Bobby Shantz

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1949-1964)

Bobby Shantz was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1949 to 1964 for 8 teams, including the Philadelphia Athletics, a span of 16 seasons. Across 537 career appearances, he went 119-99 with a 3.38 ERA, 1,072 strikeouts, and 48 saves. He also batted .195 with 1 home runs. Bobby Shantz was a 3-time All-Star, an MVP, and a 8-time Gold Glove. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 24844.5.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

W–L 119–99
ERA 3.38
WHIP 1.26
SO 1,072
Pitcher PIV 24844.5
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / L
Height / Weight
5'6" / 139 lb
Born
9/26/1925 in Pottstown, PA, USA
MLB Debut
1949-05-01
Last Game
1964-09-29
Awards
3× All-Star · MVP · 8× Gold Glove

Full name: Robert Clayton Shantz

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Career Pitching Statistics

Bobby Shantz — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
119 99 537 171 78 15 48 1935.2 1,795 726 151 643 1,072 3.38 24844.5

Career ERA 3.38 vs. league average 3.90 across their career seasons — 13.5% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bobby Shantz Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1949 PHA AL 6 8 33 7 4 1 2 127.0 100 48 74 58 3.40 4.12 (+17%) -698.1
1950 PHA AL 8 14 36 23 6 1 0 214.2 251 110 85 93 4.61 4.36 (-6%) 1490.4
1951 PHA AL 18 10 32 25 13 3 0 205.1 213 90 70 77 3.94 4.04 (+2%) 1421.5
1952 PHA AL 24 7 33 33 27 5 0 279.2 230 77 63 152 2.48 3.70 (+33%) 5221.3
1953 PHA AL 5 9 16 16 6 0 0 105.2 107 48 26 58 4.09 4.14 (+1%) 1825.2
1954 PHA AL 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 8.0 12 7 3 3 7.88 — 0.0
1955 KC1 AL 5 10 23 17 4 1 0 125.0 124 63 66 58 4.54 4.00 (-13%) 380.1
1956 KC1 AL 2 7 45 2 1 0 9 101.1 95 49 37 67 4.35 3.96 (-10%) 501.8
1957 NYA AL 11 5 30 21 9 1 5 173.0 157 47 40 72 2.45 3.83 (+36%) 1274.2
1958 NYA AL 7 6 33 13 3 0 0 126.0 127 47 35 80 3.36 3.86 (+13%) 3069.7
1959 NYA AL 7 3 33 4 2 2 3 94.2 64 25 33 66 2.38 3.90 (+39%) 2802.2
1960 NYA AL 5 4 42 0 0 0 11 67.2 57 21 24 54 2.79 3.82 (+27%) 1326.7
1961 PIT NL 6 3 43 6 2 1 2 89.1 91 33 26 61 3.32 4.03 (+17%) 2463.1
1962 HOU NL 1 1 3 3 1 0 0 20.2 15 3 5 14 1.31 3.96 (+67%) 694.3
1962 SLN NL 5 3 28 0 0 0 4 57.2 45 14 20 47 2.18 3.96 (+45%) 434.2
1963 SLN NL 6 4 55 0 0 0 11 79.1 55 23 17 70 2.61 3.46 (+25%) 2102.3
1964 SLN NL 1 3 16 0 0 0 0 17.1 14 6 7 12 3.12 3.58 (+13%) -152.2
1964 CHN NL 0 1 20 0 0 0 1 11.1 15 7 6 12 5.56 3.58 (-55%) -223.6
1964 PHI NL 1 1 14 0 0 0 0 32.0 23 8 6 18 2.25 3.58 (+37%) 911.4
Career · 19 seasons 119 99 537 171 78 15 48 1,935.2 1,795 726 643 1,072 3.38 — 24,845

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Bobby Shantz — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
578 548 60 107 20 2 1 46 3 47 96 .195 .265 .245 .509 -1,228

Career AVG .195 vs. league average .257 across their career seasons — 24.2% below league average.

Career OBP .265 vs. league average .328 across their career seasons — 19.3% below league average.

Career SLG .245 vs. league average .389 across their career seasons — 37.1% below league average.

