MVP Profile: Bobby Shantz, 1952

Pitcher, Philadelphia Athletics

Age:  27 (Sept. 26)

4^th season with Athletics

Bats – Right, Throws – Left

Height: 5’6”    Weight: 139 

Prior to 1952:

A native of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, Shantz was a diver on the high school swim team as well as an outfielder on the baseball team. He was actively discouraged from pitching by his coach due to his small size. Moving to Philadelphia with his family, he played sandlot baseball and Pop Warner football. Although small in stature, Shantz was strong and a good athlete. Initially too short for World War II military service, he began playing center field in the Quaker City League along with his brother Billy, a catcher. Impressing his manager while throwing batting practice thanks to his overhand curveball that broke downward, he became a member of the pitching staff. After growing an inch, he joined the Army in 1944 where he pitched for a service team. Returning home, he played sandlot ball in the East Penn League with Souderton where he posted an 8-0 record and pitched a four-hitter to win the league championship. While considered to be too short to be a major league pitcher by most scouts, the Athletics signed Shantz and his brother Billy. With Lincoln of the Class A Western League in 1948, he produced an 18-7 record with a 2.82 ERA and 212 strikeouts while pitching 214 innings. Moving up to the A’s in 1949, Shantz went 6-8 with a 3.40 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 127 innings primarily out of the bullpen for the fifth-place club. With a fine pitching repertoire of a fastball, curve, and changeup, he continued his development in 1950 by compiling an 8-14 tally and 4.61 ERA with 93 strikeouts while starting in 23 of his 36 appearances for a 52-102 last-place team. Adding a knuckleball to his repertoire in 1951, he went 18-10 with a 3.94 ERA and 77 strikeouts while receiving his first All-Star selection. Now used primarily as a starting pitcher, by 1952 Shantz was on the rise after showing improvement in each of his seasons thus far.  

1952 Season Summary

Appeared in 34 games

P – 33, PR – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 33

Games Started – 33 [3, tied with Early Wynn & Alex Kellner]

Complete Games – 27 [2]

Wins – 24 [1]

Losses – 7

PCT - .774 [1]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 5 [3, tied with Bob Lemon]

Innings Pitched – 279.2 [4]

Hits – 230 [5]

Runs – 87 [16]

Earned Runs – 77 [16, tied with Mike Garcia & Carl Scheib]

Home Runs – 21 [2, tied with Alex Kellner, Ted Gray & Carl Scheib]

Bases on Balls – 63

Strikeouts – 152 [3]

ERA – 2.48 [3]

Hit Batters – 4 [19, tied with twelve others]

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 0

League-leading wins were +1 ahead of runner-up Early Wynn

League-leading win percentage was +.047 ahead of runner-up Vic Raschi

Midseason Snapshot: 14-3, ERA – 1.75, SO – 87 in 149 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 11 (in 14 IP) at NY Yankees 5/30

10+ strikeout games – 1

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 2 (in 9 IP) at NY Yankees 6/28

Batting

PA – 116, AB – 96, R – 13, H – 19, 2B – 4, 3B – 1, HR – 0, RBI – 12, BB – 5, SO – 9, SB – 0, CS – 2, AVG - .198, GDP – 0, HBP – 2, SH – 13, SF – N/A

Fielding

Chances – 78

Put Outs – 29

Assists – 49

Errors – 0

DP – 3

Pct. - 1.000

Awards & Honors:

AL MVP: BBWAA

AL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

All-Star

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:

Bobby Shantz, PhilaA.: 280 pts. – 16 of 24 first place votes, 83% share

Allie Reynolds, NYY: 183 pts. – 4 first place votes, 54% share

Mickey Mantle, NYY: 143 pts. – 3 first place votes, 43% share

Yogi Berra, NYY: 104 pts. – 31% share

Early Wynn, Clev.: 99 pts. – 29% share

(1 first place vote for Nellie Fox, ChiWS., who ranked seventh)

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Athletics went 79-75 to finish fourth in the AL, 16 games behind the pennant-winning New York Yankees. Buoyed by the pitching of Shantz and Rookie of the Year RHP Harry Byrd, the talent-thin A’s finished in the first division. It was the franchise’s last winning record while based in Philadelphia.

Aftermath of ‘52:

A shoulder injury derailed Shantz’s 1953 season, limiting him to 16 starts and a 5-9 record with a 4.09 ERA. Reinjuring the shoulder on the opening day of the 1954 season, he pitched in only two games all season. The franchise moved to Kansas City in 1955 and Shantz continued to struggle as he posted a 5-10 tally with a 4.54 ERA although he pitched his first shutout since the MVP 1952 season. Utilized almost exclusively as a reliever in 1956 he compiled a 2-7 record along with 9 saves and a 4.35 ERA. Part of a 13-player trade with the New York Yankees prior to the 1957 season, Shantz, now healthy, was pressed into service as a starting pitcher due to an injury to LHP Whitey Ford and got off to a 9-1 start on his way to an 11-5 tally with a league-leading 2.45 ERA plus 72 strikeouts in 173 innings pitched. An excellent fielder, he received a Gold Glove in the first year they were awarded. Pitching coach Jim Turner also taught him to throw a sinker and lay off his sidearm curve. Utilized as a reliever and occasional starter in 1958, Shantz produced a 7-6 record with a 3.36 ERA, three complete games, and 80 strikeouts in 186 innings pitched, although a finger injury kept him out of the World Series. Almost exclusively a reliever in 1959, he was 7-3 with a 2.38 ERA in 33 appearances (four of them starts) and he struck out 66 batters in 94.2 innings. He spent one more season with the Yankees in 1960, working out of the bullpen and posting a 5-4 mark with a 2.79 ERA and 11 saves. Selected by the Washington Senators in the expansion draft for the 1961 season, Shantz was immediately dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he started in 6 of his 43 appearances and compiled a 6-3 tally with a 3.32 tally and 61 strikeouts in 89.1 innings. With the National League expanding in 1962, he was selected by the Houston Colt .45s and started the franchise’s first game in which he five-hit the Chicago Cubs for a win. Traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in May, working exclusively as a reliever for the rest of the year he went a combined 6-4 with a 1.95 ERA. Starting off the 1964 season less impressively, the 38-year-old reliever was traded to the Cubs as part of the package to obtain outfielder Lou Brock. Pitching poorly for Chicago, Shantz was sold to the Philadelphia Phillies, who were attempting to lock down the NL pennant. The Phillies collapsed down the stretch and Shantz finished up with a 2-5 record and 3.12 ERA in 50 appearances. He retired after the season. For his major league career, Shantz compiled a 119-99 record with a 3.38 ERA, along with 78 complete games, 15 shutouts, 48 saves, and 1072 strikeouts in 1935.2 innings pitched. With the Athletics he was 69-65 with a 3.80 ERA, 61 complete games, 11 shutouts, 11 saves, and 566 strikeouts in 1166.2 innings pitched. Appearing in six World Series games, all with the Yankees, he was 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA and 8 strikeouts in 13 innings. A three-time All-Star, twice with the A’s, he received eight Gold Gloves for his fielding prowess. Originally considered too small to succeed as a pitcher, Shantz was talented, with excellent control and savvy, and overcame chronic arm pain to perform ably as a starter and reliever, although never again approaching his 1952 dominance. He has received a plaque on the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame at Citizens Bank Park and the renovated baseball field at Pottstown High School is named for him. His brother Billy saw action as a catcher in 1954 and ’55 with the A’s.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.