September 17, 1964: On eve of Phillies’ collapse, Bobby Shantz earns final career win with marathon relief outing

In May 1949, 23-year-old Bobby Shantz took the mound for the fourth inning of an American League game between his Philadelphia Athletics and the Detroit Tigers, summoned by an 86-year-old manager born in December 1862, seven months before the Battle of Gettysburg. He pitched 10 innings in relief, allowing two hits and one run, and was credited with the first win of his major-league career.

In September 1964, 38-year-old Bobby Shantz took the mound during the first inning of a National League game between his Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers, replacing a 19-year-old pitcher born in September 1945, 11 days after Japan’s surrender in World War II. He pitched 7 2/3 innings in relief, allowing three hits and one run, and was credited with his 119th and final career win for the first-place Phillies.

A native of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, 40 miles from Philadelphia, Shantz reached the majors in 1949. Connie Mack, in his 49th season in the Athletics’ dugout, wanted to demote Shantz to the minors after a three-batter debut,1 but reconsidered and sent the 5-foot-6 left-hander into the fray against the Tigers.2

Ten innings later – the first nine of them no-hit – Shantz had his first win. He assumed an enduring role with the Athletics, outlasting Mack’s managerial reign and the franchise’s stay in Philadelphia.3 Shantz won the American League MVP Award in 1952 and remained until January 1957, when the then-Kansas City Athletics traded him to the New York Yankees.4

As a Yankee, Shantz transitioned into full-time relief work and entered his journeyman era. From December 1960 through June 1964, he bounced from the Yankees to the second Washington Senators to the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Houston Colt .45s to the St. Louis Cardinals to the Chicago Cubs.5

After two months with the Cubs, Shantz moved again – back to Philadelphia in an August 1964 cash deal.6 The Phillies were leading the NL in the season’s second half for the first time since their 1950 pennant.7

Shantz had not pitched more than 2 1/3 innings all season and had faced three batters or fewer in 21 of his 36 appearances. But the author of 27 complete games in 1952 hoped for increased responsibilities with the Phillies.

“Mostly I was in there to get one guy out,” Shantz said of his stops with the Cardinals and Cubs. “If I walked someone or they got a hit off me, out I came. It’s the toughest job I’ve ever had.”8

“I think Shantz can pitch more often and longer than he’s been asked to pitch recently,” added manager Gene Mauch, born two months after Shantz in 1925.9

Shantz’s Phillies tenure began with five mop-up innings against the New York Mets on August 16.10 Several shorter relief jobs followed, but on September 7 Shantz replaced 18-year-old Rick Wise three batters into a home game against the Dodgers. He allowed two runners to score, then pitched six scoreless innings. The Phillies lost, 3-1, but it was Shantz’s longest effort since a complete-game win for Houston in the franchise’s debut game in April 1962.11

On September 17, the Phillies arrived in Los Angeles for the Thursday night opener of a four-game series. They had held first place for nearly two months. With a six-game lead over the second-place Cardinals and 16 to play, Philadelphia’s magic number was 11. The defending World Series champion Dodgers were 15 games back and one loss from elimination.

Pre-series coverage suggested Shantz would start a game at Dodger Stadium.12 Some newspapers even listed him as the probable starter for the series opener.13 But when the game began, Shantz was in the bullpen behind Wise, who had celebrated his 19th birthday on September 13.

Wise’s opponent was 28-year-old Don Drysdale, two seasons removed from the 1962 NL Cy Young Award – and two seasons removed from a reversal of fortune involving the Phillies. Through May 1962, Drysdale had won 13 straight decisions against Philadelphia. Since then, however, the Phillies had beaten him six decisions in a row, including three times in 1964. Still, Drysdale’s 18-13 record, 2.29 ERA, and 216 strikeouts were in the NL’s top three in wins, ERA, and strikeouts, and his 286 2/3 innings pitched were a landslide majors-best.

The Phillies went ahead in the first inning. Tony González led off with a two-strike opposite-field single to left.14 Shortstop Maury Wills bobbled Dick Allen’s potential double-play bouncer for an error.15 Johnny Callison singled in González for a 1-0 Philadelphia lead.

Mauch – quoted after the game as saying, “I do less managing now than I ever did”16 – called for cleanup hitter Wes Covington to sacrifice. Drysdale fielded the bunt and threw to second, but Wills dropped the ball for another error, loading the bases.17 John Herrnstein walked on a 3-and-1 pitch to force in Allen’s majors-best 110th run of the season.18

One out later, Cookie Rojas’ single brought in the Phillies’ third run of the inning, then triggered a rally-killing blunder. Third-base coach George Myatt held up Covington at third, but Herrnstein had kept on going past second. The Dodgers trapped Covington in a rundown for the second out, and after an intentional walk to Rubén Amaro, Wise struck out to end the inning.19

Mauch envisioned “six innings” from Wise – who entered with a 5-3 record and a 3.96 ERA in 21 appearances – but instead it was another quick hook.20 Wills singled off third baseman Allen’s glove,21 and Wes Parker walked. Derrell Griffith’s single scored Wills and sent Parker to third. Tommy Davis bounced into a force, and Parker came home to make it 3-2.

