| Eric O'Flaherty | |
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O'Flaherty (left) talking with Arthur Rhodes in 2009 |
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| Atlanta Braves – No. 34 | |
| Born: February 5, 1985 Walla Walla, Washington |
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| Bats: Left | Throws: Left |
| MLB debut | |
| August 16, 2006 for the Seattle Mariners | |
| Career statistics (through 2011 season) |
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| Win–Loss | 14-9 |
| Earned run average | 3.14 |
| Strikeouts | 188 |
| Teams | |
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Eric George O'Flaherty (born February 5, 1985 in Walla Walla, Washington) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Atlanta Braves.
O'Flaherty is the only pitcher in Seattle Mariners franchise history to begin his Major League career with seven consecutive wins.[1]
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O'Flaherty was drafted out of high school by the Seattle Mariners in the sixth round of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft. He was the 176th pick overall. As a senior at Walla Walla High School, he had a 5–2 record, an ERA of 1.99, and 83 strikeouts. He earned Pitcher of the Year honors in the Big Nine Conference.
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 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.[2]
O'Flaherty made his debut in the major leagues on August 16, 2006, against the Oakland Athletics. He pitched 2/3 of an inning, faced 4 batters, allowed one hit, one walk, and got his first strikeout in the major leagues.
On the same day of O'Flaherty's debut, the Seattle Times reported that his "big-league visit was too short to qualify as a cup of coffee".[3] The night before he had been flown in from Triple-A Tacoma in order to replace a seemingly injured Rafael Soriano. 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 Greg Dobbs 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.
On November 20, he was claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Braves.[4]
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 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, the three have become known as O'Ventbrel for their dominance over the last three innings of a ballgame. As on August 21, 2011 the trio had three of the six lowest ERAs in the NL.[5]
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