Jack Daugherty (baseball)

Infobox MLB retired
name=Jack Daugherty
position=First Baseman/Outfielder


bats=Switch
throws=Left
birthdate=birth date and age|1960|07|30
city-state|Hialeah|Florida
debutdate=September 1
debutyear=by|1987
debutteam=Montreal Expos
finaldate=October 5
finalyear=by|1993
finalteam=Cincinnati Reds
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.256
stat2label=On base percentage
stat2value=.322
stat3label=Slugging percentage
stat3value=.362
stat4label=Home runs
stat4value=10
stat5label=Runs batted in
stat5value=87
teams=
*Montreal Expos (by|1987)
*Texas Rangers (by|1989-by|1992)
*Houston Astros (by|1993
*Cincinnati Reds (by|1993)
*Chiba Lotte Marines (by|1996)
highlights=
* Led Major Leagues in pinch hit appearances in 1990.
* Hit over .300 in back to back seasons in 1990 and 1991.
* Homered in back to back at-bats versus Roger Clemens and Jeff Reardon.

John Michael "Jack" Daugherty (born July 30, 1960) was a Major League Baseball player for parts of seven seasons with the Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, and Montreal Expos. He should not be confused with former Major League players John Doherty or John Doherty. Daugherty is a popular icon in Ireland due to his Irish heritage (he is from the Doherty Clan) and is considered by some to be "Ireland's Greatest Baseball Player", though he never resided in that island nation. In fact, Jack Daugherty's 1991 and 1992 Topps, Upper Deck, Donruss, Fleer, and Score baseball cards are highly valued in parts of Ireland and can be used as a form of currency in various taverns and pubs. (Irish Baseball Today Aug. 12, 1992)

Amateur Background

Daugherty played high school baseball at the same school that produced shortstop Alan Trammell (Kearny High School) in San Diego, California. At the collegiate level he played for the University of Arizona and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Oakland Athletics on October 9, 1982.

Professional career

Daugherty reached the Majors in 1987 as a left-handed hitting first baseman with the Montreal Expos. He was 1 for 10 in 11 games with his only hit coming against Greg Maddux. [ [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1987/B10020MON1987.htm] Retrosheet Box Score, 10/02/1987] After spending the entire 1988 season in the minors he was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Tom O'Malley. In 1989 he was used as a pinch-hitter, back-up first baseman, left fielder, and occasional DH for the 4th place Rangers. He surprised many by posting solid numbers in the form of .302/.364/.406 over 58 games. In 1990 Daugherty had his best season as he appeared in a career high 125 games and hit six home runs, drove in 47, and batted .300/.347/.435. He was the first Ranger to hit over .300 with 100 or more at-bats in back to back seasons since Al Oliver accomplished the feat in 1980-1981.

The best game of Daugherty's career came on Sunday, July 8, 1990 when he was 4 for 5 with two home runs and three RBIs. In fact, Daugherty hit 20% of his career home runs in that game and did so in back to back at-bats against pitchers Roger Clemens and Jeff Reardon. The home run against Clemens occurred in the 7th inning and the blast off of Reardon came in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game. The Rangers would go on to defeat the first placed Red Sox in 11 innings. [ [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1990/B07080TEX1990.htm] Retrosheet Box Score, 07/08/1990]

In 1991 Daugherty was injury prone and failed to perform when healthy. Over 58 games he posted lackluster statistics of .194/.270/.264. Given a reprieve in 1992 Daugherty duplicated his '91 effort by hitting .205/.295/.276 over 59 games. The Rangers subsequently released him following the 1992 season. He was then signed by the Houston Astros as a free agent on January 5, 1993. Daugherty responded by tearing up the Pacific Coast League as a member of the Tucson Toros by hitting .390/.488/.525 over 42 games but he found little playing time with the parent club as Jeff Bagwell occupied first base and manager Art Howe seemed to prefer using Kevin Bass, Chris Donnels, and Chris James as his primary pinch-hitters. Daugherty was 1 for 3 over four games with Houston. His lone Astros hit came as a pinch-hitter against Bob Tewksbury of the St. Louis Cardinals in a 6-1 Astros loss at Busch Memorial Stadium on May 4, 1993. [ [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1993/B05040SLN1993.htm] Retrosheet Box Score, 05/04/1993] The Astros later traded Daugherty to the Cincinnati Reds on July 12, 1993 and he closed out his major league career by playing in 46 more games that season while hitting .220/.338/.356.

After two seasons in the minor leagues, Daugherty played in by|1996 for the Chiba Lotte Marines. He played in 19 games, batting .119, before being released in June. After that, he returned to the U.S. to coach in the minor leagues. [ [http://www.japanbaseballdaily.com/foreignbattingDade-Fyhrie.html Japanese Stats] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/D/Pdaugj001.htm Retrosheet]