Aug. 15, 1964 - We’ve been trying to get Bobby Shantz since Washington took him in the expansion draft in 1961,” said manager Gene Mauch after the Phillies purchased the pint-sized, lefthanded pitcher today from the Chicago Cubs.
Shantz (pictured), who returns to the city of his greatest exploits a dozen years ago, was bought for cash and a player to be delivered by Oct. 15. If the Phillies can’t come up with a satisfactory player, they will pay the Cubs another amount of money.
“Shantz gives us a little more balance on our pitching staff,” said Mauch of the 38-year-old hurler who joined the club before today’s game with the New York Mets.
“His experience on winning clubs should be of value. We’ll start him out in the bullpen, but he might just wind up some game playing center field or first base or somewhere the way he can field.
“We spent several hundred dollars on phone calls trying to get him from Washington back in 1961, but the Senators liked what Pittsburgh offered more than we did.”
Shantz, who won 24 games in 1952 for the Athletics when they were based in Philadelphia, went with the A’s to Kansas City, to the New York Yankees, and then to Washington. Pittsburgh obtained him in 1961, and he went to Houston and St. Louis in 1962.
The Cubs got him this spring in a deal with the Cardinals. His combined record this season in 36 games, all in relief, is one win, four losses, and his ERA is 4.03.
To make room for Shantz on the roster, the Phillies returned catcher Pat Corrales to Little Rock of the Pacific Coast League.
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