Art Shamsky

Arthur Louis Shamsky (born October 14, 1941, in St. Louis, Missouri) was a Major League Baseball player from 1965 to 1972 for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, and Oakland Athletics. He played right field, left field, and first base. As of 2007 he is the manager of the Modi'in Miracle of the Israel Baseball League.

Early life

Shamsky attended University City High School in St. Louis, as did fellow major leaguer and Israel Baseball League manager Ken Holtzman. He was signed by Cincinnati as a free agent in 1959.

Minor league career

Shamsky began his professional baseball career as an 18-year-old with the 1960 Geneva Redlegs, and homered in his first at-bat. A roommate of Pete Rose that year, he hit .271 and slugged .480. His 18 homers were second in the league, well ahead of Tony Perez and Dick Allen. Shamsky led the league's outfielders in assists, and made the All-Star team.

He moved up to the Topeka Reds in 1961 and hit .288, slugging .469 with 15 home runs.

In 1962, he was with the Macon Peaches. Shamsky played with Pete Rose, Lee May, Darron Johnson, and Mel Queen on the Peaches.

By 1963, Shamsky made it up to the AAA level with the minor league San Diego Padres and hit .267 with 18 home runs. Repeating with San Diego the next year, he batted .272 and hit 25 home runs to finish 8th in the Pacific Coast League in that category and second on the Padres behind Perez's 34.

Major league career

Cincinnati Reds (1965-67)

In 1965, Shamsky made the Cincinnati Reds out of spring training as a sub and hit .260.

Shamsky tied a major league record by homering in 4 consecutive at-bats for the Reds on August 12 and 14 of 1966. He finished the year with 21 HR (2nd on the team) and 47 RBIs, and a .521 slugging percentage, in only 234 at-bats. On August 12, Shamsky became the first player in Reds history to hit two extra-inning home runs in one game.

New York Mets (1968-71)

Shamsky was traded to the New York Mets for Bob Johnson before the 1968 season.

In 1969 Shamsky hit .300, with a .375 on base percentage, as half of a right field platoon with Ron Swoboda for the World Champion Mets. He was the regular starter against right-handed pitchers, with Swoboda starting against lefties. He batted .385 as a pinch hitter, and .388 in games that were late and close.[1]. This pattern continued into the post-season. He started all three games of the NLCS, where he batted .538, leading all batters. He started only Game 3 of the World Series.

In 1970 he hit .293 with a .371 on base percentage. Despite only 402 at bats, he was 7th in the league with 13 intentional walks.

Chicago Cubs & Oakland A's (1972)

He remained with the Mets until 1972, when he played 22 games for the Chicago Cubs and Oakland A's.

Nagging back problems hastened Shamsky's departure from the game in 1972.

Shamsky retired after 13 years in pro baseball, with 170 homers and a World Series ring.

Halls of Fame

Shamsky is a member of the New York Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

He was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.

Managing career

Shamsky has signed on to manage the Modi'in Miracle in the 2007 first season of the Israel Baseball League.[2]

After baseball

After his baseball career, Shamsky became a real estate consultant with First Realty Reserve and a sports radio and television broadcaster for WNYW Television in New York City, where he also owns a restaurant, "Legends."

Trivia

In the American sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, Ray and Robert's childhood bulldog was named Shamsky Number 1, after the player. Shamsky made an appearance in this series as himself ('Big Shots' - Series 3, Episode 19).

Comedian Jon Stewart named his pit bull Shamsky after the player.

He has written a book, “The Magnificent Seasons: How the Jets, Mets, and Knicks Made Sports HIstory and Uplifted a City and the Country,” with Barry Zeman (Thomas Dunne Books).

As of 2006, he was embroiled in a divorce from his second wife, Kim Shamsky.[3]

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference
• Baseball Cube stats
• Fangraphs stats
• BR Bullpen profile
• Baseball Library profile
• Baseball Page profile
• Jewish Major League career leaders