Alan George Schmelz (born November 12, 1943) is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher who played for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

in 1967.

Early life

Prior to playing professionally, Schmelz attended

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

Major league career

Schmelz made two appearances in the major leagues. His first came on September 7 when the then 23-year-old rookie pitched against the St. Louis Cardinals in relief of

Jerry Hinsley Jerry Dean Hinsley (born April 9, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher whose career extended from 1963 through 1971. He had two trials in Major League Baseball for the and New York Mets. Hinsley stood ...

. He threw two innings and allowed one run of three hits and a walk. He also struck out two batters, including future Hall of Famer

Orlando Cepeda Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes (; born September 17, 1937), nicknamed "the Baby Bull" and "Peruchin", is a Puerto Rican former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for six teams from 1958 to 1974, primarily the San Francisco Giants. A ...

. His next, and final, appearance came on September 24. He came into the game to relieve

Don Cardwell Donald Eugene Cardwell (December 7, 1935 – January 14, 2008) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) right-handed pitcher who played for five National League (NL) teams from 1957 to 1970. He was the first pitcher in major league history to ...

and, despite giving up a hit, left the game without surrendering a run. Overall, he went 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA in his two-game career. In three innings, he allowed four hits, a home run and a walk.

Minor league career

Schmelz pitched in the minor leagues from 1966 to 1969 in the Mets' (1966–1969),

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

(1968) and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

(1969) systems. Overall, he went 29-36 with a 3.13 ERA in 93 games (91 starts).BR Minors
/ref> He showed flashes of excellence at times throughout his career. For example, in his first professional season, he went 15-5 with a 2.97 ERA for the

Auburn Mets Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

and Williamsport Mets. The following year, he posted a 2.60 ERA for Williamsport.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmelz, Al Living people 1943 births Baseball players from California New York Mets players Arizona Instructional League Athletics players Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Auburn Mets players Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players Florida Instructional League Mets players Jacksonville Suns players Memphis Blues players Pompano Beach Mets players Vancouver Mounties players Williamsport Mets players York Pirates players