May 23, 1961: Braves edge Pirates as Lew Burdette, Bobby Shantz dominate in matchup of veteran pitchers

The Milwaukee Braves posted the best record in the National League during the four years from 1956 through 1959. They won two pennants, including a World Series championship in 1957, and had two near-miss second-place finishes.1 Although the Braves finished second again in 1960, they came in seven games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates, never really challenging the eventual World Series champions for first place after the beginning of August.2

Hoping to address the middle-infield problems that plagued them during the prior two seasons, the Braves made two major trades in December of 1960. They sent four players, including starting center fielder Bill Bruton, to the Detroit Tigers for second baseman Frank Bolling and a player to be named later. Two young pitchers, Joey Jay and Juan Pizarro, went to the Cincinnati Reds for shortstop Roy McMillan. General manager John McHale felt the addition of Bolling and McMillan gave the Braves the best infield in the NL.3

After their 1960 championship, the Pirates made only one significant transaction over the winter. They dealt three players for left-handed pitcher Bobby Shantz, who had been selected by the Washington Senators in the American League’s expansion draft two days earlier. “We gave up a lot, but the three players didn’t figure in our plans for 1961. Shantz very definitely does,” said general manager Joe L. Brown. “The addition of Shantz gives the Pirates the finest bullpen in baseball.”4

The 35-year-old Shantz began his major-league career in 1949 with the Philadelphia Athletics. He was the AL’s Most Valuable Player in 1952, when he won 24 games. Traded to the New York Yankees in 1957, he was used primarily as a reliever in 1958 and ’59. He pitched against Pittsburgh in three games during the 1960 World Series, including five innings of relief in Game Seven. With the trade to Pittsburgh, Shantz was in the NL for the first time in his career.

The NL’s top two teams from 1960 met for the first time in 1961 in Pittsburgh on April 23. They split the two-game series, with the Braves winning the first game, 3-1, and the Pirates the second, 7-6.5 One month later they squared off in Milwaukee for another two-game set.

On May 22 the Pirates captured the first game, 2-1, with the winning margin provided by reigning National League MVP Dick Groat’s two-out, eighth-inning home run. The Monday night loss dropped the fifth place Braves to 15-16. The Pirates improved to 19-12, good for third place, one game behind the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh intended to start left-hander Joe Gibbon in Tuesday’s series finale. Gibbon, who had pitched seven innings in his 4-2 win against the Philadelphia Phillies on the preceding Saturday, indicated on Monday that he still felt some arm stiffness. Murtaugh then selected Shantz for the starting assignment, his first as a Pirate. He had made eight relief appearances with Pittsburgh, winning his only decision. Shantz’s last start was on August 5, 1959, when he shut out the Detroit Tigers while pitching for the Yankees.6

Lew Burdette, a key member of Milwaukee’s starting rotation since 1954, took the mound for the Braves. A winner of 60 games over the previous three seasons, the 34-year-old right-hander was most famous for his three complete-game wins in the Braves’ seven-game triumph over the Yankees in the 1957 World Series.7 Shantz started opposite Burdette in Game Two of that Series, and took the loss in Milwaukee’s 4-2 victory.

Burdette retired the Pirates in order in the top of the first. Shantz struck out Lee Maye to start the Braves’ half of the inning, and Bolling followed with a long drive to left center. Either left fielder Bob Skinner or center fielder Bill Virdon could have caught the ball, but it fell between them as they avoided colliding with each other.8 Bolling ended up on third with a triple. Eddie Mathews’ single to right scored Bolling, giving Milwaukee an early 1-0 lead.

Burdette allowed two walks in the second, his only free passes of the game. Bill Mazeroski’s groundout ended what turned out to be one of the Pirates’ few scoring opportunities in the duel between veteran hurlers.

Shantz walked the first batter he faced in the bottom of the second, but former Pirate Frank Thomas grounded into a double play. McMillan then beat out a grounder to deep short for an infield single.9 Burdette ended the inning by striking out.

