Obituaries

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(01-14-2019, 02:43 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: Fine New York Yankees' pitcher:

Melvin Leon "Mel" Stottlemyre Sr. (November 13, 1941 – January 13, 2019) was an American professional baseball pitcher and pitching coach. He played for 11 seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees, and coached for 23 seasons. He was a five-time MLB All-Star and five-time World Series champion, as a coach.


Stottlemyre pitched in American Legion Baseball and attended Mabton High School in Mabton, Washington, and Yakima Valley Community College. A scout for the New York Yankees discovered Stottlemyre pitching for Yakima's baseball team, and signed him to a contract with no signing bonus on June 10, 1961. The Yankees assigned him to the Harlan Smokies of the Rookie-level Appalachian League. After appearing in eight games, the Yankees promoted him to the Auburn Yankees of the Class D New York–Penn League, and he appeared in seven games for Auburn.

Stottlemyre pitched to a 17–9 win–loss record and a 2.50 earned run average (ERA) with the Greensboro Yankees of the Class B Carolina League in 1962, and was promoted to the Richmond Virginians of the Class AAA International League in 1963. He alternated between starting and relieving for Richmond, before Ralph Houk, the Yankees' general manager, insisted that Stottlemyre be used exclusively as a starting pitcher. He recorded a 1.42 ERA in the 1964 season, the best in the International League.[1]

Called up midseason in 1964, Stottlemyre went 9–3 to help the Yankees to their fifth consecutive pennant while being on the cover of The Sporting News. In the 1964 World Series, Stottlemyre faced Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals three times in the seven-game Series. Stottlemyre bested Gibson in Game 2 to even the series, and got a no-decision in Game 5, but lost the decisive Game 7 as the Cardinals won the Series.[2]

Stottlemyre was named to the American League's (AL) roster for the 1965 Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game, though he did not appear in the game.[3] He won 20 games in the 1965 season,[4] and led the AL with 18 complete games, 291 innings pitched, and 1,188 batters faced.[5] He appeared in the 1966 MLB All-Star Game.[6] He led the league with 20 losses.[7] Stottlemyre won 20 games in the 1968 and 1969 seasons.[4]

Stottlemyre threw 40 shutouts in his 11-season career, the same number as Hall of Fame lefty Sandy Koufax, which ties for 44th best all-time. Eighteen of those shutouts came in a three-season span from 1971-73.[8] The Yankees released Stottlemyre before the 1975 season.[9] Stottlemyre retired with 164 career wins and a 2.97 ERA.[4]

Known as a solid-hitting pitcher, on July 20, 1965, Stottlemyre once hit a rare inside-the-park grand slam. On September 26, 1964, he recorded five base hits in five at bats.[10]

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But shortly after that the AL took the bats out of the pitchers' hand with the launching of the DH. But pitchers still hit in the NL even though technically MLB is now one organization. Therefore the two leagues didn't merge completely the way they did in the NFL.