John O'Donoghue

John Eugene O'Donoghue (born October 7, 1939) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He was signed by the Kansas City Athletics as an amateur free agent before the 1959 season and pitched for the Athletics (1963–1965), Cleveland Indians (1966–1967), Baltimore Orioles (1968), Seattle Pilots / Milwaukee Brewers (1969–1970), and Montreal Expos (1970–1971). During his nine-year major league career, O'Donoghue compiled 39 wins, 377 strikeouts, and a 4.07 earned run average. At the plate, he was 35-for-206 (.170) with three home runs, the first two against Buster Narum and the third off Denny McLain. Playing career During his pitching career, O'Donoghue stood tall and weighed . He was primarily a starting pitcher during the first half of his major league career, and almost exclusively a reliever during the second half. From 1963 to 1967, he started in 93 of his 139 games, and from 1968 to 1971 relieved in 115 of his 118 games. O'Donoghue struggled greatly during his first four minor league seasons (1959–1962), from rookie ball to Double-A. He had a combined record of 26–39 with an earned run average of 5.54. In 499 innings pitched, he had given up 307 earned runs, struck out 360, and walked 358. In 1963, at the age of 24, it all began to come together. Pitching in the Eastern League and Pacific Coast League, he had a combined record of 14–11 with an ERA of 3.10 in 33 games (25 starts), leading to his call-up to the pitching-starved Athletics. O'Donoghue made his major league debut on September 29, 1963, the last day of the regular season. He was the starting pitcher in a home game against the Cleveland Indians at Municipal Stadium. He gave up just two runs (one earned) in six innings, but was the losing pitcher as Jim "Mudcat" Grant and the Tribe prevailed, 2–1.