Ron Mahay

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Ron Mahay is an American former baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1995 to 2010. A left-handed thrower and batter, he appeared for the Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, Florida Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins. His career MLB record is 27–12 with a 3.83 ERA and 470 strikeouts.

Early life and draft
Mahay was born on June 28, 1971, in Crestwood, Illinois. He attended South Suburban College and was drafted by the Red Sox in the 18th round of the 1991 MLB draft as an outfielder.

From outfield to pitching
During the 1994–95 strike, Mahay was one of the replacement players for Boston. He made his major league debut on May 21, 1995, as an outfielder, batting .200 in 20 at-bats. After the season, he began converting to pitching, spending the 1996 off-season in Australia with the Gold Coast Cougars to work on his pitching. He returned to Boston as a pitcher in 1997 and, in his first season as a pitcher, went 3–0 with a 2.52 ERA in 28 appearances.

MLB career highlights
Mahay pitched for the Red Sox again in 1998. In 1999, Oakland claimed him off waivers and he spent time in the majors and minors with the A’s and later the Marlins in 2000. He then joined the Chicago Cubs, and in 2003 he signed with the Texas Rangers, where he became a reliable left-handed reliever. His best year came in 2004, when he appeared in 60 games, posted a 2.55 ERA and struck out 54.

In 2007, Mahay was traded from Texas to the Atlanta Braves as part of a deal for Mark Teixeira. He finished the 2007 season with a 2.55 ERA over 58 games between the two teams. He then signed with the Kansas City Royals (2007–2009), delivering a strong 2008 season (5–0, 3.48 ERA in 57 appearances) but a tougher 2009. He was released by Kansas City in August 2009 and joined the Minnesota Twins, where he appeared in 16 games and posted a 2.00 ERA. He also pitched in the 2009 postseason against the New York Yankees. Mahay returned to the Twins in 2010 for 41 relief appearances with a 3.44 ERA.

Later career and retirement
Mahay continued to play in the minor leagues with several organizations before retiring from professional baseball in January 2013. He was the last active replacement player from the 1995 spring training.

Post-playing career
After retirement, Mahay joined the Los Angeles Dodgers as a scout in 2014. He is the pitching coach for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in the MLB Draft League.

Personal life
Mahay married Alison Palmieri in 1998, and the couple has three children—Madison Parker, Mackenzie Reece, and Mason Patrick. They live in Burbank, California, where Mahay works as a high school baseball coach at John Burroughs High School.