. Bruntlett's ineptitude can be tolerated no longer. Get rid of this guy NOW! Eric B. is the 2009 Endy Chavez. Remember Endy...the guy who in 2005 managed just 2 hits in his final 42 games played as a Phillie? That is about the sort of output the Phillies are getting from Bruntlett, and it's time to fix this void. Julio Lugo was designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox and is expected to become a free agent. The Metropolitans are rumored to be interested. Why wouldn't the Phillies be interested in a guy who could surely outhit Bruntlett? Lugo was hitting .284 through 37 games played this season with Boston. Suspended Lehigh Valley IronPig Pablo Ozuna is eligible to return next Wednesday. Ozuna is batting .294 through 51 games at triple A. Miguel Cairo is also...