New York Yankees: Bobby Shantz’s Last Pitch Changed Yankee History
March 20, 2012 · Harold Friend · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
In 1952, Bobby Shantz won 24 games for the Philadelphia Athletics. He was voted the American League’s MVP.
The next few seasons, Shantz suffered arm problems, winning only 13 games from 1953-56. Then he was traded to the New York Yankees.
On Feb. 19, 1957, in a 13-player trade with the now Kansas City Athletics, the Yankees acquired Shantz, Art Ditmar, Clete Boyer and others in exchange for Rip Coleman, Milt Graff, Billy Hunter, Mickey McDermott, Tom Morgan, Irv Noren and Jack Urban.
General manager George Weiss took a chance that paid great dividends. In 1956, Shantz had been 2-7 with a 4.35 ERA, while Ditmar was 12-22 with a 4.42 ERA. Boyer had fine potential and became the greatest defensive third baseman in Yankees’ history.
This wasn’t the first time that Weiss had acquired a pitcher that lost at least 20 games. After going 3-21 in 1954 with the Baltimore Orioles, Don Larsen was traded to the Yankees. We all know how that turned out.
Shantz pitched primarily in relief with the Athletics, but he could still start. He paid great dividends almost immediately.
Whitey Ford had arm problems in 1957. He started only 17 games as the Yankees battled the Chicago White Sox for the pennant. Shantz took Ford’s spot in the rotation and had a fine season, winning 11, losing five and pitching to a 2.45 ERA.
For the next three years, Shantz returned to his relief role, pitching effectively when needed. Then came the heartache and irony.
The Yankees were trailing the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 in the seventh game
The little left-hander held the Pirates scoreless as the Yankee rallied to take a 7-4 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning, but Shantz was tiring.
Gino Cimoli led off with a pinch-hit single, bringing up former Yankees’ farm hand Bill Virdon. Some Yankees’ fans still can’t get over what happened next.
Virdon hit a hard ground ball to the left side that was headed straight at shortstop Tony Kubek. It looked like a certain double play, but the ball hit a pebble and then hit Kubek in the throat. Instead of two outs and none on, the Pirates had runners on first and second with no outs.
Casey Stengel took out Shantz in favor of Jim Coates, another former Yankee. Hal Smith, hit a three-run home run in the inning that gave the Pirates a 9-7 lead, and after the Yankees tied the game in the ninth inning, Bill Mazeroski got the best of Ralph Terry.
The pitch to Virdon was Shantz’s last as a Yankee. The newly-formed Washington Senators drafted him as the second pick, but he never pitched for them.
The Senators, two days after acquiring him, traded Shantz.
Where did they send him?
Where else but to Pittsburgh.
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