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 until P. J. Conlon debuted for the New York Mets on May 7, 2018. He also holds the major league record for the highest ERA of any pitcher who retired a batter.^[1]

Major League career

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. The only out that he recorded was a strikeout of opposing pitcher Dave Ferriss.^[2]

In Cleary's short MLB career he had a 0–0 record with 1 strikeout and an ERA of 189.00.^[3]

Personal life

Joe Cleary was born in 1918 in Cork, Ireland and moved to the Upper West Side of New York City in 1928. Cleary attended Commerce High School where he played baseball, once headlining The New York Times. Later, while still enrolled at Commerce, Cleary played on various semi-professional teams in Brooklyn in order to supplement his father's income. Such teams included the Brooklyn Bay Parkways and the Puerto Rican Stars.^[4]

He died at the age of 85 in Yonkers, New York.^{[citation needed]}