Where Are They Now? John Flaherty
9/1/2020 10:00:00 AM | Baseball, My GW: Celebrating our Stories
MLB vet-turned-broadcaster maintains ties to GW baseball
Over 14 MLB seasons, John Flaherty could count on his GW baseball family.
Tom Williams, his pal from their first days together in Foggy Bottom in the fall of 1985 and a talented shortstop, would stop by to catch up at Baltimore's Camden Yards. Trips to Miami meant visits from former teammates John Glenn and Joe Knorr. Other familiar faces, including his former head coach John Castleberry, were sure to pop up in ballparks from coast to coast.
Looking back, it was special to have that kind of support from the people who made his three years in Buff and Blue so memorable.
"When you're grinding it as a player and you're trying to establish yourself and then stay at that highest level, you really don't realize how much other people are on the ride with you," said Flaherty, a catcher who played in the majors with Boston, Detroit, San Diego, Tampa Bay and the New York Yankees. "It was great, and really humbling, to be reminded of that quite often as I would travel around the country."
Flaherty is still in the game, now in his 15th season as a Yankees broadcaster with YES Network.
He's appreciative of his time on the diamond at GW that helped launch a 25th-round pick to a solid MLB career and also his experience in the classroom that helped pave the way for a rewarding second act analyzing the action.
Flaherty said considering every level of the sport his strongest connections were formed at GW. Those continuing friendships with former teammates, like current head coach Gregg Ritchie, help keep him linked to the program more than three decades later.
"When I think of GW baseball and my time there, it hasn't stopped, it keeps going," said Flaherty, a GW Athletic Hall of Famer who was recently tabbed by MLB.com as the top draft pick ever to come out of D.C. "The relationship I have with Gregg and all of the guys that we played with there is a special bond."
A New York City native, Flaherty was part of a 13-man recruiting class brought in by Castleberry for the 1986 season. Those Colonials forged their identity through practices on a makeshift field set up on the Ellipse in the shadow of the White House and some epic games, such as a 21-8 win at local rival Maryland and a tense 1-0 defeat vs. nationally-ranked Old Dominion.
"That group was tight," Flaherty said. "It was 'We're coming in here to change this program, to lay a foundation for the players that come after us.' It was a blue-collar, hard-nosed, let's-figure-this-out group."
Over three seasons in Buff and Blue, Flaherty cemented his place in GW history by hitting .344 with 19 home runs. Along the way, he developed an edge that would later pay dividends on his unlikely climb to the majors.
"When I got to the minor leagues, it was very, very clear to me within the first week that I had a little bit more mental toughness than some of those other kids," Flaherty said. "There were incredibly talented players from all over the country, but they weren't the mentally toughest people that I had ever met.
"I think I developed that quality at GW, just having that 'us against them' mentality. You've got to work harder. You've got to fight harder. Those traits served me well when I got into the minor leagues and eventually making it to the big leagues and hanging around as long as I did."
Flaherty called the decision to forgo his final collegiate season "one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make in my life." He wrestled with the choice for a week before opting to sign with the Boston Red Sox and chase his professional dream.
In doing so, Flaherty promised his father that he'd fulfill his late mother's wish for him to earn his GW diploma. Working around his minor league schedule, he was able to return to Foggy Bottom in the fall of 1989 and eventually complete the course work to secure a Speech Communications degree with a minor in Psychology.
His academic path, after two years of searching for the right major, turned out to be a prescient pick. He arrived in the big leagues with the tools to handle himself on camera. Soon, he was a media favorite in the locker room and eventually an in-demand TV voice upon his retirement.
"I was such an introverted kid, I didn't say a whole lot and was scared to death about talking in front of people," Flaherty said. "I made a decision and said 'If I take something out of this college experience, I'm going to learn how to talk in front of people. I'm going to learn to be a little more confident.' So I chose to throw myself out there in the Speech Comm major, and it was the greatest thing I ever did."
One of four GW alumni to play in the majors, Flaherty proved a dependable MLB backstop for more than a decade, catching at least 90 games six straight seasons from 1996-2000 with San Diego and Tampa Bay. He closed out his career with three seasons with his hometown Yankees, highlighted by winning the 2003 AL pennant.
