"The records for 1970 might have said that Mel Stottlemyre was a 22-game winner. There was a stretch of seven games last year in which Stottlemyre held the opposition to two runs or less, but lost anyway. But the Yankees' ace righthander wound up with only a 15-13 record and an ERA of 3.09. That's a fine ERA for most pitchers, but Mel's poorest since 1966 when he was a 20-game loser.
At 29, Stott is the elder statesman of the Yanks' pitching staff and the only link to the team's past days of glory. He got off to a slow start in 1970, losing his first three games, then struggled to pitch .500 ball throughout the season. But he pitched 14 complete games, most on the staff. Mel has won 20 games three times (1965, '68 and '69) since joining the club in 1964.
His best pitch is a sinker. He must keep the ball low to be effective."
-Brenda Zanger and Dick Kaplan, Major League Baseball 1971
"A quiet, disciplined pitcher whose trademark is a ground ball, his best pitch is a sinking fastball. A typical Stottlemyre game, according to Thurman Munson, is 'no pitch above the waist and a fastball that weighs about a hundred pounds.'
Mel is an avid hunter who once appeared on The American Sportsman television series. A native of Hazleton, Missouri (born November 13, 1941), he now lives in Grandview, Washington, population 5000. He's married, with three children."
-Joe Gergen, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1971 Edition
"Dean of the Yankee pitching staff, the only active player on the club left from the championship era, three times a 20-game winner, Stottlemyre was 15-13 last season. He had a very creditable 3.09 ERA despite some shoulder trouble early in the season. His 14 complete games led the Yankee staff. He was a member of the All-Star team for the fifth time, and the third consecutive year.
While it was a disappointing season for Mel, it is a measure of the man that he started in 37 games, pitched 271 innings - most on the staff - and has had no relief assignments since 1966. Although only 29 and in the majors only a little more than six years, Stott has reached all-time status in many pitching categories. He is eighth in total innings pitched for the Yanks, eleventh in games won, fifteenth in games pitched, ninth in strikeouts, eighth in shutouts and seventh in ERA.
Mel has a lot of cool which he acquired in his first days with the Yankees in the summer of 1964. With only a half-season in the majors under his belt, the 22-year-old rookie started three World Series games. It was the first Series he had ever seen. Among his memorable high spots are: pitching the seventh game of the 1964 Series; getting five hits in five at-bats in Washington, September 26, 1964; hitting an inside-the-park grand slam against Boston, July 20, 1965; and hurling a one-hitter in Detroit, April 12, 1969.
For younger members of the club, Stottlemyre is the pride and class of the championship Yankees; they admire him and they're fast acquiring his cool confidence."
-The New York Yankees Official 1971 Yearbook
"The All-Star right-hander continued to be recognized as one of the all-time great Yankee pitchers last year. Going into the 1971 season, he ranks eleventh among the all-time Yankee leaders with 112 wins, fourteenth in games with 235, eighth in innings pitched with 1746, ninth in strikeouts with 880, eighth in shutouts with 22, thirteenth in complete games with 99, seventh in lifetime ERA with a 2.89 mark, and eighteenth in winning percentage with a .566 mark.
After winning 20 games for two straight years, Mel slipped to 15 last year, as he suffered many rough losses. Among the toughest was at Detroit on May 26 when Willie Horton beat him with a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth in a game which had been scoreless to that point- it was the only time in his career that Mel lost by a homer in the last inning. He was the victim of another shutout at Detroit when Joe Niekro hurled a 1-hitter against the Yanks on July 2. Six other losses came by one or two runs.
Mel led the club in innings pitched for the sixth straight year, a club record. He was eleventh in the American League with a 3.09 mark and thirteenth in wins with 15, the fifth straight year in which he ranked among the top 15 in both these categories.
An all-around athlete, he lettered in baseball, basketball and football in high school, and was signed to a contract by Yankees Pacific Northwest scout Eddie Taylor. Mel spends his off-seasons fishing and hunting.
Mel is one of the better hitting pitchers in baseball. He had two home runs last year and now has five lifetime, including an inside-the-park grand slam. He went five-for-five at Washington on September 26, 1964. Mel also has a 1-hitter to his credit, on April 12, 1969- at Detroit."
-1971 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
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