Christopher Joseph Short (September 19, 1937 – August 1, 1991), nicknamed "Styles", 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 ...

, who 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), ...

(MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (1959–1972), and Milwaukee Brewers (1973). He threw left-handed, and batted right-handed.

Early life

Short was born in

Milford, Delaware Milford is a city in Kent and Sussex counties in the U.S. state of Delaware. According to the 2020 census, the population of the city is 11,190 people and 4,356 households in the city. The Kent County portion of Milford is part of the Dover, DE ...

on September 19, 1937. He was the son of Issac Short, a Delaware judge who had attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. He graduated high school from the Bordentown Military Institute.

Baseball career

Short made his first appearance on the mound on April 19, 1959, against the Cincinnati Reds, appearing in the 2nd inning to replace Jim Owens. He allowed five runs on four hits while striking out three and walking three in 3.2 innings. Chris Short

Short was considered a top pitcher from 1964 through 1968 with the Phillies. He was 17–9 in 1964, with a 2.20 ERA in 220 innings pitched. It was his career-best ERA and was third in the league behind only

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 ...

(1.74) and Don Drysdale (2.18). Teammate

Jim Bunning James Paul David Bunning (October 23, 1931 – May 26, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher and politician who represented Kentucky in both chambers of the United States Congress. He was the sole Major League Baseball athlete to ha ...

was 5th that season with a 2.63 ERA.

Juan Marichal Juan Antonio Marichal Sánchez (born October 20, 1937), nicknamed "the Dominican Dandy", is a Dominican former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three teams from 1960 to 1975, almost entirely the San Francisco Giant ...

finished 4th (2.48). That year, however, the Phillies and Short suffered a historic collapse in the pennant race. After leading by six and a half games with 12 to go,

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Gene Mauch decided to start his two aces, Bunning and Short, for eight of the last 12 games. Short pitched respectably despite the heavy workload, giving up only six earned runs in 18 innings over his final three starts. But weak hitting, ineffective relief pitching and poor defense (the team committed 17 errors in a 10-game losing streak) doomed Philadelphia. The Phillies lost three games in a row to the hot St. Louis Cardinals, who won the NL race by 1 game and defeated the New York Yankees in the

1964 World Series The 1964 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1964 season. The 61st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals against the Amer ...

. On October 2, 1965, Short threw 15 shutout innings at

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

, striking out 18

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 ...

only to receive a

no-decision A no decision (sometimes written no-decision) is one of either of two sports statistics scenarios; one in baseball and softball, and the other in boxing and related combat sports. Baseball and softball A starting pitcher who leaves a game withou ...

. The game would end in a scoreless tie after 18 innings. Short ended up winning 55 games from 1964 through 1966, topping off with a 20–10 record in 1966. A back injury during the 1969 season would curtail his season while also proving to hurt his career. Short's contract was purchased by the Milwaukee Brewers from its then- Triple-A affiliate

Evansville Triplets The Evansville Triplets were a Minor League Baseball team of the Triple-A American Association (AA) from 1970 to 1984. They were located in Evansville, Indiana, and played their home games at Bosse Field. The Triplets served as a farm club for t ...

on April 5, 1973. His final appearance on the mound was on September 18, 1973, 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 Fi ...

. He entered in relief of

Jim Colborn James William Colborn (born May 22, 1946) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. The right-handed Colborn pitched for the Chicago Cubs (-), Milwaukee Brewers (-), Kansas City Royals (-) and Seattle Mariners (1978). Biography After graduatin ...

in the ninth inning, trying to preserve a 5-4 lead with a runner on second base. Facing John Ellis, Short allowed a home run as the Indians won the game 6-5. In 15 seasons, Short finished with a 135–132 record, just over a .500

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

(.506). He had a career

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

of 3.43 and 1629 career strikeouts in 501 games (308 starts). He allowed 886

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

s in 2325 innings pitched. He was only ejected once, on May 25, 1971 (a game in which he was not pitching), for bench jockeying. Short ranks 4th among Phillies pitchers all-time in wins (132), 5th in games appeared in (459), 3rd in games started (301), 19th in complete games (88), 4th in shutouts (24), 4th in innings pitched (2253), and 4th in strikeouts (1585).

After baseball

In 1979, Short was inducted into the

Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame The Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame is a membership-based organization founded in 1976. The organization runs a museum with exhibits at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium on the Riverfront in Wilmington, Delaware and promotes physical fitness in t ...

. Between 1985 and 1988, Short taught young pitchers at Suburban Baseball Camp, which was held at Barness Park in Warrington, Pennsylvania. He suffered from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

in his later years, along with trying to support his three sons. While working for a Wilmington insurance agency in October 1988, he suffered a ruptured brain

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also be a nidus ( ...

, lapsing into a coma. He died on August 1, 1991, in a convalescent home, having never regained consciousness. He was posthumously named to the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame the following year. In 2016 Short was one of 16 new members inducted to the

Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame The Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame is a nonprofit organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was established in May 2002 to honor individuals and groups who are either area natives who became prominent in the field of sports or who became ...

Early life

Baseball career

After baseball

References

External links