American baseball player (born 1925)
Baseball player
Robert Clayton Shantz
(born September 26, 1925) is an American former professional
baseball
player. He played as a left-handed
pitcher
in
Major League Baseball
(MLB) from
1949
through
1964
, and won the 1952 American League
Most Valuable Player Award
as a member of the
Philadelphia Athletics
. A three-time
All-Star
, Shantz won eight consecutive
Gold Glove Awards
and won a World Series championship with the 1958
New York Yankees
. He remains the last living Philadelphia Athletics player and the oldest living MLB MVP.
He also played for the
Pittsburgh Pirates
,
Houston Colt .45s
,
St. Louis Cardinals
,
Chicago Cubs
, and the
Philadelphia Phillies
.
[1]
Shantz began his career as a
starting pitcher
, but about halfway through he converted to a competent
relief pitcher
. In 1951, he added the
knuckleball
to his repertoire. Standing only 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m), Shantz had a career record of 119 games won, 99 games lost, and an
earned run average
(ERA) of 3.38.
Career
[
edit
]
Shantz graduated from
Pottstown High School
in
Pottstown, Pennsylvania
, in 1943.
[2]
He signed with the
Philadelphia Athletics
as a
free agent
and made his MLB debut in 1949. In 1952, Shantz led the
American League
(AL) in wins (24) and won the
AL Most Valuable Player Award
.
[1]
In the process, he led the A's to a 79?75 record and fourth-place finish in the American League, their last winning season in Philadelphia. In a September 1952 game, Shantz's left wrist was broken after he was hit by a pitch thrown by
Walt Masterson
of the Senators.
[3]
The following season, Shantz injured his shoulder in a game against the
Boston Red Sox
.
[4]
Shantz saw only limited action for the rest of 1953 and pitched only eight innings in 1954.
[5]
After the 1954 season was complete, the Athletics were sold and moved to Kansas City for the 1955 season.
On February 19, 1957, the Athletics traded Shantz,
Art Ditmar
,
Wayne Belardi
,
Jack McMahan
, and
players to be named later
(PTBNL) to the
New York Yankees
for
Rip Coleman
,
Milt Graff
,
Billy Hunter
,
Mickey McDermott
,
Irv Noren
,
Tom Morgan
, and a PTBNL.
[6]
The Yankees sent
Jack Urban
to the Athletics and the Athletics sent
Curt Roberts
and
Clete Boyer
to the Yankees to complete the trade. He led the league in ERA in his first year with the Yankees, but was never a regular starting pitcher afterwards.
A highly skilled fielder, Shantz won eight consecutive
Gold Glove Awards
from 1957 to 1964 (
American League
, 1957?60;
National League
, 1961?64; in 1957 the award was rendered for both leagues). Shantz also was selected for the
All-Star Game
in 1951, 1952 and 1957.
[1]
In the fifth and final inning of the 1952
All Star Game
, the left–handed Shantz exhibited his distinctive sidearm delivery and sharp curve and control and struck out three consecutive National League hitters:
Whitey Lockman
,
Jackie Robinson
and
Stan Musial
.
Shantz appeared in relief three games each in the 1957 and 1960
World Series
with the
Casey Stengel
managed
New York Yankees
.
[1]
Shantz was selected in the
1960 MLB expansion draft
by the
Washington Senators
from the New York Yankees; the Senators then traded Shantz to the
Pittsburgh Pirates
for
Bennie Daniels
,
Harry Bright
, and
R. C. Stevens
.
[7]
The
Houston Colt .45s
selected Shantz from the Pirates in the
1961 MLB expansion draft
. On May 7, 1962, the Colt .45s traded Shantz to the
St. Louis Cardinals
for
John Anderson
and
Carl Warwick
.
[8]
On June 15, 1964, the Cardinals traded Shantz,
Ernie Broglio
, and
Doug Clemens
to the
Chicago Cubs
for
Lou Brock
,
Jack Spring
, and
Paul Toth
.
[9]
The Cubs sold Shantz to the
Philadelphia Phillies
in August 1964. He retired after the 1964 season.
[10]
In his 16-year major league career, Shantz recorded a .195
batting average
(107-for-548) with 60
runs
, 20
doubles
, one
home run
, 46
runs batted in
and 47
walks
. Defensively, he posted a .976
fielding percentage
which was 19 points higher than the league average at his position.
[1]
Personal life
[
edit
]
He is the brother of former Major League
catcher
Billy Shantz
. He is married to Shirley Vogel, and they have four children, Bobby, born in 1954, followed by Kathy, Teddy, and Danny, born in 1965.
[11]
As of April 2024, Shantz is the third-oldest living Major League player.
[12]
Following the death of
Bill Harrington
in January 2022, Shantz became the last surviving player who played under
Connie Mack
.
[13]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Bobby Shantz Statistics and History"
.
baseball-reference.com
. sports-reference.com
. Retrieved
November 8,
2015
.
- ^
Wheaton, Evan (May 4, 2023).
"Undeterred at 97, former AL MVP Bobby Shantz makes annual visit to Pottstown"
.
- ^
"Shantz Suffers Broken Wrist As A's Nip Nats"
.
Meriden Record
. Meriden-Wallingford, Connecticut.
Associated Press
(AP). September 24, 1952. p. 4
. Retrieved
November 8,
2015
.
- ^
"Bobby Shantz Is Sidelined With Injured Shoulder"
.
Lodi News-Sentinel
. Lodi: CA.
United Press International
(UP). May 22, 1953. p. 10
. Retrieved
November 8,
2015
.
- ^
Fraley, Oscar (May 19, 1955).
"Bobby Shantz Apparently Has Made It All The Way Back"
.
The Wilmington News
. Wilmington, North Carolina.
United Press International
(UP). p. 17
. Retrieved
November 8,
2015
.
- ^
Briordy, William J. (February 20, 1957).
"NOREN, COLEMAN GO TO KANSAS CITY; Players in Athletics-Yankees Trade"
– via NYTimes.com.
- ^
Service, Scripps Howard News (November 8, 1992).
"1ST EXPANSION DRAFT A SLAP-DASH AFFAIR"
.
- ^
"Colts Send Shantz to Cardinals in Deal for Anderson, Warwick; Keane to Use Left-Hander, 36, in Relief Houston Acquires Outfielder and Pitcher"
. May 7, 1962 – via NYTimes.com.
- ^
"Jun 15, 1964: Brock for Broglio"
. June 15, 1964. p. 20 – via newspapers.com.
- ^
"Shantz Quitting Baseball After 16 Years in Majors"
. December 12, 1964 – via NYTimes.com.
- ^
Marmer, Mel.
"Bobby Shantz"
.
sabr.org
. SABR
. Retrieved
November 30,
2023
.
- ^
"The Oldest Living Major League Baseball Players"
.
baseball-almanac.com
. Baseball Almanac, Inc
. Retrieved
November 30,
2023
.
- ^
Kepner, Tyler (February 8, 2023).
"With One More Title, the Eagles Would Finally Match the A's"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
November 30,
2023
.
Further reading
[
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]
External links
[
edit
]