With the count 3-and-1 on lefty-swinging John Roseboro, Mauch again pulled the right-handed Wise for Shantz in the first inning. Shantz’s first pitch, a strike, bounced off catcher Clay Dalrymple’s glove for a passed ball,22 but he recovered to strike out Roseboro and Ron Fairly, another left-handed-hitter, containing the damage at two runs.

Drysdale and Shantz then settled into a pitchers’ duel. González’s leadoff single in the second was Philadelphia’s last hit until Callison’s fifth-inning double, but neither advanced. Shantz himself drew a one-out walk in the fourth and advanced to second on a groundout before getting stranded.

Facing a Dodgers lineup without top power-hitter Frank Howard and top average-hitter Willie Davis,23 Shantz utilized what Mauch called “eight different kinds” of curveballs to retire the side unblemished in every inning from the second to the fifth.24 He made a stunning play on Fairly’s swinging bunt in the fourth; as the Philadelphia Daily News reported, the eight-time Gold Glove winner “raced almost to the third base foul line … whirled, and threw from the hip to nail Fairly.”25

Wills’ bunt single to start the sixth snapped Shantz’s perfect string at 14, and Parker sacrificed. Shantz picked up the ball, looked at second, then took the out at first – surprising his catcher in the process.

“He might have gotten Wills,” Dalrymple said. “But I hollered, ‘First base!’”

“I’m just not used to pitchers getting off the mound the way that guy does. With him pitching, you hardly need a third baseman.”26

Wills moved to third on Griffith’s groundout and scored the tying run on Davis’s single.

Shantz and Drysdale traded one-two-three innings in the seventh. In the eighth, both allowed leadoff singles but neutralized the threats. Shantz recorded his fifth assist on Parker’s two-out comebacker in the eighth.

The action moved to the ninth, and Drysdale’s 1-and-2 pitch hit Amaro in the back.27 Rookie John Briggs batted for Shantz and popped up a bunt, which first baseman Fairly grabbed on the run.28 Hoping to double off Amaro, Fairly threw to second baseman Dick Tracewski at the bag, but the ball went into right field.29 Amaro advanced to second on Fairly’s error.

González’s third hit of the night moved Amaro to third, and Rookie of the Year-bound Allen hit a hard grounder to second. Tracewski juggled it and settled for a force at second, rather than an inning-ending double play, as Amaro scored the go-ahead run, the Phillies’ fourth unearned run of the game.30

Jack Baldschun dispatched Los Angeles in order in the ninth.31 The Phillies had a 6½-game lead; the Dodgers were eliminated from the race.32

Shantz seemed like another hero of Philadelphia’s march to the pennant.

“I love to catch him,” Dalrymple said. “You just sit there, grinning ear to ear, while those guys are lunging at the ball.”33

“Cincinnati just might see him next,” added Mauch, hinting at a possible Shantz start in the Phillies’ next series.34 There was even speculation of Shantz starting against the Yankees in the World Series.35

But Shantz returned to short relief after his Dodger Stadium bedazzlement, and a 10-game losing streak cost Philadelphia its seemingly sewn-up pennant. As Mauch tried to reverse the team’s slide, Shantz pitched four days in a row, taking the loss on September 26 – his 39th birthday – when the Milwaukee Braves rallied for three runs in the ninth.36 His former teammates in St. Louis won the NL flag by a game, then beat the Yankees in the World Series.

Shantz retired in December 1964 with a 119-99 lifetime record.37

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Laura Peebles and copy-edited by Len Levin. SABR members Gary Belleville and Kurt Blumenau provided insightful comments on an earlier draft of this article.

Photo credit: Bobby Shantz, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for pertinent information, including the box score and play-by-play.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN196409170.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1964/B09170LAN1964.htm

Notes

1 Shantz pitched in the fifth inning of the Athletics’ 15-9 win over the Washington Nationals in the first game of a doubleheader on May 1. He allowed a two-run single to Washington’s Joe Haynes, then retired the next two Nationals to end the inning. “It was an abbreviated appearance, and unless you followed the game closely you probably missed it,” observed a newspaper from Lansdale, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles from Shantz’s hometown. “Shantz Pitches in A’s Victory over Senators,” North Penn Reporter (Lansdale, Pennsylvania), May 2, 1949: 6.

2 Art Morrow, “A’s Win, 5-4, on Homer in 13th: 9-Inning No-Hitter in Relief Hurled by Shantz in Detroit,” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 7, 1949: 17.

3 Mack’s final season as Athletics manager was 1950. The franchise moved to Kansas City in 1955.

4 Stan Isaacs, “Little Bob’s No MVP Anymore, But He’s Still Most Valuable Fella,” New York Newsday (Long Island, New York), February 20, 1957: 13e.

