Good Night, Mr. Mayhew

A former star left the game, almost unnoticed, on July 13. Scott Mayhew posted a career 88-60 mark, with a lifetime 3.49 ERA before suffering a career ending torn rotator cuff while starting for Walla Walla's AAA affiliate.

Mayhew posted a winning record in six of his seven big league seasons, including a 7-6 mark this year before being demoted. An Australian, Scott pitched for three different organizations in his career. His best years were 2004-06, when he went a combined 52-25, with an ERA under 3.00 every year and racking up 684.2 innings and 675 strikeouts. He was pitcher of the month twice and a three-time All-Star. Mayhew is tied for eighth in wins on the all-time leaderboard and sits seventh in strikeouts. He still holds the Danville record with 14 strikeouts in a single game, which he posted on April 10, 2004.

I remember Mayhew fondly because he came in as a free agent and helped my team leap in 2005 to 112 wins and our first appearance in the Cecil Cup. Scott also was a key member of the Monarchs team that returned (albeit also unsuccessfully) to the Cecil Cup in 2006. In fact, the only two years I've played in the Cecil Cup were the two years where he was an indispensable part of the rotation. Even more remarkably, he was for whatever reason able to post prolific numbers in the rotation despite what appeared to be fairly low ratings. I always liked that.

So, farewell to Mr. Mayhew. May he find success in his future endeavors. If he'd like to join a major league coaching organization, I'd be happy to find a place for him teaching young pitchers in the Seattle organization how to thrive.