Bobby Shantz Stats

Bobby Shantz was born on Saturday, September 26, 1925, in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Shantz was 23 years old when he broke into the big leagues on May 1, 1949, with the Philadelphia Athletics. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Bobby Shantz baseball stats page.

"If you like game and gritty little guys your heart has to be warm today for Bobby Shantz, and happy, too, that he has apparently made it all the way back. You had to be cautious about welcoming his comeback the first time the little giant of the Kansas City Athletics pitched a good game. It had been too long a struggle in between. But now, with two in a row, it finally seems as if he has made it." - Fraley, Oscar. The Star-News Staff Writer. Bobby Shantz Has Apparently Made it All The Way Back. 19 May 1955. Page 14.

Birth Name:	Robert Clayton Shantz
Nickname:	Bobby
Born On:	09-26-1925 (Libra)
Born In:	Pottstown, Pennsylvania
Died On:	Still Living (500 Oldest Living)
Died In:	Still Living
Cemetery:	n/a

High School:	Pottstown High School (Pottstown, PA)
College:	None Attended
Bats:	Right	Throws:	Left
Height:	5-06	Weight:	142
First Game:	05-01-1949 (Age 23)
Last Game:	09-29-1964
Draft:	Not Applicable

Bobby Shantz Bobby Shantz Pitching Stats
Year	Age	Team	G	GS	GF	W	L	PCT	ERA	CG	SHO	SV	IP	BFP	H	ER	R	HR	BB	IBB	SO	WP	HB	BK	HLD
1949	24	Athletics	33	7	16	6	8	.429	3.40	4	1	2	127.0	537	100	48	50	9	74	5	58	3	3	0	-
1950	25	Athletics	36	23	9	8	14	.364	4.61	6	1	0	214.2	957	251	110	122	18	85	3	93	0	7	3	-
1951	26	Athletics	32	25	2	18	10	.643	3.94	13	3	0	205.1	869	213	90	96	15	70	3	77	1	5	1	-
1952	27	Athletics	33	33	0	24	7	.774	2.48	27	5	0	279.2	1,103	230	77	87	21	63	5	152	0	4	0	0
1953	28	Athletics	16	16	0	5	9	.357	4.09	6	0	0	105.2	437	107	48	52	10	26	1	58	3	0	0	0
1954	29	Athletics	2	1	0	1	0	1.000	7.88	0	0	0	8.0	38	12	7	7	2	3	0	3	0	1	0	-
1955	30	Athletics	23	17	2	5	10	.333	4.54	4	1	0	125.0	550	124	63	70	8	66	11	58	2	1	0	-
1956	31	Athletics	45	2	26	2	7	.222	4.35	1	0	9	101.1	425	95	49	51	12	37	4	67	1	3	0	-
1957	32	Yankees	30	21	6	11	5	.688	2.45	9	1	5	173.0	688	157	47	58	15	40	1	72	3	6	1	-
1958	33	Yankees	33	13	7	7	6	.538	3.36	3	0	0	126.0	531	127	47	52	8	35	7	80	3	2	1	-
1959	34	Yankees	33	4	14	7	3	.700	2.38	2	2	3	94.2	376	64	25	33	4	33	5	66	3	0	0	-
1960	35	Yankees	42	0	21	5	4	.556	2.79	0	0	11	67.2	280	57	21	24	5	24	4	54	3	2	0	-
1961	36	Pirates	43	6	16	6	3	.667	3.32	2	1	2	89.1	377	91	33	38	5	26	6	61	0	4	0	-
1962	37	Colt .45s	3	3	0	1	1	.500	1.31	1	0	0	20.2	78	15	3	4	1	5	0	14	0	0	0	0
1962	37	Cardinals	28	0	19	5	3	.625	2.18	0	0	4	57.2	236	45	14	22	7	20	2	47	0	1	0	-
1963	38	Cardinals	55	0	32	6	4	.600	2.61	0	0	11	79.1	312	55	23	28	6	17	5	70	5	2	0	-
1964	39	Cardinals	16	0	10	1	3	.250	3.12	0	0	0	17.1	72	14	6	6	2	7	3	12	1	0	0	-
1964	39	Cubs	20	0	9	0	1	.000	5.56	0	0	1	11.1	55	15	7	7	2	6	2	12	0	0	0	-
1964	39	Phillies	14	0	3	1	1	.500	2.25	0	0	0	32.0	124	23	8	10	1	6	3	18	1	0	0	-
Career			G	GS	GF	W	L	PCT	ERA	CG	SHO	SV	IP	BFP	H	ER	R	HR	BB	IBB	SO	WP	HB	BK	HLD
16 Years			537	171	192	119	99	.546	3.38	78	15	48	1,935.2	8,045	1,795	726	817	151	643	70	1,072	29	41	6	0

