Robert Clayton Shantz (born September 26, 1925) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player. He played as 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 ...

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) from through , and won the 1952 American League

Most Valuable Player Award In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

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 The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. He also played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Colt .45s,

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, Chicago Cubs, and the Philadelphia Phillies. Shantz began his career as a starting pitcher, but about halfway through he converted to a competent

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

. In 1951, he added the

knuckleball A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This cha ...

to his repertoire. Standing only , Shantz had a career record of 119 games won, 99 games lost, and an

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 ...

(ERA) of 3.38.

Career

Shantz enjoyed his best season in 1952 when he led 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 ...

in wins (24) and won the MVP Award. 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. The following season, Shantz injured his shoulder in a game against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

. Shantz saw only limited action for the rest of 1953 and pitched only eight innings in 1954. After the 1954 season was complete, the Athletics were sold and moved to Kansas City for the 1955 season. In 1957, Shantz was traded to the New York Yankees as part of a 13-player deal.Yankees obtain Ditmar and Shantz in thirteen-player deal with Athletics
/ref> 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 (

, 1957–60;

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 ...

, 1961–64; in 1957 the award was rendered for both leagues). Shantz also was selected for the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

in 1951, 1952 and 1957. 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 The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

with the

Casey Stengel Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and manager, best known as the manager of the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, the expansion New Y ...

managed

. Shantz had the distinction of being selected in expansion drafts in consecutive seasons. He was selected in the 1960 MLB expansion draft by the Washington Senators from the New York Yankees, and in the 1961 MLB expansion draft by the Colt .45s from the Pittsburgh Pirates. In his 16-year major league career, Shantz recorded a .195

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(107-for-548) with 60 runs, 20 doubles, 1

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 ...

, 46 RBI and 47 bases on balls. Defensively, he posted a .976 fielding percentage which was 19 points higher than the league average at his position. He is the brother of former Major League

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

Billy Shantz. He is the oldest living former player of the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, and Philadelphia Phillies organizations. He is also the oldest living player to have won a

References

External links

Bobby Shantz
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)

at Astros Daily {{DEFAULTSORT:Shantz, Bobby 1925 births Living people American League All-Stars American League ERA champions American League Most Valuable Player Award winners American League wins champions American people of German descent Baseball players from Pennsylvania Chicago Cubs players Gold Glove Award winners Houston Colt .45s players Kansas City Athletics players Knuckleball pitchers Lincoln A's players Major League Baseball pitchers New York Yankees players People from Pottstown, Pennsylvania Philadelphia Athletics players Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Louis Cardinals players Sportspeople from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Career

See also

References

Further reading

External links