Robert Duffy Schultz (November 27, 1923 – March 31, 1979) was an American professional baseball player. A left-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

, his career extended for 11 seasons (1946–56), including a full season (1952) and parts of three others in

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), ...

as a member of the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

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 ...

and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. Nicknamed "Bullet Bob", Schultz stood tall and weighed . The native of

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during World War II. Schultz came to the Major Leagues at age 27 after posting seasons of 20, 16 and 25 victories in minor league baseball. His 25-win season in 1950 was especially noteworthy as it came with the

Nashville Vols The Nashville Vols were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1901 to 1963. Known only as the Nashville Baseball Club during their first seven seasons, they were officially named the Nashville Volunteers (often sh ...

of the Class AA

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cl ...

, who played their home games in a hitter's paradise called Sulphur Dell. Schultz lost only six decisions and finished second in the league in

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(2.68), just one one-hundredth of a point behind ERA champion

Marv Rotblatt Marvin Rotblatt (October 18, 1927 – July 16, 2013), nicknamed "Rotty", was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox in the , and seasons. His ERAs in 1948 (7.85) and 1950 (6.23) were the highest in the majors. H ...

(2.67). Schultz broke camp with the 1951 Cubs out of

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

and appeared in 17

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

— ten as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

— during the season's early months, but he was sent back to the minors after his last start July 13, when he was knocked out of the box after only one full

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

in a start against the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

. Schultz spent the entire 1952 campaign with the Cubs, working in 29 games and winning six of nine decisions. In his finest outing, September 14 at

Braves Field Braves Field was a baseball park located in Boston, Massachusetts. Today the site is home to Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University. The stadium was home of the Boston Braves of the National League from 1915 to 1952, prior to the B ...

, Schultz pitched a ten-inning

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

victory over the Boston Braves, allowing only two runs and six hits — and winning the game for himself with an RBI

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

. It would be his ninth and final victory in Major League Baseball. In 1953, Schultz began the season with the Cubs but pitched infrequently and was included in a blockbuster trade to the Pirates on June 4 that netted the Cubs seven-time

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

king

Ralph Kiner Ralph McPherran Kiner (October 27, 1922 – February 6, 2014) was an American Major League Baseball player and broadcaster. An outfielder, Kiner played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Indians from 1946 through 1955. Follow ...

. But he dropped all four MLB decisions that year, and spent part of the season, and all of 1954, with the Double-A

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

. Back in the Southern Association, he won 27 games for the Pelicans over a season and a half, going 18–11 in 1954. The Tigers purchased his contract, but used him in only one game in 1955, in relief on April 15 against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

. He surrendered three runs, all earned, on two hits and two

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

in 1 innings, and was sent back to the minors. He retired after the 1956 season. As a Major Leaguer, Schultz allowed 179 hits and 125 bases on balls in 183 innings of work, with 67

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s. In the minors, he posted a 128–99 record in 345 games. Settling in Nashville, Schultz became a house painter and continued to play semiprofessional baseball as well as

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

. He was shot to death at age 55 after becoming embroiled in a late-night argument with another patron, 59-year-old Charles Johnson, in the bar of Nashville

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or a ...

Post 3595. He was interred at

Nashville National Cemetery Nashville National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Madison, a suburb of Nashville, in Davidson County, Tennessee. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses , and as of the end of 20 ...

References

External links

o
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schultz, Bob 1923 births 1979 deaths 1979 murders in the United States American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela American murder victims Baseball players from Louisville, Kentucky Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chattanooga Lookouts players Chicago Cubs players Deaths by firearm in Tennessee Detroit Tigers players Fulton Railroaders players Gadsden Pilots players Greenville Bucks players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Chickasaws players Muskegon Clippers players Nashville Vols players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players People murdered in Tennessee Pittsburgh Pirates players Baseball players from Nashville, Tennessee Springfield Cubs (Massachusetts) players United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II