Rollie Sheldon was with the New York Yankees from 1961-1965, but only appeared on the big stage in '64. New York had some depth in pitching, so Rollie was the odd man out in several of those Fall Classics.
Sheldon appeared in 35 games as a rookie in 1961. The pitcher went 11-5 and was on the postseason roster. The Yankees, however, didn't use him against the Cincinnati Reds. Though games one and three were close, and the Reds won game two, it lasted just five games.
Alas, Rollie's second year wasn't very good. He was just 7-8 and his ERA was 5.49. The Fall Classic that year against the San Francisco Giants was very close, including a 1-0 win in game seven by New York. Sheldon watched and waited in vain to be used.
1963 saw the Yankees get swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sheldon was not with the club, and spent the entire year in the minors, going 5-9 with Richmond. New York actually got some great pitching from But in '64, Rollie was back.Whitey Ford, Al Downing, Jim Bouton and Stan Williams. That, however, could not avert a Dodger sweep.
He was only 5-2 in his 19 games, but 12 of them were starts. His ERA 3.61, which was better than any year except his rookie season (3.60). So when the New York Yankees faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series that year, Sheldon not only was there, he was used! Yogi Berra, the Yankee manager, looked past both Bill Stafford and Stan Williams in the Fall Classic in 1964, but not Rollie.
It came early enough. Whitey Ford left game one in St. Louis after just 5 1/3 innings. Al Downing pitched the next 1 2/3 frames. In the top of the eighth, with New York trailing 6-4, Johnny Blanchard pinch hit for Downing, and delivered! A two-out double brought the tying run to the dish. Phil Linz grounded out, but Bobby Richardson singled, 6-5. Roger Maris singled, and the tying run was 90 feet away. Mickey Mantle ended the inning by grounding out.
So Sheldon started the bottom of the eighth. Mike Shannon grounded to Clete Boyer at third. Boyer made an error. Then, with Tim McCarver batting, Elston Howard, the Yankees' catcher, allowed a passed ball. McCarver coaxed a bases on balls from Sheldon, and this was trouble.
Barney Schultz, the pitcher, batted for himself and lined right back at Sheldon. Not only did Rollie get it for the out, he fired to Joe Pepitone at first to nail McCarver going. Two down.
Rollie had pitched to his last batter for the day. Pete Mikkelsen came in, and Curt Flood singled home Mike Shannon. Lou Brock hit a double to left to score two more. None of these runs were earned, but did it matter? Down went New York 1-2-3 in the ninth, as game one of the 1964 World Series went to St. Louis, 9-5.
The series lasted seven games. Sheldon wasn't used again until game seven. Mel Stottlemyre left, and so did Al Downing who relieved him. With two on and nobody out in the top of the sixth, it was Sheldon's turn again. New York was down, 4-0. Dick Groat grounded out to second. 5-0. Tim McCarver flied to Mickey Mantle in right, Ken Boyer tagged and scored. 6-0.
Sheldon got out of that with a K of Mike Shannon, and pitched well in the bottom of the sixth. The Yankees woke up in the top of the frame. Bob Gibson, starting on just 2 days' rest, came undone. Two singles and a Mickey Mantle home run made it 6-3. There was plenty of time for a comeback. Sheldon fanned Dal Maxvill for the first out, as St. Louis tried to give Gibby some more breathing room. Gibson batted and flied out to Tom Tresh in right. When Mantle took Curt Flood's liner in right, Sheldon had faced six batters and gotten 'em all!
Hector Lopez batted for Sheldon in the top of the seventh as New York looked for more. Gibson fanned him. Phil Linz flew out to right, just as he had his previous trip to the dish. The inning, however, continued as Bobby Richardson singled. Roger Maris, with a single of his own the last time up, connected well. Alas, he could only line it to McCarver in right, ending the inning. Sheldon would not get a decision.
The Cardinals ended up winning it, very close, 7-5. Sheldon started 1965 for the Yankees, pitching well in three appearances, but then was shipped out to Kansas with Johnny Blanchard. Sheldon wasn't around the bigs much longer, drifting to Buffalo in 1967. He finished his professional career with Salt Lake City in 1970.
References
Golenbock, Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print, pp. 347-368.
Halberstam, David. October 1964. New York: Villard, 1994. Print
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print, pp. 347-368.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print, pp 287-306.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 6 Dec. 2016.
