John Flaherty is a catcher who played for the Pawtucket Red Sox over and over and over. 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993. I can still hear Jim Martin calling his name...
Flaherty's first stint was in 1993. Wait, that can't be right. 1990. He played in 99 games and had problems with red balloons. He was 22 and put up crappy numbers. Why? Why was he not in double-A? It would be cool if you could answer my question.
In 1991, Flaherty did indeed do his time in double-A, only playing 45 Pawtucket games. OBP .257... BA .186... ZZZZZ... All of that and more in '92.
Flaherty got his work in at last in 1993, playing in 105 games and getting his best numbers in triple-A! Baby steps, I guess. He did set the record twice for fewest passed balls in a season, so you can see where his value lay.
In 2006, John Flaherty was a Boston spring training invitee and would have likely wound up BACK! in Pawtucket, but opted to retire instead. So Ken Huckaby is totally his fault. Thanks for this, JF. A lot of people thought Flaherty was a contender for catching Wake's knuckleball. It was an admittedly simpler time.
Two things:
1. "I lived upstairs from his brother Keith Flaherty when I was going to Hartwick College. John was still playing minor league ball for the Red Sox in Pawtucket. He came to visit Keith and went out for a few beers one weekend with us. John was a super nice guy, as was Keith." - comedian Paul C Morrissey
2. Flaherty was Pawtucket's MVP in 1993. "He threw out 39 of 85 base stealers (45.9 percent) and had 12 pickoffs at Pawtucket. ``He can catch and throw with anyone,'' [Butch] Hobson said." - Hartford paper
John Flaherty's mural is located in the upper portion of the third base tower, which means I have never seen it. Hie thee.
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