Joe Cleary

Joseph Christopher Cleary (December 3, 1918 – June 3, 2004), nicknamed "Fire", was a Major League Baseball pitcher for one game in 1945. The right-hander was born in Cork, and he was the last native of Ireland to appear in a major league game. He also holds the major league record for the highest ERA of any pitcher who retired a batter.

Cleary pitched one game in relief for the Washington Senators on August 4, 1945. In the 4th inning of game 2 of a doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox, he gave up 8 baserunners (5 hits and 3 walks) and 7 earned runs in just  ¹⁄₃ of an inning. World War II amputee Bert Shepard came in to relieve and pitched the final 5 ¹⁄₃ innings, giving up just one run.

In Cleary's short MLB career he had a 0–0 record with 1 strikeout and an ERA of 189.00.

He died at the age of 85 in Yonkers, New York.

His brother Timothy F Cleary, also born in Cork, was a presidential appointee and Chairman of the United States Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission ("OSHARC"). He raised 6 children in Bethesda, Maryland Timothy, Maureen, Therese, Richard, Eileen and Gail Cleary.

Trivia

• In the same game and inning in which Cleary pitched, Red Sox outfielder Tom McBride tied a major league record with 6 runs batted in in one inning.
• Cleary was relieved by Bert Shepard, who was also playing in his only major league game. Shepard is notable as the only one-legged player in major league history.
• Cleary's nickname was "Fire."

See also

• List of players from Ireland in Major League Baseball

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Baseball Library