Bobby Shantz, a left-handed, 5-foot-6 and 139 pounds, is not the most imposing figure standing on a mound. His 16-year career has exceeded this height.
Even more impressive is that his 100th birthday (September 26) put him second among professional major league players. Right-handed Bill Greason briefly pitched for the Barons of Birmingham (1948) and the St. Louis Cardinals (1954), reaching 101 on September 3.
Shantz's major league career has put him in Philadelphia A (1949-54), Kansas City A (1955-56), New York Yankees (1956-60), Pittsburgh Pirates (1956-60), Pittsburgh Pirates (1961), Houston Colt.45S (1962), St. Louis Padinas (1962). He is the oldest living player in other franchises besides the Cardinal.
Philadelphia's Tyler Kepner is a senior writer in track and field, who visited Bobby with Ambler, Pennsylvania, September before. “I grew up near him, but this is the first time I've seen him. He's so kind,” Kepner said.
In addition to drawing pictures with words, Keper also took Bobby's photos with his mobile phone. Ambitional journalist. Or, as Yogi Berra said, “amphibious.” Excerpts from Kepner’s interview:
“You’ll find him in his relaxed chair in his living room in the suburbs of Philadelphia, where he lived for seven decades. His trim and tan, faint blonde hair shocked, bad hips, bad knees, pain in knees and awesomeness, high, this is a 5-foot-6 dreamer from Porterstown, Pennsylvania that can be reached.
“'Boy, I tell you, I really don't know.” Shantz said he beat the trio with the 2.48 ERA in 1952, when he beat the trio (Allie Reynolds, Mickey Mantle and Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra).
“'Growing up, I never thought I would have a chance to be a major league baseball pitcher. I thought I might have a chance to be a minor league, but I didn’t realize I had enough to play in a major league.
“But the fact is so good, I'll tell you. You know, I'm continuing more than I thought.
Shantz visits daily with his wife Shirley and Caregiver. The shanty town has four children, Robert Jr., Teddy, Danny and Casey, one of whom is always home to help his parents. Photos of Shantzes' three grandchildren and a great-grandson decorate the living room, and a friendly rescue dog, Jake, are never wasted.
“One morning in August, the postman gave up his usual autograph request: baseball, a photo, twelve or more cards.
“I didn't do any left-handed, I didn't think so. I don't know how I did in the hell of left-handed, I really didn't. I'm glad I did.”
“Shantz didn't win the Cy Young Award in 1952, which is a good reason – the honors weren't created. But his success put him in the “Ed Sullivan Show” (Shantz was nervous but $500 appearance fee) and his figure was even better. There were no other pitchers in Shantz's life, it was a season, a third of Shantz's season.
“After retirement, after the playoffs with the 1964 Starlight Championship, Shands operated a bowling alley and a dairy bar near Chalfont, Pennsylvania, with Joe Astroth along with his catcher. Another caught A, who caught A's juvenile Billy, died at the age of 66 in 1993.
One minor league season (1948), Lincoln (NEB.) A, Class A Western League, 18-7, 2.82 ERA, 214 innings, 212 strikeouts. Oh, he met Shirley Vogel, a UN student. They got married in 1950.
Major League Baseball debut, on May 1, 1949, against Washington at Shibe Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Major League Baseball Career, 119-99, 3.38 ERA, 537 games, 117 games, 78 full games, 48 saves, 1,935 2/3 innings… Arm and shoulder injuries reduced his 1953-56 season.
As a batsman, the average career of .195, 20 doubles, 46 RBIs. Don't forget that he hit a home run on August 12, 1950 at Allie Reynolds at Yankee Stadium.
The Most Valuable Player in the American League (1952), 24-7, 2.48 ERA, 279 2/3 innings, 152 strikeouts… Five days before the end of the season, he broke his wrist when hit by the court as a right-handed batsman.
Three-time American League All-Star (1951-52) Philadelphia A; (1957) Yankees.
Shantz was selected for the American League All-Star team for the second time (1952), and participated in the All-Star Game, playing football in Philadelphia that year. He entered the game at the bottom of the fifth inning and hit Whitey Lockman, Jackie Robinson swing and Stan Music. Shantz wanted to see if he could replicate Carl Hubbell's record of hitting the team twice in the All-Star Game in 1934, but Rain came and broke through the game 3-2 with a 3-2.
Traded from Kansas City to Yankees on February 19, 1957.
The Washington Senator (Second Round) and the 1961 expansion draft were extended by the Houston Colt.45S (Second Round 21) in the 1960 expansion draft.
Eight consecutive Rollins Golden Glove Awards (1957-64). The award was first awarded in 1957.
Yankee Pennant winner (1957, 1960) and World Series champion (1958).
Shantz, 38, traded with the Cubs on June 15, 1963 with a six-pointer deal, which prompted the Cardinals to quickly and quickly outfielder Lou Brock, 25… Lou Brock was sold to the Phillies on August 15.
In 1994, he was selected in the Philadelphia Baseball Hall of Fame at Veterans Stadium. In 2010, Bobby received two other honors. He was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame, and Portstown High School renovated the baseball field and dedicated it to it.
*Originally released a year ago. Worth repeating on his 100th birthday.