1972 Profile: Mel Stottlemyre

"For the second straight year Mel Stottlemyre failed to win 20 games. But don't put the blame for that entirely on Mel.
'My main trouble last year,' recalls the righthander, 'was that I couldn't string some wins together. It seems we didn't score much when I had a good game and the times we got runs I wasn't too hot.' He couldn't have been too bad as he wound up with a 2.87 ERA while working 270 innings.
Just think what kind of records he might have had with the Yankees of old. Mel's acknowledged to be one of the finest pitchers in the business and he's an outstanding fielder, dangerous hitter and a fine base runner as well. Pointing up his total contribution to the team was the Yankees' August 29 game in which Mel had a 7-2 lead over Kansas City and needed only two outs to get credit for the victory. Someone else might have thrown the ball underhanded to get through the fifth inning, but Mel called Manager Houk to the mound to tell him he had a muscle pull in his back and that it would be better for the club if someone replaced him.
If the Yankees can provide a more consistent offense this season, Stottlemyre should be capable of achieving his fourth 20-win season."

-Brenda Zanger, Major League Baseball 1972

"He's the established ace of the pitching staff. Stottlemyre had seven shutouts, second best in the American League, among his 16 victories last year. He has had three 20-victory seasons for the Yankees and has also lost 20 games in a season, one of the few pitches to experience both of those extremes. Mel led Yankee pitchers in innings worked for six consecutive seasons, a team record, falling just four innings short of leading again last season. He was the hero of the Yankees' last American League championship team in 1964 when he came up in mid-season to win nine games.
Born November 13, 1941 in Hazleton, Missouri, Mel now lives in Grandview, Washington. He is an avid hunter; a quiet man who rarely loses his cool."

-Hal Bock, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1972 Edition

"Mel Stottlemyre is a pro. From his fellow professionals, this is the highest form of compliment to a pitcher of style and class.
At 30, Mel has reached the full maturation of his ability and has become one of the most highly respected pitchers in the American League.
An eight-year veteran, Mel joined the Yankees in 1964 and at 22 was a key factor in winning that season's pennant. He has, by the strength of five All-Star seasons and three 20-victory campaigns, established himself among the truly great pitchers in Yankee history. His career statistics place him in the top five among active American Leaguers.
But Mel Stottlemyre is far more than statistics. When the Yankees arrive in another city, and the 25 players make their way through the airport, there is a quiet, commanding leadership about Mel. He is more than the most senior Yankee, more than the most honored member of the team. He personifies the professional craftsmanship and individual dignity that is symbolic of the Yankee championship tradition."

-The New York Yankees Official 1972 Yearbook

"Three times a 20-game winner, Mel led the Yankees last season in wins (16), complete games (19), earned run average (2.87), and in shutouts with seven. Only Oakland's Vida Blue hurled more shutouts last year (8).
After seven and one-half seasons, Mel now ranks among the all-time Yankee hurlers in innings pitched, wins, strikeouts, complete games and ERA. His total of 29 lifetime shutouts ties him with Denny McLain for American League leadership among active pitchers.
The only remaining member of the Yankees' last pennant winning team (1964), he was the first big find (and still the biggest) for scout Eddie Taylor, who inked him for the 1961 season. He progressed rapidly and found himself playing AAA baseball in Richmond after only three years in pro ball. Mel was called up from Richmond in '64 and helped pitch the Yanks to the pennant with a 9-3 record and he was 1-1 in the World Series.
Five times an American League All-Star, Mel is an outstanding athlete. He once got five hits in five at bats against Washington. He has hit seven lifetime homers including an inside-the-park grand slam at Yankee Stadium."

-1972 New York Yankees official spring training scorebook

"Stottlemyre continued his role as the stopper on the Yankee staff in 1971 as he led the club in wins (16), complete games (19, sixth in the AL), ERA (2.87, sixth in the AL) and in shutouts with seven, which was also a major league high for the classy high right-hander, and second in the AL only to Vida Blue's eight. He's now among the all-time top ten all-time Yankee pitchers in the following categories: innings pitched, wins, strikeouts, shutouts, compete games and ERA. He enters his eighth complete season with the Yankees in 1972.
Mel was the first big find (and still the biggest) for Yankee Northwest scout Eddie Taylor, who inked him for the 1961 season. He progessed rapidly and found himself playing AAA baseball for Richmond in just his third year of professional baseball. He was stymied in his advancement somewhat during the next year and a half as he spent half his time as a relief pitcher due to his natural sinking fastball.
During 1964, however, Mel blossomed into a starter and had a 13-3 record when the Yanks brought him to New York in August in the midst of a hot pennant race. He helped them to their last AL flag, winning nine and losing three. Mel is the only Yankee left from that club and his one remaining ambition is to play in another Yankee World Series.
Stottlemyre, an all-around athlete, lettered in baseball, basketball and football in high school. He returns to his Northwest home every off-season to take advantage of the tremendous hunting and fishing available there.
His all-around athletic ability is displayed by his fielding and also when he is at bat. Mel is one of the better hitting pitchers in baseball, and went five-for-five at Washington on September 26, 1964. He has seven home runs lifetime, including an inside-the-park grand slam."

-1972 New York Yankees Press /TV/ Radio Guide