Robert John Shaw (June 29, 1933 – September 23, 2010) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player. A right-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 ...

, he played 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), ...

on seven teams for 11 seasons, from 1957 to 1967. In 1962, he was a

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 ...

(NL) All-Star player. In 1966, he led all National League pitchers with a perfect 1.000

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

Career

Shaw made his major league debut with the

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 ...

on August 11, 1957. The Tigers traded Shaw and Ray Boone to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

for

Tito Francona John Patsy Francona (November 4, 1933 – February 13, 2018) was a Major League Baseball player. As a child, he was nicknamed "Tito" by his father. His son, Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona, is also sometimes referred to as "Tito." Bal ...

and Bill Fischer on June 15, 1958. In 1959, Shaw won 18 games for the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

pennant-winning White Sox. The White Sox faced the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

in the 1959 World Series. Shaw defeated

Sandy Koufax Sanford Koufax (; born Sanford Braun; December 30, 1935) is an American former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. He has been hailed as one of t ...

with a 1–0

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

in Game 5, but the Dodgers defeated the White Sox in six games. The White Sox traded Shaw,

Wes Covington John Wesley Covington (March 27, 1932 – July 4, 2011) was an American professional baseball left fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through for the Milwaukee Braves, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Athletics, Philadelphia ...

, Stan Johnson, and

Gerry Staley Gerald Lee Staley (August 21, 1920 – January 2, 2008) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1942 Minor League draft. He pitched regularly from 1947 on, then was traded to ...

to the

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 seas ...

for

Andy Carey Andrew Arthur Carey (born Andrew Arthur Hexem, October 18, 1931 – December 15, 2011) was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees (1952–1960), Kansas City Athletics (1960–1 ...

, Ray Herbert,

Don Larsen Don James Larsen (August 7, 1929 – January 1, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher. During a 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he pitched from 1953 to 1967 for seven different teams: the St. Louis Browns / Baltimore O ...

, and

Al Pilarcik Alfred James Pilarcik (July 3, 1930 – September 20, 2010) was an American professional baseball player. An outfielder, he appeared in 668 Major League games between and for the Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox. P ...

. The Athletics traded Shaw and

Lou Klimchock Louis Stephen Klimchock (born October 15, 1939) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played parts of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Athletics, Milwaukee Braves, Washington Senators, New York Met ...

to the Milwaukee Braves for

Joe Azcue José Joaquín Azcue López (born August 18, 1939) is a Cuban former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher, most prominently as a member of the Cleveland Indians where he played the bulk of hi ...

Ed Charles Edwin Douglas Charles (April 29, 1933 – March 15, 2018) was an American professional baseball third baseman in Major League Baseball. A right-handed hitter, Charles played for the Kansas City Athletics (1962–67) and New York Mets (1967–69). ...

, and

Manny Jiménez Manuel Emilio Jiménez Rivera (November 19, 1936 – December 11, 2017) was an Dominican professional baseball left fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Athletics (–), Pittsburgh Pirates (–), and Chicago Cubs ...

on December 15, 1961. The Braves traded Shaw,

Del Crandall Delmar Wesley Crandall (March 5, 1930May 5, 2021) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He was born in Ontario, California. Crandall played as a catcher in Major League Baseball and spent most of his career with the Boston / ...

, and

Bob Hendley Charles Robert Hendley (born April 30, 1939) is a retired American professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, he appeared in all or parts of seven seasons in Major League Baseball for the Milwaukee Braves (1961–1963), San Francisco G ...

to the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

for

Felipe Alou Felipe Rojas Alou (born May 12, 1935) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder, first baseman, and manager. He managed the Montreal Expos (1992–2001) and the San Francisco Giants (2003–2006). The first Dominican to play regularly in the ...

Ed Bailey Lonas Edgar Bailey, Jr. (April 15, 1931 – March 23, 2007) was an American professional baseball player and later served on the Knoxville, Tennessee city council. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from through . A six-time All-S ...

Billy Hoeft William Frederick Hoeft (May 17, 1932 – March 16, 2010) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball whose career spanned 15 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Braves, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giant ...

, and a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

on December 3, 1963. 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 ...

purchased Shaw from the Giants for an undisclosed price above the $20,000

waiver A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. Regulatory agencies of state departments or the federal government may issue waivers to exempt companies from certain regulations. For example, a United St ...

price on June 10, 1966, The Mets sold Shaw to 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 ...

for the waiver price on July 24, 1967. The Cubs released Shaw on September 14. Shaw holds the major league record for the most

balk In baseball, a pitcher can commit a number of illegal motions or actions that constitute a balk. Most of these violations involve pitchers pretending to pitch when they have no intention of doing so. In games played under the Official Baseball Ru ...

s by a pitcher in one game. He balked five times pitching for the Braves on May 4, 1963, against the Cubs. While he pitched for the Giants in 1964, Shaw taught

Gaylord Perry Gaylord Jackson Perry (September 15, 1938 – December 1, 2022) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher for eight different teams from 1962 to 1983. During a 22-year baseb ...

how to throw a

spitball A spitball is an illegal baseball pitch in which the ball has been altered by the application of a foreign substance such as saliva or petroleum jelly. This technique alters the wind resistance and weight on one side of the ball, causing it to m ...

, as well as how to hide that he was throwing it from the

umpires An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

and opposing team. Perry revealed this in his 1974 autobiography ''

Me and the Spitter ''Me and the Spitter: An Autobiographical Confession'' is a 1974 autobiography by Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Gaylord Perry, written with Bob Sudyk, a sportswriter for the ''Cleveland Press''. The book details how Perry cheated at baseba ...

''. Shaw became a

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

in Minor League Baseball for the

organization. The

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

hired Shaw as their pitching coach, for former teammate

, on September 15, 1972. Shaw resigned on July 15, 1973, after a dispute with Brewers

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Jim Wilson. After retiring from Major League Baseball, Shaw remained active in the game by becoming a coach in the American Legion baseball program where he served for many years. In 1986, Shaw coached Jensen Beach Post 126 to the American Legion World Series title.

Personal life

Shaw worked as a realtor in Northern Palm Beach County, becoming the co-owner of a commercial real estate firm in

Tequesta, Florida Tequesta is an incorporated village in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,158 at the 2020 Census. It is the northernmost municipality in the South Florida- Miami metropolitan area, which in 2010 had a total population ...

. He worked until becoming sick in May 2010. Shaw died of

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

on September 23, 2010, in Tequesta, where he lived.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Bob 1933 births 2010 deaths American League All-Stars Augusta Tigers players Charleston Senators players Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Deaths from cancer in Florida Deaths from liver cancer Detroit Tigers players Durham Bulls players Jamestown Falcons players Kansas City Athletics players Major League Baseball pitchers Marianao players Milwaukee Braves players Milwaukee Brewers coaches Minor league baseball managers New York Mets players People from Tequesta, Florida San Francisco Giants players Sportspeople from the Bronx Baseball players from New York City St. Lawrence Saints baseball players Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players American expatriate baseball players in Cuba American expatriate baseball players in Canada 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people