The Sinker and the Sniper

Prior to July 14, the last time Eamonn McDonough threw a pitch in the Yawkey League was the last time we were this upset with Manny Ramirez. On August 5, 2006, McDonough, the Medford Maddogs' ace at the time, pitched against the Revere Rockies and was hit hard, allowing five runs on 14 hits over seven innings. He absorbed that 5-2 loss and the 14 hits he allowed (a career-high through two-plus seasons) and said goodbye to his Maddog teammates and the Yawkey League for 23 months.

Then, during the second week of June, 2008, Maddogs head coach Dave Henley received a phone call from his 6-foot-7 pitcher. Still in Iraq, Army Sergeant Eamonn Mcdonough had a question for his coach. The answer was easy for Henley.

"He called us [the Maddogs] about a month before he was coming back and said 'what are the chances of me pitching when I get back there?'" Henley recalls. "I said 'hah, just come to the game. I'll have a uniform ready for you."



On July 14, in his first game back on the mound in almost two years, the Maddogs' missing ace was rusty, not his usual formidable self. In a case of ultimate irony, McDonough allowed 14 hits, which led to 11 Savin Hill runs, eight of which were earned. The good news, though, for McDonough, Henley and the rest of the Maddogs, was that they won the game and their other ace was back.

For the time being, anyway.

Eamonn, prior to the game on the 14th, had been through the U.S. Army's basic training and gone to Iraq as a Military Police officer. He was part of a team of body guards and was given the responsibility of protecting a Sergeant General in the middle of an unpredictable and unstable Baghdad city. "He's been hit with shrapnel," says Henley, also McDonough's friend of six years. "You know, not bad, but he's been shot at [too], and he's shot back."


Like many soldiers returning from overseas deployments, McDonough needed something to get his mind off, something to fill the void. Baseball was at the forefront for him, the same way it was for Yawkey League veteran Chris Deane 16 years ago.



Deane, currently a member of the Malden Bulldogs, spent a year between Somalia and Iraq as a U.S. Marine in 1992 after the battle of Mogadishu in Somalia. When he got home, he only had two things on his mind: His family, and baseball. "For me," he says, "I [wanted] to see my family and play some ball.

"It was awesome to come home and not have to worry about anything. You go to baseball and that's all you think about."

Although McDonough's stay back home was short -- only two weeks -- he managed to pitch in five games for the Maddogs, a team that has as legitimate a shot as any other at knocking off perennial powerhouse Somerville. He finished his 2008 stint with the Maddogs with a 2-0 record, one save and a 4.20 ERA in 15 innings pitched. Those numbers don't portray just how good Eamonn was before he joined the army.

Starting in 2004, when Medford first entered the Yawkey League, the rotation consisted mainly of McDonough and Sean Gildea, who is currently one of the front-runners for this season's Cy Young award. Henley says it was between him and Gildea as to who the ace was. In 2004, McDonough had more innings pitched (72.2), more strikeouts (76) and a lower ERA (1.44) than Gildea. In 2005, Eamonn matched 2004's win total of seven games while his ERA dropped to 1.36.

Back then, Deane says, the battle for ace status was fierce. "He [Eamonn] was always Medford's number-one and Gildea hated that. He was the number-one guy, he was the go-to guy, so if he's a number-one with [Gildea there ...] then that says something about him.

"He's definitely a very good to great pitcher in this league."

What makes McDonough special in Henley's eyes, and in his former teammates' eyes, is his unselfishness and his great attitude at all times. "He's the perfect teammate," says Henley. "Whatever you ask him to do, he'll do it. He never gets upset.

"You could make 42 errors behind him and he wouldn't open his mouth. He'll say 'gimme the ball, we'll get him next time.' He never, ever complains."

Henley adds that "the kids love playing behind him" because he works quick and throws a lot of ground balls due to a three-quarters delivery that produces a high-quality sinker.


"They'd just like to see him come back [from Iraq]."

The odd thing is, says Henley, is that he wants to go back to Iraq. Eamonn wanted to go back so badly that he re-upped his service time. "He had six more months of a tour and he already extended it an additional six months," Henley explains. "He would obviously much rather stay here, but he knows he can't."


Luckily for McDonough though, there's a chance to play softball while he's back in Iraq for another year.



It'll be as close to baseball as he can get for now.