Spec Shea was born on Saturday, October 2, 1920, in Naugatuck, Connecticut. Shea was 26 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 19, 1947, with the New York Yankees. 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 Spec Shea baseball stats page.
"Everything I touched turned to gold that year. Getting credit for the win in the All-Star game. Two victories in the World Series. How fortunate I was. It was a year you dream about. The only thing I feel bad about was I hurt my arm that year. I had no problem winning in the big leagues." - Spec Shea in Connecticut Baseball:: The Best of the Nutmeg State (Don Harrison, the History Press, 09/11/2008, Page 98)
Spec SheaSpec 'The Naugatuck Nugget' Shea Autograph on a 1991 Topps Archives Baseball Card (#164 | Checklist) |
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Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Spec SheaSpec Shea Pitching Stats |
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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 |
1947 | 27 | Yankees | 27 | 23 | 3 | 14 | 5 | .737 | 3.07 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 178.2 | 734 | 127 | 61 | 63 | 10 | 89 | 1 | 89 | 0 | 4 | 0 | - |
1948 | 28 | Yankees | 28 | 22 | 4 | 9 | 10 | .474 | 3.41 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 155.2 | 663 | 117 | 59 | 66 | 10 | 87 | 2 | 71 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - |
1949 | 29 | Yankees | 20 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 5.33 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 52.1 | 239 | 48 | 31 | 36 | 5 | 43 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - |
1951 | 31 | Yankees | 25 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 5 | .500 | 4.33 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 95.2 | 431 | 112 | 46 | 59 | 11 | 50 | 0 | 38 | 1 | 4 | 0 | - |
1952 | 32 | Senators | 22 | 21 | 1 | 11 | 7 | .611 | 2.93 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 169.0 | 723 | 144 | 55 | 62 | 6 | 92 | 2 | 65 | 4 | 2 | 0 | - |
1953 | 33 | Senators | 23 | 23 | 0 | 12 | 7 | .632 | 3.94 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 164.2 | 706 | 151 | 72 | 82 | 11 | 75 | 0 | 38 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
1954 | 34 | Senators | 23 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 9 | .182 | 6.18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 71.1 | 334 | 97 | 49 | 54 | 9 | 34 | 4 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 0 | - |
1955 | 35 | Senators | 27 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 2 | .500 | 3.99 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 56.1 | 246 | 53 | 25 | 31 | 4 | 27 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 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 | ||
8 Years | 195 | 118 | 50 | 56 | 46 | .549 | 3.80 | 48 | 12 | 5 | 943.2 | 4,076 | 849 | 398 | 453 | 66 | 497 | 9 | 361 | 15 | 19 | 2 | 0 |
Spec SheaSpec Shea Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1947 | 27 | Yankees | 27 | 56 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .196 | .262 | .268 |
1948 | 28 | Yankees | 28 | 47 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .149 | .259 | .234 |
1949 | 29 | Yankees | 20 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | .357 | .250 |
1951 | 31 | Yankees | 25 | 28 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .214 | .267 | .321 |
1952 | 32 | Senators | 22 | 63 | 6 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .238 | .262 | .270 |
1953 | 33 | Senators | 23 | 62 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .177 | .203 | .226 |
1954 | 34 | Senators | 23 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .050 | .050 | .100 |
1955 | 35 | Senators | 27 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .400 | .400 | .600 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
8 Years | 195 | 298 | 29 | 58 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 19 | 0 | 63 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .195 | .245 | .258 |
Spec SheaSpec Shea Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1947 Yankees | P | 27 | 23 | 536 | 23 | 0.9 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.16 |
1948 Yankees | P | 28 | 22 | 467 | 22 | 0.8 | 21 | 4 | 17 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .955 | 1.21 |
1949 Yankees | P | 20 | 3 | 157 | 12 | 0.6 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .917 | 1.89 |
1951 Yankees | P | 25 | 11 | 287 | 22 | 0.9 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .955 | 1.98 |
1952 Senators | P | 22 | 21 | 507 | 37 | 1.7 | 37 | 14 | 23 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.97 |
1953 Senators | P | 23 | 23 | 494 | 29 | 1.3 | 29 | 5 | 24 | 0 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.59 |
1954 Senators | P | 23 | 11 | 214 | 23 | 1.0 | 22 | 5 | 17 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .957 | 2.78 |
1955 Senators | P | 27 | 4 | 169 | 12 | 0.4 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .833 | 1.60 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
P Totals | 195 | 118 | 2,831 | 180 | 0.9 | 174 | 49 | 125 | 6 | 8 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .967 | 1.66 | |
8 Years | 195 | 118 | 2,831 | 180 | 0.9 | 174 | 49 | 125 | 6 | 8 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .967 | 1.66 |
Spec SheaSpec Shea Miscellaneous Stats |
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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 |
1947 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 6.2 | 56.0 | 1.00 | 4.48 | 4.48 |
1948 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.3 | 11.8 | 0.82 | 4.10 | 5.03 |
1949 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 0.51 | 3.78 | 7.39 |
1951 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 28.0 | 4.0 | 5.6 | 0.76 | 3.57 | 4.70 |
1952 Senators | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.9 | 6.3 | 0.71 | 3.46 | 4.90 |
1953 Senators | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 6.9 | 10.3 | 0.51 | 2.08 | 4.10 |
1954 Senators | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.3 | 20.0 | 0.65 | 2.78 | 4.29 |
1955 Senators | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.3 | 5.0 | 0.59 | 2.56 | 4.31 |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
8 Years | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 298.0 | 4.7 | 9.0 | 0.73 | 3.44 | 4.74 |
Spec SheaSpec Shea Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1947 New York Yankees | 20 | $5,000.00 | Stats | Stats |
1948 New York Yankees | 20 | $15,000.00 | - | - |
1949 New York Yankees | 20 | $11,250.00 | - | - |
1951 New York Yankees | 19 | $5,000.00 | - | - |
1952 Washington Senators | 17 | $5,000.00 | - | - |
1953 Washington Senators | 17 | $14,000.00 | - | - |
1954 Washington Senators | 17 | $14,000.00 | - | - |
1955 Washington Senators | 17 | $10,500.00 | - | - |
Spec Shea Stats by Baseball Almanac |
These New York Yankee pitchers led all American League pitchers in winning percentage prior to Spec Shea (1947): Jack Chesbro (1904), Nick Cullop (1916), Carl Mays (1921), Joe Bush (1922), Herb Pennock (1923), Johnny Allen (1932), Russ Van Atta (1933), Lefty Gomez (1934 & 1941), Bump Hadley (1936), Atley Donald (1939), Tiny Bonham (1942) and Spud Chandler (1943). Names in bold were not just rookie pitchers, they were playing in their first major league season!
Did you know that Spec Shea, during his first season in the majors, pitched three innings of the 1947 All-Star Game, allowed one earned run, won the game, and became the first pitcher in baseball history (from either league) to win a Midsummer Classic during their rookie season?
Spec Shea | Hull's Beer Standee | Image from Hake's Collectibles Auction (Link)
Spec Shea almost became the first Bronx Bomber to win Rookie of the Year. How? In 1947 and '48, the Baseball Writers Association of America gave only one player the Rookie of the Year, a practice they changed in 1948, when they began awarding it to the top player in both the American and National League. Spec (67 votes) finished third in voting in 1947, behind two National League players, Jackie Robinson (129 votes) and Larry Jansen (105 votes), but most amongst all American Leaguers that year, so Shea would have been the Rookie of the Year if there were separate winners.