Bobby Shantz Bobby Shantz Hitting Stats
Year	Age	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	GRSL	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	SH	SF	HBP	GIDP	AVG	OBP	SLG
1949	24	Athletics	33	37	2	7	0	0	0	0	2	5	0	6	3	0	1	0	.189	.302	.189
1950	25	Athletics	37	66	4	11	1	0	1	0	4	6	0	10	6	0	0	2	.167	.236	.227
1951	26	Athletics	36	72	11	18	4	0	0	0	9	6	0	7	8	0	0	1	.250	.308	.306
1952	27	Athletics	34	96	13	19	4	1	0	0	12	5	0	9	13	0	2	0	.198	.252	.260
1953	28	Athletics	21	38	6	9	1	1	0	0	4	2	0	3	1	0	0	0	.237	.275	.316
1954	29	Athletics	7	3	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.333	.333	.333
1955	30	Athletics	26	41	5	6	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	5	2	0	0	0	.146	.167	.146
1956	31	Athletics	51	22	2	2	1	0	0	0	1	2	0	4	2	0	0	1	.091	.167	.136
1957	32	Yankees	33	56	6	10	3	0	0	0	6	8	0	16	1	0	0	0	.179	.281	.232
1958	33	Yankees	33	35	1	8	3	0	0	0	1	2	0	12	1	0	1	0	.229	.289	.314
1959	34	Yankees	40	23	4	5	2	0	0	0	1	3	0	6	3	0	0	0	.217	.308	.304
1960	35	Yankees	43	10	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	2	0	0	0	.100	.182	.100
1961	36	Pirates	44	16	3	7	1	0	0	0	3	2	0	1	1	0	1	0	.438	.526	.500
1962	37	Colt .45s	7	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000
1962	37	Cardinals	28	13	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	7	0	1	0	0	.154	.143	.154
1963	38	Cardinals	55	7	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	.143	.333	.143
1964	39	Cardinals	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	1.000	.000
1964	39	Cubs	20	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000
1964	39	Phillies	14	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0	0	0	0	.000	.167	.000
Career			G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	GRSL	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	SH	SF	HBP	GIDP	AVG	OBP	SLG
16 Years			578	548	60	107	20	2	1	0	46	47	0	96	44	1	5	4	.195	.265	.245