Career OPS .509 vs. league average .717 across their career seasons — 29.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bobby Shantz Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1949 PHA AL 33 37 2 7 0 0 0 2 0 5 6 .189 — — — — 0.0
1950 PHA AL 37 66 4 11 1 0 1 4 1 6 10 .167 .265 (-37%) .346 (-32%) .401 (-43%) .747 (-38%) -418.2
1951 PHA AL 36 72 11 18 4 0 0 9 1 6 7 .250 .260 (-4%) .336 (-9%) .385 (-21%) .721 (-15%) -173.7
1952 PHA AL 34 96 13 19 4 1 0 12 0 5 9 .198 .252 (-22%) .326 (-23%) .369 (-30%) .696 (-26%) -403.0
1953 PHA AL 21 38 6 9 1 1 0 4 1 2 3 .237 — — — — 0.0
1954 PHA AL 7 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 — — — — 0.0
1955 KC1 AL 26 41 5 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 .146 — — — — 0.0
1956 KC1 AL 51 22 2 2 1 0 0 1 0 2 4 .091 — — — — 0.0
1957 NYA AL 33 56 6 10 3 0 0 6 0 8 16 .179 .257 (-31%) .323 (-13%) .391 (-41%) .715 (-28%) -233.6
1958 NYA AL 33 35 1 8 3 0 0 1 0 2 12 .229 — — — — 0.0
1959 NYA AL 40 23 4 5 2 0 0 1 0 3 6 .217 — — — — 0.0
1960 NYA AL 43 10 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .100 — — — — 0.0
1961 PIT NL 44 16 3 7 1 0 0 3 0 2 1 .438 — — — — 0.0
1962 HOU NL 7 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .000 — — — — 0.0
1962 SLN NL 28 13 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 7 .154 — — — — 0.0
1963 SLN NL 55 7 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 .143 — — — — 0.0
1964 SLN NL 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1964 CHN NL 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1964 PHI NL 14 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 19 seasons 578 548 60 107 20 2 1 46 3 47 96 .195 — — — — -1,228

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Bobby Shantz — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
6 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250

Playoff Batting by Year

Bobby Shantz — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1960 WS NYA 3 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
1957 WS NYA 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Bobby Shantz — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 1 6 1 1 13.0 12 6 3 8 4.15

Playoff Pitching by Year

Bobby Shantz — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1960 WS NYA 0 0 3 0 1 6.1 4 3 1 1 4.26
1957 WS NYA 0 1 3 1 0 6.2 8 3 2 7 4.05

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1115 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Bobby Shantz — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home2992773354024.195
Away2792722753122.195

Pitching — Home / Away

Bobby Shantz — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2701022.09643853115613.39
Away267913.08323383325143.33

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bobby Shantz — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1964-09-29 PHISTLL 000000000
1964-09-26 PHIATLL 100000000
1964-09-25 PHIATLL 000000000
1964-09-24 PHIATLL 000000000
1964-09-23 PHICINL 000000000
1964-09-21 PHICINL 000000000
1964-09-17 PHILADW 100000010
1964-09-12 PHISFGL 000000000
1964-09-07 PHILADL 200000002
1964-09-04 PHISFGW 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bobby Shantz — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1964-09-29 PHISTL — 0.2200000
1964-09-26 PHIATL L 0.2332110
1964-09-25 PHIATL — 0.2000100
1964-09-24 PHIATL — 0.1000010
1964-09-23 PHICIN — 1.0000000
1964-09-21 PHICIN — 1.0000000
1964-09-17 PHILAD W 7.2311030
1964-09-12 PHISFG — 1.2100120
1964-09-07 PHILAD — 7.0300050
1964-09-04 PHISFG — 0.1000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bobby Shantz — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
P 537 67 174 468 16 48

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bobby Shantz — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1949 PHA P 33 0 12 36 0 5
1950 PHA P 36 0 13 52 2 6
1951 PHA P 32 0 20 44 2 7
1952 PHA P 33 0 29 49 0 3
1953 PHA P 16 0 10 21 1 3
1954 PHA P 2 1 1 2 1 0
1955 KC1 P 23 17 9 26 2 2
1956 KC1 P 45 2 10 20 2 2
1957 NYA P 30 21 14 57 1 8
1958 NYA OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
1958 NYA P 33 13 6 35 0 4
1959 NYA P 33 4 8 20 2 1
1960 NYA P 42 0 4 13 0 1
1961 PIT P 43 6 13 18 0 2
1962 HOU P 3 3 1 13 0 1
1962 SLN P 28 0 9 12 1 1
1963 SLN P 55 0 9 22 1 2
1964 SLN P 16 0 1 8 0 0
1964 CHN P 20 0 0 4 0 0
1964 PHI P 14 0 5 16 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bobby Shantz Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 537
Center Field 1

