Random Wednesday: Jim Mahoney
March 5, 2008 by Geoff Young
Filed under Personalities
Here’s an obscure one for you. Jim Mahoney played shortstop and some second base for four teams over parts of four seasons.
As a rookie with the Boston Red Sox, Mahoney collected his first big-league hit on July 29, 1959 — a single to left in the fourth inning against Cleveland right-hander Cal McLish. Later that season, on September 14, Mahoney knocked the first of his four career homers, a three-run shot off White Sox right-hander Turk Lown.
Mahoney didn’t appear in the big leagues in 1960, but resurfaced with Washington the following season, getting into 41 games for the Senators. He played 43 more for the Indians in ‘62 and then made a five-game cameo for the Houston Astros in 1965 before calling it a career.
In 120 big-league games, Mahoney batted .229/.266/.314. One of his 48 career hits came off Hall-of-Famer Early Wynn. He also played alongside a few HOFers: Ted Williams, Nellie Fox, Joe Morgan, and Robin Roberts.
Following his playing career, Mahoney served as a coach for the White Sox in the mid-’70s and again for the Seattle Mariners in the mid-’80s. In between, he managed in the Pirates and White Sox organizations.