Bobby Shantz Bobby Shantz Fielding Stats
Team	POS	G	GS	OUTS	TC	TC/G	CH	PO	A	E	DP	PB	CASB	CACS	FLD%	RF
1949 Athletics	P	33	7	381	48	1.5	48	12	36	0	5	n/a	n/a	n/a	1.000	3.40
1950 Athletics	P	36	23	644	67	1.9	65	13	52	2	6	n/a	n/a	n/a	.970	2.73
1951 Athletics	P	32	25	616	66	2.1	64	20	44	2	7	n/a	n/a	n/a	.970	2.81
1952 Athletics	P	33	33	839	78	2.4	78	29	49	0	3	n/a	n/a	n/a	1.000	2.51
1953 Athletics	P	16	16	317	32	2.0	31	10	21	1	3	n/a	n/a	n/a	.969	2.64
1954 Athletics	P	2	1	24	4	2.0	3	1	2	1	0	n/a	n/a	n/a	.750	3.38
1955 Athletics	P	23	17	375	37	1.6	35	9	26	2	2	n/a	n/a	n/a	.946	2.52
1956 Athletics	P	45	2	304	32	0.7	30	10	20	2	2	n/a	n/a	n/a	.938	2.66
1957 Yankees	P	30	21	519	72	2.4	71	14	57	1	8	n/a	n/a	n/a	.986	3.69
1958 Yankees	CF	1	0	3	1	1.0	1	1	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	n/a	1.000	9.00
1958 Yankees	P	33	13	378	41	1.2	41	6	35	0	4	n/a	n/a	n/a	1.000	2.93
1959 Yankees	P	33	4	284	30	0.9	28	8	20	2	1	n/a	n/a	n/a	.933	2.66
1960 Yankees	P	42	0	203	17	0.4	17	4	13	0	1	n/a	n/a	n/a	1.000	2.26
1961 Pirates	P	43	6	268	31	0.7	31	13	18	0	2	n/a	n/a	n/a	1.000	3.12
1962 Colt .45s	P	3	3	62	14	4.7	14	1	13	0	1	n/a	n/a	n/a	1.000	6.10
1962 Cardinals	P	28	0	173	22	0.8	21	9	12	1	1	n/a	n/a	n/a	.955	3.28
1963 Cardinals	P	55	0	238	32	0.6	31	9	22	1	2	n/a	n/a	n/a	.969	3.52
1964 Cardinals	P	16	0	52	9	0.6	9	1	8	0	0	n/a	n/a	n/a	1.000	4.67
1964 Cubs	P	20	0	34	4	0.2	4	0	4	0	0	n/a	n/a	n/a	1.000	3.18
1964 Phillies	P	14	0	96	22	1.6	21	5	16	1	0	n/a	n/a	n/a	.955	5.91
Career	POS	G	GS	OUTS	TC	TC/G	CH	PO	A	E	DP	PB	CASB	CACS	FLD%	RF
P Totals		537	171	5,807	658	1.2	642	174	468	16	48	n/a	n/a	n/a	.976	2.99
CF Totals		1	0	3	1	1.0	1	1	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	n/a	1.000	9.00
16 Years		538	171	5,810	659	1.2	643	175	468	16	48	n/a	n/a	n/a	.976	2.99

Bobby Shantz Bobby Shantz Miscellaneous Stats
Baserunning Statistics				Other Positions			Common Hitting Ratios			Common Pitching Ratios
Team	SB	CS	SB%	PH	PR	DH	AB/HR	AB/K	AB/RBI	K/BB	K/9	BB/9
1949 Athletics	0	0	.000	0	0	n/a	0.0	6.2	18.5	0.78	4.11	5.24
1950 Athletics	1	0	1.000	0	1	n/a	66.0	6.6	16.5	1.09	3.90	3.56
1951 Athletics	1	0	1.000	0	4	n/a	0.0	10.3	8.0	1.10	3.38	3.07
1952 Athletics	0	2	.000	0	1	n/a	0.0	10.7	8.0	2.41	4.89	2.03
1953 Athletics	1	0	1.000	0	5	n/a	0.0	12.7	9.5	2.23	4.94	2.21
1954 Athletics	0	0	.000	0	5	n/a	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.00	3.38	3.38
1955 Athletics	0	0	.000	0	3	n/a	0.0	8.2	0.0	0.88	4.18	4.75
1956 Athletics	0	0	.000	0	7	n/a	0.0	5.5	22.0	1.81	5.95	3.29
1957 Yankees	0	0	.000	0	3	n/a	0.0	3.5	9.3	1.80	3.75	2.08
1958 Yankees	0	0	.000	0	0	n/a	0.0	2.9	35.0	2.29	5.71	2.50
1959 Yankees	0	0	.000	0	7	n/a	0.0	3.8	23.0	2.00	6.27	3.14
1960 Yankees	0	0	.000	0	1	n/a	0.0	5.0	0.0	2.25	7.18	3.19
1961 Pirates	0	0	.000	0	1	n/a	0.0	16.0	5.3	2.35	6.15	2.62
1962 Colt .45s	0	0	.000	0	4	n/a	0.0	2.0	0.0	2.80	6.10	2.18
1962 Cardinals	0	0	.000	0	0	n/a	0.0	1.9	6.5	2.35	7.34	3.12
1963 Cardinals	0	0	.000	0	0	n/a	0.0	7.0	7.0	4.12	7.94	1.93
1964 Cardinals	0	0	.000	0	0	n/a	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.71	6.23	3.63
1964 Cubs	0	0	.000	0	0	n/a	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.00	9.53	4.76
1964 Phillies	0	0	.000	0	0	n/a	0.0	1.7	0.0	3.00	5.06	1.69
Career	SB	CS	SB%	PH	PR	DH	AB/HR	AB/K	AB/RBI	K/BB	K/9	BB/9
16 Years	3	2	.600	0	42	n/a	548.0	5.7	11.9	1.67	4.98	2.99

