Joseph Arthur Schaffernoth (August 6, 1937 – June 18, 2016) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player and

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who appeared in 74 games, all but one in

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

, in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

(1959–1961) and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

(1961). He was listed as tall and .

Playing career

Born in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

, Schaffernoth attended

Jonathan Dayton High School Jonathan Dayton High School is a four-year comprehensive high school, comprehensive state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school serving students in ninth grade, ninth through twelfth grades in Springfield Township, ...

in Springfield Township. After graduating, he began his professional career in the Cubs' organization 1956 with the Class-D

Paris Lakers The Paris Lakers were a minor league baseball team based in Paris, Illinois from 1950 to 1959. The Lakers played as members of the Midwest League from 1956 to 1959 and its predecessor, the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League from 1950 to 1955. The L ...

. In 31 games, he had a win–loss record of 21–6 and a 2.72

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA). The following two seasons, he played for the

Des Moines Bruins Des Moines Bruins were a minor league baseball team based in Des Moines, Iowa. The team played in the Western League from 1947 to 1958. Their home ballpark was Pioneer Memorial Stadium, and they were affiliated with the Chicago Cubs (1947–195 ...

and Pueblo Bruins and had records of 9–12 and 5–8. Schaffernoth made the 1959 Cubs' roster out of

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

, and made his MLB debut on April 15, 1959, with a scoreless

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

of relief against the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. In his second appearance, on April 18 at

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the Los Angeles Coliseum or L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park, Los Angeles, Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Conceived as a hal ...

, he made his only big-league

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against the

Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. Founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York, the ...

, who were en route to the

1959 World Series The 1959 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1959 season. The 56th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the National League (NL) champion Los Angeles Dodgers against the ...

championship. Schaffernoth failed to

retire Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

a batter, surrendering three

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

, one

base on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

and three

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

s. He was spared a

loss Loss may refer to: *Economic loss *Grief, an emotional response to loss **Animal loss, grief over the loss of an animal Mathematics, science, and technology * Angular misalignment loss, power loss caused by the deviation from optimum angular al ...

when the Cubs came back to tie the game in the third inning, but Chicago eventually dropped the contest, 8–7. When the Cubs signed Bob Porterfield a month later, Schaffernoth was placed on the disabled list due to an elbow injury, and finished the year with the

Fort Worth Cats The Fort Worth Cats was a professional baseball team based in Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States. The Cats were a member of the South Division of the now disbanded United League Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseba ...

. In 1960, Schaffernoth split the season between the Triple-A

Houston Buffs Houston ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat of Harris County, as well as the principal city of the ...

(where he went 8–2) and the Cubs. Called back to Chicago in June, he posted his best major-league season. In 33 games, he had a 2–3 record, a 2.78 ERA, and 33

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s in 55

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. However, in 1961, he was less effective, and had a 0–4 record and a 6.34 ERA when his contract was sold on waivers to the Indians. He relieved in 15 games for the Tribe, and dropped his only

decision Decision may refer to: Law and politics *Judgment (law), as the outcome of a legal case *Landmark decision, the outcome of a case that sets a legal precedent * ''Per curiam'' decision, by a court with multiple judges Books * ''Decision'' (novel) ...

with a 4.76 earned run average. At the end of the season, the Washington Senators acquired his contract, but they returned him to the Cleveland organization prior to the 1962 season. Schaffernoth spent the year with the

Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

, compiling an 18–11 record with a 2.67 ERA in 30 starts, and was named the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

pitcher of the year. Schaffernoth spent 1963 with Jacksonville in what ended up being his final professional season, finishing with a 3–7 record and a 3.47 ERA in 17 games. As a major leaguer, Schaffernoth lost eight of 11 decisions, with three saves and a career ERA of 4.58. In 118 innings pitched, he allowed 116 hits and 53 bases on balls, with 68 strikeouts. He died of cancer in 2016, at the age of 78.Alt URL
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaffernoth, Joe 1937 births 2016 deaths Baseball players from Trenton, New Jersey Chicago Cubs players Cleveland Indians players Deaths from cancer in New Jersey Des Moines Bruins players Fort Worth Cats players Houston Buffs players Jacksonville Suns players Jonathan Dayton High School alumni Major League Baseball pitchers Paris Lakers players People from Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey Pueblo Bruins players Salt Lake City Bees players Baseball players from Union County, New Jersey 20th-century American sportsmen