In the third inning, Shantz struck out Maye. Two groundouts followed. Henry Aaron’s fly out to center started the Braves’ fourth. Shantz retired the next two batters on groundouts. The next inning he recorded two strikeouts and a groundout. In the sixth Shantz struck out Maye for the third time. After Bolling’s fly to left, Shantz recorded his seventh strikeout, fanning Mathews. Two more groundball outs and a fly out in the Braves’ half of the seventh ran his streak of consecutive outs since McMillan’s second-inning infield single to 16.

While their pitcher was dominating the Braves’ hitters from the third inning through the seventh, the Pirates were not having much success against Burdette. Virdon singled with one out in the third, but 20-year-old rookie catcher Joe Torre threw him out attempting to steal second. Pittsburgh’s only baserunner in the fourth was Roberto Clemente, who reached on a two-out infield single.

The Pirates’ best chance of scoring came in the fifth inning. With one out, Mazeroski doubled to deep right-center field. He took third on Shantz’s groundout to second, but was stranded there when Virdon grounded out. Burdette retired the Pirates in order in the sixth and seventh on two popups and four groundballs.

Rocky Nelson pinch-hit for Shantz with one out in the eighth inning. “I hated to take him out,” said Murtaugh afterward, “but there isn’t much you can do when you’re trailing by one run in the eighth. A pinch-hitter is a must.”10 Nelson grounded out. Virdon singled to right, but Groat grounded out to end the inning.

Roy Face relieved in the bottom of the eighth. Burdette singled to left with two out, but was forced at second on Maye’s grounder to short.

Burdette retired the Pirates in order in the ninth to earn his fourth win and first shutout of the young season. He allowed only four hits and two walks while pitching his fifth complete game of the year.

But most of the postgame commentary revolved around Shantz’s surprising performance.

“He’s still a great pitcher,” Braves pitching coach Whitlow Wyatt, who guided the team with manager Charlie Dressen sidelined by the flu, said of Shantz. “He has just about as many pitches as anyone in the business – and can put them where he wants them. He has curves thrown at three different speeds and two types of sliders. … He certainly knows how to pitch.”11

“This is the first time I’ve gone more than four innings since 1959, but I didn’t realize I hadn’t started a game since that shutout against Detroit,” said Shantz. “I felt awfully strong out there against the Braves and thought I could go on forever. But we couldn’t do a thing against Burdette, so it’s just another loss.”12

Shantz’s outing against the Braves earned him five more starting assignments in June and July. Used primarily in relief otherwise, he appeared in 43 games for the season, and his 3.32 ERA was the lowest by a member of the Pirates’ bullpen. But a falloff from 1960’s performance by bullpen ace Face and several other veterans resulted in the Pirates’ dropping to sixth in the eight-team NL, 18 games out of first place.13

The addition of Bolling and McMillan gave Milwaukee arguably the best infield in the league,14 but only Burdette (18-11, 4.00 ERA) and 40-year-old Warren Spahn (21-13, 3.02 ERA) were reliable options among the starting pitching staff.15 The team also struggled to replace Bruton in the outfield and at the plate.16 The Braves finished fourth, 10 games behind the pennant-winning Reds.

Cincinnati’s rise from sixth place in 1960 was aided by key contributions from Jay (21-10, 3.53 ERA) and third baseman Gene Freese (26 HR, 87 RBIs, and a .277 BA). Freese was obtained from the Chicago White Sox for Pizarro, the other pitcher the Reds received from the Braves in the McMillan deal.

The NL added two franchises prior to the 1962 season, and Shantz was drafted by an expansion team for the second year in a row. Selected by the Houston Colt .45s, he started and won the first regular-season game played by the team. After two more starts, the last ones of his career, Shantz was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in May 1962. Used exclusively in relief, he posted an ERA of 2.51 in 99 games with the Cardinals before being traded to the Chicago Cubs in the deal that brought Lou Brock to St. Louis in June 1964. Sold to the Philadelphia Phillies in August, Shantz retired after the 1964 season.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Kurt Blumenau and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Photo credit: Lew “Lou” Burdette, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org. for box scores/play-by-play information, player, team, and season pages, pitching and batting game logs, and other data.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MLN/MLN196105230.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1961/B05230MLN1961.htm

Notes

1 The Braves finished one game behind the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956. They won pennants in 1957 (eight games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals) and 1958 (eight games ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates). The Braves tied the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in 1959, but lost a best-of-three playoff, two games to none.