Bobby Shantz Bobby Shantz Miscellaneous Items of Interest
Team \| Roster	Uniform Numbers	Salary	All-Star	World Series
1949 Philadelphia Athletics	30	$2,000.00	-	-
1950 Philadelphia Athletics	30	$6,000.00	-	-
1951 Philadelphia Athletics	30	$7,000.00	Stats	-
1952 Philadelphia Athletics	30	$12,000.00	Stats	-
1953 Philadelphia Athletics	30	$25,000.00	-	-
1954 Philadelphia Athletics	30	$25,000.00	-	-
1955 Kansas City Athletics	21	$20,000.00	-	-
1956 Kansas City Athletics	21	$21,000.00	-	-
1957 New York Yankees	30	$21,000.00	Stats	Stats
1958 New York Yankees	30	$22,500.00	-	-
1959 New York Yankees	30	$20,250.00	-	-
1960 New York Yankees	30	$21,250.00	-	Stats
1961 Pittsburgh Pirates	28	$23,000.00	-	-
1962 Houston Colt .45s	42	$25,000.00	-	-
1962 St. Louis Cardinals	34	" "	-	-
1963 St. Louis Cardinals	34	$25,000.00	-	-
1964 St. Louis Cardinals	34	$25,000.00	-	-
1964 Chicago Cubs	45	" "	-	-
1964 Philadelphia Phillies	35	" "	-	-
Bobby Shantz Stats by Baseball Almanac

Robert Clayton Shantz was a Major League Baseball player with the Philadelphia Athletics (1949-1954), Kansas City Athletics (1955-1956), New York Yankees (1957-1960), Pittsburgh Pirates (1961), Houston Colt .45s (1962), St. Louis Cardinals (1962-1964), Chicago Cubs (1964), and Philadelphia Phillies (1964). When Bobby, his nickname, made his big league debut on May 1, 1949, he became the first former student out of Pottstown High School (Pottstown, PA) to play in the majors.

Bobby Shantz Rookie Card | Baseball Almanac

Bobby Shantz Rookie Card | 1950 Bowman Baseball Card (#234 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Research Library

On April 10, 1962, the Houston Colt .45s played their first regular season game in franchise history and Bobby Shantz was the Astros (their name starting in 1965) first pitcher to start a game, the first pitcher to earn a win, and the first to throw a complete game. Review the historic box score to see who he struck out first, who he walked first, and countless other Colt .45s / Astros firsts.

Did you know that Bobby Shantz won the first Gold Glove Award ever given to a pitcher? In 1957, only one was awarded to the best pitcher from either league and Shantz won. In 1958, the Gold Glove was given in each league and Shantz won again, this time in the American League, and he became the first pitcher to ever win two Gold Gloves from either league. Shantz would win four consecutive Gold Gloves in the junior circuit, from 1957 through 1960, and in the National League Harvey Haddix won it from 1958 through 1960. Shantz switched to the National League in 1961, beat Haddix, and won the award another four consecutive seasons in the senior circuit, from 1961 through 1964. Bobby Shantz and Billy Shantz | Baseball Almanac

Bobby Shantz and Billy Shantz | 1952 Bowman (#139)
Baseball Almanac Research Library

Bobby Shantz joined the 20 wins club in 1952 (going 24-7) and led all American League pitchers in wins and winning percentage (.774), earning him the Most Valuable Player Award. The three time All-Star (1951, 1952 & 1957) never won twenty games in a season again, but he did pitch another fourteen years in the big leagues, won an ERA Championship in 1957 (2.47), and in 1954 Bobby got to see his childhood battery-mate, Billy Shantz, his brother, make it to the show (where they even played as teammates).