Barney Schultz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Barney Schultz |
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Schultz in 1971
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| Pitcher | |||
| Born: August 15, 1926 Beverly, New Jersey, U.S. |
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| Died: September 6, 2015 (aged 89) Willingboro, New Jersey, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| April 12, 1955, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| September 6, 1965, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 20–20 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.63 | ||
| Strikeouts | 264 | ||
| Teams | |||
As player
As coach
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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George Warren "Barney" Schultz (August 15, 1926 – September 6, 2015) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He was a pitcher who threw a special kind of pitch called a knuckleball. Barney played in the Major Leagues for parts of seven seasons between 1955 and 1965. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers, and Chicago Cubs.
Barney was born in Beverly, New Jersey. He threw and batted with his right hand. He was quite tall at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and weighed 200 pounds (91 kg).
Contents
Early Life and Baseball Start
Barney Schultz was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1944. This was after he played baseball at Burlington City High School. For most of his career, Barney lived in Beverly with his family. In the off-season, when he wasn't playing baseball, he worked as a carpenter and sold men's clothing.
Playing Career Highlights
Barney Schultz was a relief pitcher. This means he would come into the game to pitch after the starting pitcher. He appeared in 227 games but never started a game. He was one of the first pitchers to specialize in throwing the knuckleball. A knuckleball is a tricky pitch that moves in unpredictable ways. It is hard for batters to hit and hard for catchers to catch!
He had two good years playing for the Chicago Cubs. Then, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. His best season was in 1964 with the Cardinals. That year, he had 14 saves. A "save" is when a relief pitcher finishes a close game without letting the other team score. This was a lot of saves back then! He also had a very good earned run average (ERA) of 1.64. A lower ERA means a pitcher gives up fewer runs.
One famous moment for Barney was in Game 3 of the 1964 World Series. He gave up a game-winning home run to baseball legend Mickey Mantle. This happened in a game shown on national TV. However, Barney had earned a save in Game 1 of that series. In the end, his team, the Cardinals, won the World Series in seven games!
Cardinals' catcher Bob Uecker sometimes had to catch when Barney pitched. Bob Uecker later became famous for telling jokes about how hard it was to catch Barney's knuckleball.
Playing in Other Countries
Between his Major League seasons, Barney also played baseball in Venezuela. He played for the Gavilanes de Maracaibo team. This was part of the Western Professional Baseball League. He was very good there, winning seven straight strikeout titles from 1954 to 1960. A "strikeout title" means he had the most strikeouts in the league.
After Playing Baseball
After he stopped playing, Barney Schultz continued his career in baseball. From 1967 to 1970, he was a pitching instructor for the Cardinals' minor league teams. This meant he taught younger players how to pitch. Then, from 1971 to 1975, he became the pitching coach for the main St. Louis Cardinals team. He also coached for the Chicago Cubs in 1977. Later, he coached for the Nankai Hawks in Japan from 1981 to 1982.
Barney lived in Edgewater Park Township, New Jersey. His home was full of cool items from his baseball career.
Barney Schultz is a member of the South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame. He passed away on September 6, 2015. This was exactly 50 years after his very last Major League Baseball game.
See also
- List of St. Louis Cardinals coaches