2 Milwaukee was tied with Pittsburgh for first place on July 24, the only time besides Opening Day the Braves occupied the top spot during the season. After losing four of their last five games in July and four of their first five games in August, Milwaukee never got closer than five games out of first place the rest of the season.

3 “Braves Claim Best Infield in League,” Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin), December 16, 1960: 27. McMillian was a three-time Gold Glove winner (1957 through 1959) and Bolling won a Gold Glove in 1958. In addition to Bill Bruton, the Braves sent Dick Brown, Chuck Cottier, and Terry Fox to the Tigers. Milwaukee received Neil Chrisley as the player to be named later.

4 Jack Hernon, “Pirates Get Bobby Shantz,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 17, 1960: 14. The Pirates sent Harry Bright, Bennie Daniels, and R.C. Stevens to the Senators in the trade for Shantz.

5 Originally scheduled as a three-game series, it became a two-game series when the April 21 game was rained out and rescheduled as part of a doubleheader on July 23.

6 Jack Hernon, “Fluke Fly in First Trips Up Pirates, 1-0,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 24, 1961: 24.

7 Burdette was named the MVP of the 1957 World Series.

8 Lester J. Biederman, “Shantz Brilliant Even in Defeat,” Pittsburgh Press, May 24, 1961: 53.

9 Dave O’Hara (Associated Press), “Burdette, Braves Blank Pirates, 1-0,” Capital Times, May 24, 1961: 29.

10 Associated Press, “‘Old’ Southpaws Rolling Along,” Capital Times, May 24, 1961: 29.

11 “‘Old’ Southpaws Rolling Along.”

12 “‘Old’ Southpaws Rolling Along.”

13 Face went 6-12 (3.82 ERA) compared with 10-8 (2.90 ERA) in 1960. His calculated saves dropped from 24 to 17. 1960 Cy Young Award winner Vern Law (20-9, 3.08 ERA) suffered arm problems and pitched in only 11 games, going 3-4 (4.70 ERA). The Pirates led the NL in runs scored in 1960. Although Clemente (the NL’s batting champ with a .351 average) and Dick Stuart (35 home runs) had stellar years, the 1961 team finished sixth in runs scored. Groat, the NL’s 1960 MVP and batting champ, experienced a 50-point drop in his batting average. Skinner hit only 3 homers and had 42 RBI’s, down from 15 homers and 86 RBI’s the prior year. Additionally, role players Nelson, Hal Smith, and Dick Schofield were all key contributors for the Pirates in 1960. Each had a significant falloff in their 1961 performance.

14 Bolling led all NL second basemen in fielding percentage (.988) and Rtot (14 -Total Zone Total Fielding Runs Above Avg). McMillan led all NL shortstops in putouts (257), assists (496), fielding percentage (.975), and Rtot (18). Joe Adcock (35 home runs) at first base and future Hall of Famer Mathews (32 homers) at third rounded out the infield. Bolling and Mathews started for the NL in both All-Star games played in 1961.

15 Burdette started 36 games and worked 272 innings. Spahn started 34 games, pitching 263 innings. The next two starters in the rotation were Bob Buhl (9-10, 4.11 ERA, 28 starts, and 188 innings) and Carl Willey (6-12, 3.83 ERA, 22 starts, and 160 innings).

16 Bruton led the NL in runs scored (112) in 1960 and was the Braves’ leadoff batter in 134 games of the 154-game season. In 1961 six different players were in the leadoff spot for at least 12 games, with Maye’s 62 games topping the group. Bruton started 145 games in center field for the Braves in 1960. In 1961 Hank Aaron was forced to start 83 games in center field after starting 149 games in right in 1960. Gino Cimoli, Mack Jones, and Al Spangler all started 20 or more games in center during the 1961 season.