As a broadcaster, it's been meaningful to find a niche with the Bronx Bombers. He's served in a variety of roles through the years, handling both in-game color commentary and studio analyst duties.
Years ago, Flaherty's GW buddy Williams told him he'd ultimately be better remembered as a broadcaster than as a player. They shared a laugh about that astute observation last year when Flaherty officially had been employed by YES longer than he was in the majors.
"One of the things that the fan base tells me a lot that they appreciate is that I call it like I see it," said Flaherty, who finished with 849 hits in 1,047 career MLB games. "I think that's a New York thing. You can't lie to this fan base. They're educated. They know what they're talking about, and they're passionate. The way I try to handle that relationship is to be as fair with them as I can to call it like I see it."
This season, of course, has brought a whole new set of challenges.
Flaherty has been working the Yankees pre- and post-game shows this summer with Jack Curry and Bob Lorenz. Some days, Flaherty offers insight from YES studios in Stamford, Conn, and other times he's live via remote set-up from his home in River Vale, N.J.
"I think there's just an appreciation of having baseball back after everything that we've been through as a country and as a world," Flaherty said. "There were a lot of days there where we weren't sure if this was going to happen and how we were going to do it. It's quite a process, but I think we're holding it together and doing the best we can."
Flaherty continues to find ways to stay connected to the GW baseball family.
He was glad to be on the search committee when Ritchie was hired to lead their alma mater in 2012, and he tries to stop in and catch a game around his busy schedule whenever the Colonials make the A-10 trip to Fordham. Castleberry, the GW Athletic Hall of Famer who recruited him to the Buff and Blue, just stopped by his house for a visit two weeks ago.
It's been gratifying for Flaherty to watch the program continue to grow while staying true to the values that he and his teammates prized back in the day.
"I think we're all proud now of what GW baseball looks like: The facility and the clubhouse and all of those things, we couldn't even dream of it back then," Flaherty said. "When you see all that stuff, you have to smile because it's on another level. We're just proud as alumni that the program has gotten to where it is right now."
Tom Williams, his pal from their first days together in Foggy Bottom in the fall of 1985 and a talented shortstop, would stop by to catch up at Baltimore's Camden Yards. Trips to Miami meant visits from former teammates John Glenn and Joe Knorr. Other familiar faces, including his former head coach John Castleberry, were sure to pop up in ballparks from coast to coast.
Looking back, it was special to have that kind of support from the people who made his three years in Buff and Blue so memorable.
"When you're grinding it as a player and you're trying to establish yourself and then stay at that highest level, you really don't realize how much other people are on the ride with you," said Flaherty, a catcher who played in the majors with Boston, Detroit, San Diego, Tampa Bay and the New York Yankees. "It was great, and really humbling, to be reminded of that quite often as I would travel around the country."
Flaherty is still in the game, now in his 15th season as a Yankees broadcaster with YES Network.
He's appreciative of his time on the diamond at GW that helped launch a 25th-round pick to a solid MLB career and also his experience in the classroom that helped pave the way for a rewarding second act analyzing the action.
Flaherty said considering every level of the sport his strongest connections were formed at GW. Those continuing friendships with former teammates, like current head coach Gregg Ritchie, help keep him linked to the program more than three decades later.
"When I think of GW baseball and my time there, it hasn't stopped, it keeps going," said Flaherty, a GW Athletic Hall of Famer who was recently tabbed by MLB.com as the top draft pick ever to come out of D.C. "The relationship I have with Gregg and all of the guys that we played with there is a special bond."
A New York City native, Flaherty was part of a 13-man recruiting class brought in by Castleberry for the 1986 season. Those Colonials forged their identity through practices on a makeshift field set up on the Ellipse in the shadow of the White House and some epic games, such as a 21-8 win at local rival Maryland and a tense 1-0 defeat vs. nationally-ranked Old Dominion.
"That group was tight," Flaherty said. "It was 'We're coming in here to change this program, to lay a foundation for the players that come after us.' It was a blue-collar, hard-nosed, let's-figure-this-out group."
