| Mel Stottlemyre | |
|---|---|
 Stottlemyre in a 1970 baseball card | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:(1941-11-13)November 13, 1941 Hazleton, Missouri, U.S. | |
| Died: January 13, 2019(2019-01-13) (aged 77) Seattle,Washington, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 12, 1964, for the New York Yankees | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 16, 1974, for the New York Yankees | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 164–139 |
| Earned run average | 2.97 |
| Strikeouts | 1,257 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| As player As coach | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Melvin Leon Stottlemyre Sr. (November 13, 1941 – January 13, 2019) was an American professionalbaseballpitcher andpitching coach. He played for 11 seasons inMajor League Baseball, all for theNew York Yankees, and coached for 23 seasons, for the Yankees,New York Mets,Houston Astros, andSeattle Mariners. He was a five-timeMLB All-Star as a player and a five-timeWorld Series champion as a coach.
Stottlemyre pitched inAmerican Legion Baseball and attendedMabton High School inMabton, Washington, andYakima Valley Community College. Ascout for theNew York Yankees discovered Stottlemyre pitching for Yakima's baseball team, and signed him to a contract with nosigning bonus on June 10, 1961. The Yankees assigned him to the Harlan Smokies of theRookie-levelAppalachian League. After appearing in eight games, the Yankees promoted him to theAuburn Yankees of theClass DNew York–Penn League, and he appeared in seven games for Auburn.[1]
Stottlemyre pitched to a 17–9win–loss record and a 2.50earned run average (ERA) with theGreensboro Yankees of theClass BCarolina League in 1962, and was promoted to theRichmond Virginians of theClass AAAInternational League in 1963. He alternated between starting and relieving for Richmond, beforeRalph 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.[2]
Called up midseason in 1964, Stottlemyre went 9–3 to help the Yankees to their fifth consecutivepennant while being on the cover ofThe Sporting News. In the1964 World Series, Stottlemyre facedBob Gibson of theSt. 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.[3]
Stottlemyre was named to theAmerican League's (AL) roster for the1965 Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game, though he did not appear in the game.[4] He won 20 games in the 1965 season,[5] and led the AL with 18complete games, 291innings pitched, and 1,188batters faced.[6] He appeared in the1966 MLB All-Star Game.[7] He led the league with 20 losses.[8] Stottlemyre won 20 games in the 1968 and 1969 seasons.[5] He also started the1969 MLB All-Star Game.[9]
Stottlemyre threw 40 shutouts in his 11-season career, the same number as Hall of Fame leftySandy Koufax, which ties for 44th best all-time. Eighteen of those shutouts came in a three-season span from 1971–73.[10]The Yankees released Stottlemyre before the 1975 season.[11] Stottlemyre retired with 164 career wins and a 2.97 ERA.[5]
Known as a solid-hitting pitcher, on July 20, 1965, Stottlemyre hit a rare inside-the-park grand slam. On September 26, 1964, he recorded five base hits in five at bats.[12]
In 1977, Stottlemyre re-emerged in baseball as a roving instructor for theSeattle Mariners. He spent five seasons in that position,[13] and was hired by theNew York Mets as theirpitching coach in November 1983.[5] In that role, he oversawDwight Gooden'sNational League Rookie of the Year andCy Young Award seasons in 1984 and 1985.[14] Stottlemyre served in the role for ten years (including the1986 World Series championship team) and then followed that by serving a two-year stint as theHouston Astros pitching coach.[1]
In 1996, Stottlemyre joined the Yankees coaching staff along with the incoming managerJoe Torre. Under Torre, Stottlemyre lowered the team ERA from 4.65 in 1996 to 3.84 in 1997. Under Stottlemyre, the Yankee team averaged an ERA of 4.23 from 1996 to 2005.[15] The pitching staff was regarded as a major factor in the team's dynasty years, when they won four World Series Championships in five years.[1]
After 10 seasons, Stottlemyre resigned his coaching position on October 12, 2005, following the Yankees' defeat in the2005 American League Division Series by theLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He cited personal disagreements with Yankees ownerGeorge Steinbrenner among his reasons for leaving and cited Steinbrenner's comment that, after the division series was over, he had congratulated Angels managerMike Scioscia. Stottlemyre's response was: "My first thought was, 'What about Joe?' Joe did a hell of a job, too. To congratulate the other manager and not congratulate your own, after what he's done this year, I laughed."[16] The Yankees replaced Stottlemyre with former Yankees pitcherRon Guidry.[17]
Stottlemyre was named pitching coach of the Seattle Mariners undermanagerJohn McLaren at the beginning of the2008 season,[18] and was retained by interim managerJim Riggleman after McLaren's firing. He was dismissed after the season ended.[19] Following the season, he retired from baseball.[20]
The mayor ofMabton,Washington, declared October 12, 1964, to be "Mel Stottlemyre Day".[21] He was inducted into the Washington State American Legion Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.[22] AtOld-Timers' Day on June 20, 2015, the Yankees dedicated a plaque inMonument Park in Stottlemyre's honor.[23][24]
Stottlemyre was raised in the town ofMabton, Washington, located in the south-central part of the state.[25] He resided with his wife, Jean, inIssaquah, Washington.[26] His first two sons,Mel Jr. andTodd, followed their father by becoming major-league pitchers; youngest son Jason died ofleukemia at age 11 in 1981.[27]
Stottlemyre and John Harper coauthored an autobiography titledPride and Pinstripes, published in 2007.[28]
Stottlemyre was diagnosed withmultiple myeloma in 2000. In remission for several years, he was an avid supporter of theMultiple Myeloma Research Foundation.[29] The cancer reappeared in 2011.[30] Stottlemyre died on January 13, 2019, at the age of 77,of cancer.[31] To honor Stottlemyre, the Yankees woreblack armbands on their uniform during the 2019 season.[32]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | New York Metspitching coach 1984–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Houston Astrospitching coach 1994–1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | New York Yankeespitching coach 1996–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Seattle Marinerspitching coach 2008 | Succeeded by |
Links to related articles | |||||||
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| International | |
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| National | |
