Mel Stottlemyre
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Melvin Leon Stottlemyre, Sr. (born November 13, 1941 in Hazleton, Missouri) is a former pitcher and pitching coach in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees, New York Mets, and Houston Astros. He was one of the anchors of the Yankees for the Joe Torre era starting in 1996. He was also one of the anchors of the Mets for the Davey Johnson era starting in 1984.
Called up midseason in 1964, Stottlemyre went 9-3 to help the Yankees to their fifth consecutive pennant while being on the cover of The Sporting News. In the World Series, Stottlemyre faced future Hall of Famer Bob Gibson three times in a 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. A sinker-ball specialist, Stottlemyre would pitch 10 more seasons with the Yankees, winning 164 games, including three 20-win seasons; but although the 1964 Series marked the Yankees' 29th pennant in 44 seasons, the ensuing decade would be the franchise's lowest period since the 1910s, with the Yankees not reaching the postseason at all. Stottlemyre was released by the Yankees after the 1974 season with a rotator-cuff injury, and he retired from playing.
In 1977, Stottlemyre re-emerged in baseball as a roving instructor for the Seattle Mariners. After five seasons in that position, he would eventually be hired by the New York Mets as the pitching coach for ten years (including the 1986 World Series championship team) and then followed by a two-year stint as the Houston Astros pitching coach. In 1996, Stottlemyre joined the Yankees coaching staff along with the incoming manager Joe Torre.
Under Torre, Stottlemyre lowered the team ERA from 4.65 in 1996 to 3.84 in 1997 and then to 3.82 in 1998. Under Stottlemyre, the Yankee team averaged an ERA of 4.23 from 1996 to 2005. During his nine-year coaching career, Stottlemyre was credited for working with soft-throwing and breaking ball pitchers, but had problems working with power pitchers Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson.
After compiling 10 seasons and four World Series victories, Stottlemyre resigned his coaching position on October 12, 2005, following the Yankees' ALDS defeat by the Angels. Among his reasons for leaving, he cited personal disagreements with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. The Yankees replaced Stottlemyre with former Yankees pitcher Ron Guidry.
In an article in the New York Times, Stottlemyre said he was amused by Steinbrenner's statement after the division series that he congratulated Angels manager Mike Scioscia. Asked if he had interpreted the statement as a shot at Torre, Stottlemyre said: "Yeah. I laughed when I saw that. 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."
Stottlemyre's sons Todd and Mel Jr. both followed their father in becoming major league pitchers.
Stottlemyre has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma and is an avid supporter of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.
Stottlemyre and ex-Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer are great friends.
On Sept. 26, 1964, in a game against the Senators at Washington's D.C. Stadium, Stottlemyre pitched a two-hit shutout and batted 5-for-5 in the Yankees' 7-0 victory.
[edit] See also
[edit] External link
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
| Preceded by Bill Monbouquette |
New York Mets Pitching Coach 1984 - 1993 |
Succeeded by Bob Apodaca (1996) |