Over three seasons in Buff and Blue, Flaherty cemented his place in GW history by hitting .344 with 19 home runs. Along the way, he developed an edge that would later pay dividends on his unlikely climb to the majors.
"When I got to the minor leagues, it was very, very clear to me within the first week that I had a little bit more mental toughness than some of those other kids," Flaherty said. "There were incredibly talented players from all over the country, but they weren't the mentally toughest people that I had ever met.
"I think I developed that quality at GW, just having that 'us against them' mentality. You've got to work harder. You've got to fight harder. Those traits served me well when I got into the minor leagues and eventually making it to the big leagues and hanging around as long as I did."
Flaherty called the decision to forgo his final collegiate season "one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make in my life." He wrestled with the choice for a week before opting to sign with the Boston Red Sox and chase his professional dream.
In doing so, Flaherty promised his father that he'd fulfill his late mother's wish for him to earn his GW diploma. Working around his minor league schedule, he was able to return to Foggy Bottom in the fall of 1989 and eventually complete the course work to secure a Speech Communications degree with a minor in Psychology.
His academic path, after two years of searching for the right major, turned out to be a prescient pick. He arrived in the big leagues with the tools to handle himself on camera. Soon, he was a media favorite in the locker room and eventually an in-demand TV voice upon his retirement.
"I was such an introverted kid, I didn't say a whole lot and was scared to death about talking in front of people," Flaherty said. "I made a decision and said 'If I take something out of this college experience, I'm going to learn how to talk in front of people. I'm going to learn to be a little more confident.' So I chose to throw myself out there in the Speech Comm major, and it was the greatest thing I ever did."
One of four GW alumni to play in the majors, Flaherty proved a dependable MLB backstop for more than a decade, catching at least 90 games six straight seasons from 1996-2000 with San Diego and Tampa Bay. He closed out his career with three seasons with his hometown Yankees, highlighted by winning the 2003 AL pennant.
As a broadcaster, it's been meaningful to find a niche with the Bronx Bombers. He's served in a variety of roles through the years, handling both in-game color commentary and studio analyst duties.
Years ago, Flaherty's GW buddy Williams told him he'd ultimately be better remembered as a broadcaster than as a player. They shared a laugh about that astute observation last year when Flaherty officially had been employed by YES longer than he was in the majors.
"One of the things that the fan base tells me a lot that they appreciate is that I call it like I see it," said Flaherty, who finished with 849 hits in 1,047 career MLB games. "I think that's a New York thing. You can't lie to this fan base. They're educated. They know what they're talking about, and they're passionate. The way I try to handle that relationship is to be as fair with them as I can to call it like I see it."
This season, of course, has brought a whole new set of challenges.
Flaherty has been working the Yankees pre- and post-game shows this summer with Jack Curry and Bob Lorenz. Some days, Flaherty offers insight from YES studios in Stamford, Conn, and other times he's live via remote set-up from his home in River Vale, N.J.
"I think there's just an appreciation of having baseball back after everything that we've been through as a country and as a world," Flaherty said. "There were a lot of days there where we weren't sure if this was going to happen and how we were going to do it. It's quite a process, but I think we're holding it together and doing the best we can."
Flaherty continues to find ways to stay connected to the GW baseball family.
He was glad to be on the search committee when Ritchie was hired to lead their alma mater in 2012, and he tries to stop in and catch a game around his busy schedule whenever the Colonials make the A-10 trip to Fordham. Castleberry, the GW Athletic Hall of Famer who recruited him to the Buff and Blue, just stopped by his house for a visit two weeks ago.
It's been gratifying for Flaherty to watch the program continue to grow while staying true to the values that he and his teammates prized back in the day.
"I think we're all proud now of what GW baseball looks like: The facility and the clubhouse and all of those things, we couldn't even dream of it back then," Flaherty said. "When you see all that stuff, you have to smile because it's on another level. We're just proud as alumni that the program has gotten to where it is right now."
GW Baseball Trains with U.S. Marine Corps
Tuesday, November 29
NFCA All-American Sierra Lange
Wednesday, June 22
Elana Meyers Taylor Heads to Fourth Olympics
Friday, February 11
GW Softball Opening Day 2022
Thursday, February 10