Youtube. Web. 6 Dec. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/>
Sheldon appeared in 35 games as a rookie in 1961. The pitcher went 11-5 and was on the postseason roster. The Yankees, however, didn't use him against the Cincinnati Reds. Though games one and three were close, and the Reds won game two, it lasted just five games.
Alas, Rollie's second year wasn't very good. He was just 7-8 and his ERA was 5.49. The Fall Classic that year against the San Francisco Giants was very close, including a 1-0 win in game seven by New York. Sheldon watched and waited in vain to be used.
1963 saw the Yankees get swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sheldon was not with the club, and spent the entire year in the minors, going 5-9 with Richmond. New York actually got some great pitching from But in '64, Rollie was back.Whitey Ford, Al Downing, Jim Bouton and Stan Williams. That, however, could not avert a Dodger sweep.
He was only 5-2 in his 19 games, but 12 of them were starts. His ERA 3.61, which was better than any year except his rookie season (3.60). So when the New York Yankees faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series that year, Sheldon not only was there, he was used! Yogi Berra, the Yankee manager, looked past both Bill Stafford and Stan Williams in the Fall Classic in 1964, but not Rollie.
It came early enough. Whitey Ford left game one in St. Louis after just 5 1/3 innings. Al Downing pitched the next 1 2/3 frames. In the top of the eighth, with New York trailing 6-4, Johnny Blanchard pinch hit for Downing, and delivered! A two-out double brought the tying run to the dish. Phil Linz grounded out, but Bobby Richardson singled, 6-5. Roger Maris singled, and the tying run was 90 feet away. Mickey Mantle ended the inning by grounding out.
So Sheldon started the bottom of the eighth. Mike Shannon grounded to Clete Boyer at third. Boyer made an error. Then, with Tim McCarver batting, Elston Howard, the Yankees' catcher, allowed a passed ball. McCarver coaxed a bases on balls from Sheldon, and this was trouble.
Barney Schultz, the pitcher, batted for himself and lined right back at Sheldon. Not only did Rollie get it for the out, he fired to Joe Pepitone at first to nail McCarver going. Two down.
Rollie had pitched to his last batter for the day. Pete Mikkelsen came in, and Curt Flood singled home Mike Shannon. Lou Brock hit a double to left to score two more. None of these runs were earned, but did it matter? Down went New York 1-2-3 in the ninth, as game one of the 1964 World Series went to St. Louis, 9-5.
The series lasted seven games. Sheldon wasn't used again until game seven. Mel Stottlemyre left, and so did Al Downing who relieved him. With two on and nobody out in the top of the sixth, it was Sheldon's turn again. New York was down, 4-0. Dick Groat grounded out to second. 5-0. Tim McCarver flied to Mickey Mantle in right, Ken Boyer tagged and scored. 6-0.
Sheldon got out of that with a K of Mike Shannon, and pitched well in the bottom of the sixth. The Yankees woke up in the top of the frame. Bob Gibson, starting on just 2 days' rest, came undone. Two singles and a Mickey Mantle home run made it 6-3. There was plenty of time for a comeback. Sheldon fanned Dal Maxvill for the first out, as St. Louis tried to give Gibby some more breathing room. Gibson batted and flied out to Tom Tresh in right. When Mantle took Curt Flood's liner in right, Sheldon had faced six batters and gotten 'em all!
Hector Lopez batted for Sheldon in the top of the seventh as New York looked for more. Gibson fanned him. Phil Linz flew out to right, just as he had his previous trip to the dish. The inning, however, continued as Bobby Richardson singled. Roger Maris, with a single of his own the last time up, connected well. Alas, he could only line it to McCarver in right, ending the inning. Sheldon would not get a decision.
The Cardinals ended up winning it, very close, 7-5. Sheldon started 1965 for the Yankees, pitching well in three appearances, but then was shipped out to Kansas with Johnny Blanchard. Sheldon wasn't around the bigs much longer, drifting to Buffalo in 1967. He finished his professional career with Salt Lake City in 1970.
References
Golenbock, Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print, pp. 347-368.
Halberstam, David. October 1964. New York: Villard, 1994. Print
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print, pp. 347-368.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print, pp 287-306.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 6 Dec. 2016.
Youtube. Web. 6 Dec. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/>
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