5 The Senators selected Shantz in the expansion draft in December 1960, then traded him to the Pirates two days later. After taking Shantz in the October 1961 expansion draft, the Colt .45s dealt him to the Cardinals in April 1962. He went to the Cubs in June 1964, in the deal that sent pitcher Ernie Broglio to Chicago and outfielder Lou Brock to St. Louis.

6 Allen Lewis, “Phillies Purchase Shantz After Prior Failures,” Philadelphia Inquirer, August 16, 1964: 2,1.

7 In 1957 the Phillies were briefly percentage points behind the first-place Cardinals in July. They came in fifth, 18 games behind the Milwaukee Braves.

8 Stan Hochman, “Mauch Sure Shantz Will Help Phillies Yet,” Philadelphia Daily News, August 17, 1964: 41.

9 Hochman, “Mauch Sure Shantz Will Help Phillies Yet.” Mauch had gone 3-for-8 against Shantz as a member of the Boston Red Sox in 1957.

10 Hochman, “Mauch Sure Shantz Will Help Phillies Yet.”

11 Stan Hochman, “Is Dennis a Menace Again? He Believes He’s Right,” Philadelphia Daily News, September 8, 1964: 73.

12 Stan Hochman, “Road Rotation Roster Puts Mahaffey in Pen,” Philadelphia Daily News, September 14, 1964: 49.

13 “The Standings,” Scranton (Pennsylvania) Tribune, September 17, 1964: 20.

14 Allen Lewis, “Phils Score in 9th, Top Dodgers, 4-3; All Winners’ Runs Unearned; Shantz Triumphs in Relief,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 18, 1964: 1.

15 Lewis, “Phils Score in 9th, Top Dodgers, 4-3.” Dodgers manager Walter Alston had overruled general manager Buzzie Bavasi’s recommendation to move Wills to third and play September call-up Bart Shirley at short. Instead, Shirley, appearing in his fourth major-league game, was at third. Phil Collier, “Unearned Runs Fatal, Dodgers Lose to Phils,” San Diego Union, September 18, 1964: B-3.

16 Frank Finch, “Dodgers Give 4-3 Present to Phils: Three Errors Wreck Drysdale; Defeat Eliminates World Champions from Race,” Los Angeles Times, September 18, 1964: III,1.

17 Lewis, “Phils Score in 9th, Top Dodgers, 4-3.”

18 Lewis, “Phils Score in 9th, Top Dodgers, 4-3.” It was the second day in a row that Herrnstein had driven in a first-inning run with a bases-loaded walk.

19 Lewis, “Phils Score in 9th, Top Dodgers, 4-3.”

20 Stan Hochman, “Here’s the Pitch: Shantz Can Go the Distance,” Philadelphia Daily News, September 18, 1964: 57.

21 Lewis, “Phils Score in 9th, Top Dodgers, 4-3.”

22 Lewis, “Phils Score in 9th, Top Dodgers, 4-3.”

23 The San Diego Union reported that “medics fear that outfielder Frank Howard’s ailing throwing arm will never be the same again” and that Davis had a sore back. Collier, “Unearned Runs Fatal, Dodgers Lose to Phils.”

24 Frank Dolson, “Shantz Had More Curves Than Gina,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 19, 1964: 44.

25 Stan Hochman, “Why Not Call him ‘Mighty Mouse’?” Philadelphia Daily News, September 18, 1964: 57.

26 Hochman, “Here’s the Pitch: Shantz Can Go the Distance.”

27 Lewis, “Phils Score in 9th, Top Dodgers, 4-3.”

28 George Lederer, “Dodgers Dead – ‘Magic Number’ 1965: Bumbles Beat ‘Big D’ Again,” Long Beach (California) Press-Telegram, September 18, 1964: C-2.

29 Finch, “Dodgers Give 4-3 Present to Phils.” Tracewski was playing second base because Nate Oliver was out with the flu. Collier, “Unearned Runs Fatal, Dodgers Lose to Phils.”

30 Lewis, “Phils Score in 9th, Top Dodgers, 4-3.”

31 Baseball did not officially recognize saves until 1969, but Baldschun is retroactively credited with a save. His 21 retroactive saves tied him for second in the NL with Pittsburgh’s Al McBean; Houston’s Hal Woodeshick was first with 23. Baldschun’s 51 games finished were second to Dodgers fireman Ron Perranoski’s 52.

32 Drysdale fell to 18-14. It was his fifth loss of 1964 in which he had allowed one earned run or fewer.

33 Dolson, “Shantz Had More Curves Than Gina.”

34 Hochman, “Here’s the Pitch: Shantz Can Go the Distance.”

35 Associated Press, “Shantz Points to Series; Would Like to Face Yanks,” Harrisburg (Pennsylvania) Patriot, September 24, 1964: 65.

36 Frank Dolson, “Mauch Discards 2 Aces from Hand,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 27, 1964: 3,2.

37 “Shantz Retires from Baseball at 39,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 12, 1964: 22.