Awards & Honors

Bobby Shantz — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1964 Gold Glove P
1963 Gold Glove P
1962 Gold Glove P
1961 Gold Glove P
1960 Gold Glove P
1959 Gold Glove P
1958 Gold Glove P
1957 Gold Glove P
1952 Most Valuable Player
1952 TSN All-Star P
1952 TSN Pitcher of the Year

Award Voting History

Bobby Shantz — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1957 Most Valuable Player AL 26th 1.0 336 0
1952 Most Valuable Player AL 1st 280.0 336 16
1951 Most Valuable Player AL 21th 14.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Bobby Shantz (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Dick Drago
    108-117, 3.62 ERA
  2. 95
    Dick Tidrow
    100-94, 3.68 ERA
  3. 86
    Turk Farrell
    106-111, 3.45 ERA
  4. 84
    Bobby Bolin
    88-75, 3.40 ERA
  5. 79
    Firpo Marberry
    148-88, 3.63 ERA
  6. 78
    Dave Giusti
    100-93, 3.60 ERA

Compare Bobby Shantz

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Shantz's closest peers by position and era.

vs Mariano Rivera
vs Dennis Eckersley
vs Hoyt Wilhelm
vs Billy Wagner
vs Trevor Hoffman
vs Aroldis Chapman

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

Bobby Shantz: the record in brief

Between the debut on May 1, 1949 and the final game on September 29, 1964, Bobby Shantz built the record summarized on this page. Shantz played for the Philadelphia Athletics (1949 to 1954), the Kansas City Athletics (1955 to 1956), the New York Yankees (1957 through 1960), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1961), the Houston Colt .45's (1962), the St. Louis Cardinals (1962 to 1964), the Chicago Cubs (1964), and the Philadelphia Phillies (1964). Shantz, born on September 26, 1925, in Pottstown, PA, USA, is listed as a pitcher and hit right-handed while throwing left-handed. Size on record: 139 pounds on a 5-foot-6 frame. On the record, Bobby Shantz was born Robert Clayton Shantz.

Shantz pitched in 537 games, starting 171, and finished with a 119-99 record and 3.38 ERA. The totals include 1,072 strikeouts, 78 complete games, 15 shutouts, and 48 saves. The leagues Shantz pitched in allowed 3.90 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 13.5% better than average.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bobby Shantz

What years did Bobby Shantz play?
Bobby Shantz played in Major League Baseball from 1949 to 1964.
Was Bobby Shantz a pitcher?
Yes. Bobby Shantz pitched in the major leagues, recording 119 wins and 1072 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bobby Shantz hit?
Bobby Shantz hit 1 career home run with 107 hits.
What teams did Bobby Shantz play for?
Bobby Shantz played for 7 teams: the Kansas City Athletics (1949–1956), the New York Yankees (1957–1960), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1961), the Houston Colt .45's (1962), the St. Louis Cardinals (1962–1964), the Chicago Cubs (1964), and the Philadelphia Phillies (1964).
How many MVP awards did Bobby Shantz win?
Bobby Shantz won 1 MVP award, in 1952.
Did Bobby Shantz win a Cy Young Award?
No. Bobby Shantz did not win the Cy Young Award.
What awards did Bobby Shantz win?
Bobby Shantz won the MVP award (1952) and 8 Gold Gloves (1957–1964). He was selected to 3 All-Star Games.
What were Bobby Shantz's career stats?
In 537 games, Bobby Shantz went 119-99 with a 3.38 ERA, 1,072 strikeouts, 1,935.2 innings pitched, and 48 saves. At the plate he had 107 hits and 1 home runs.
What position did Bobby Shantz play?
Bobby Shantz played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Bobby Shantz and how much did he weigh?
Bobby Shantz was listed at 5 feet 6 inches and 139 pounds.
What was Bobby Shantz's career ERA?
Bobby Shantz finished with a 3.38 career ERA, going 119-99 with 1,072 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Bobby Shantz have?
Bobby Shantz recorded 1,072 career strikeouts.
Is Bobby Shantz in the Hall of Fame?
No. Bobby Shantz has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Bobby Shantz make?
Bobby Shantz was selected to 3 All-Star Games.