Art Shamsky : 1969 World Champion Amazing Mets Outfielder (1968 - 1971)
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Shamsky went to the same high school as future big league pitcher Ken Holtzman. Other notable school alumni are Tennessee Williams & Mets outfielder Bernard Gilkey.
The six foot one, left hand hitting outfielder would also play at first base.
In 1959 Shamsky was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cincinnati Reds. At age 18 he was Pete Rose roommate for the 1960 Geneva Red legs & homered in his first at-bat there.
He led all outfielders in assists & was second in the league with 18 HRs just ahead of future MLB sluggers; Tony Perez and Dick Allen. Shamsky got to the AAA Pacific Coast League San Diego Padres in 1963 & the following season hit 25 HRs behind Tony Perez’s league leading 34.
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MLB Debut: In April of 1965, Shamsky made the Reds team debuting against his favorite childhood team the Cardinals & striking out against Bob Gibson. He ended up getting in 64 games as a reserve outfielder behind Frank Robinson, Vada Pinson & Tommy Harper. He batted .260 with two HRs & 10 RBIs in 64 games played.
In 1966 he made the club once again as a reserve outfielder being used mostly as a pinch hitter.
In 1966 he made the club once again as a reserve outfielder being used mostly as a pinch hitter.
HRs in Four Straight at Bats: From August 12th through August 14th, 1966, he tied an MLB record by hitting HRs in four consecutives at bats.
Three HRs In a Game: On August 12th, in the first game of a double header against the Pittsburgh Pirates he an 5th inning hit HR off Al Mcbean. In the 10th inning, he hit a HR off Roy Face & then another off Billy O'Dell in the 11th inning. On that day he also became the first player in Reds history to hit two HRs in an extra inning game.
In just 234 at bats on the year he was second on the club to Deron Johnson with 21 HRs. He also had 14 doubles with 4 triples & 47 RBIs. In 1967 he battled injuries and hit just .197 with 3 HRs & 13 RBIs in 76 games.
Before the 1968 season he was traded to the New York Mets for Bob Johnson.
Quotes- Art Shamsky: "I had never met Gil Hodges & knew him only by reputation. I remember that first day. He was an imposing figure, not tall but stocky & well built. He was a serious no-nonsense guy & you could tell this wouldn't be the same old Mets. He instilled confidence & we weren't going to play bad baseball consistently."Mets Career-1968: Shamsky debuted on Opening Day 1968 getting two hits in the 5-4 Mets loss to the Giants in San Francisco. The next day he drove in two runs in Jerry Koosman's 4-0 shut out of the Dodgers in Los Angeles. As the opening road trip moved to Houston, Shamsky had another multi- two RBI game in a Nolan Ryan/ Danny Frisella combined shut out. In his first seven games as a Met, he was batting .391 with five RBIs.
On May 7th he hit a two run HR off Nelson Briles helping the Mets beat his favorite childhood team, the Cardinals 4-2.
From June 16th to the 26th he had a power surge belting four HRs in that period, driving in seven runs. His average fell of through the summer, and he fell to .218 by mid-August.
On a road trip to Cincinnati, he hit HRs in back-to-back games against his old teammates driving in two runs in each game.
Grand Slam HR: On August 30th at Shea Stadium, Shamsky hit his only career grand slam HR, coming off the Cardinals Nelson Briles, leading Tom Seaver & the Mets to an exciting 8-2 win.
On the season, he got to play 100 games with 300 at bats, hitting .238 with 12 HRs 14 doubles, four triples 48 RBIs 30 runs scored & a .698 OPS.
Quotes- Art Shamsky: "While we weren't breaking any records in 1968, we were competitive. We were a little less than .500 through the middle of the season. The one thing we did have though was harmony. It was a clubhouse filled with people who generally liked each other".
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1969 Championship Season: Shamsky started out the year on the DL, as he injured his back in Spring Training, taking fielding practice with his roommate Kenny Boswell. He then was sent to AAA Tidewater & hit a grand slam HR in his first game there.AAA Tides Manager, Whitey Herzog said to him “what the hell are you doing down here”. After thirteen games at Tidewater, he hit 4 HRs with 12 RBIs & was back on the Mets big league club in mid-May.
He returned to the Mets by May 13th, Shamsky soon became the Mets regular starting right fielder against right-handed pitchers, with Ron Swoboda starting against lefties in Gil Hodges platoon system.
He would also be a valuable late inning guy and pinch hitter. Shamsky hit .385 as a pinch hitter & .388 in the late innings.
Mets losses to the Atlanta Braves. A month after he came up to the Mets big league team, he was batting over .300.
On June 6th he lined an 8th inning pinch hit single putting the Mets ahead of the San Diego Padres, in a game they won for their eighth straight win. On June 14th he hit a HR off Don Sutton at Dodger Stadium, helping the Mets & Tom Seaver win a close 3-1 game.
On June 19th he brought his average up to .351 with a big four hit day, highlighted by a pair of HRs & three RBIs in a 6-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. That week he drove in runs in four of five games, hitting another HR two days later, a solo shot off Nelson Briles.In his first 13 games of July, he hit three HRs & drove in nine runs while collecting 19 hits.
Shamsky stayed hot in July batting well over .330 all month. On July 16th, he hit a two run HR off Ted Abernathy in Chicago, helping the Mets beat the Cubs 9-5 and jumping up to just four games back, in second place.
In his next game he homered again, in Montreal helping the club to a 5-2 win.
Multi- Four RBI Game: On August 20th in a 6-0 Jim McAndrew shut out of the Giants at Shea Stadium, Art hit a three run HR off Gaylord Perry with an RBI double as well leading to the win.
When the Dodgers came to town three days later, Shamsky hit a HR off Jim Brewer helping the Mets win another close one 3-2.On September 7th in a 9-3 win over the Phillies at Shea Stadium, Shamsky hit a two run HR off Bill Champion leading Nolan Ryan to his fifth win & helping the Mets get to 2.5 games of the first place Chicago Cubs.
On September 9th in front of a sold-out crowd at Shea Stadium against the first place Cubs, Shamsky homered in Tom Seaver's 7-0 shut out against Fergie Jenkins. The win put New York within a half game of first place.
Shamsky would drive in a run in four of five games he played in that week. On September 10th the Mets took over first place, in the first game of a double header sweep of the Expos, Shamsky tied up the game with a 1st inning RBI single scoring Tommie Agee. Art would drive in runs in back-to-back games he played in that week as well.
From September 21st thru September 23rd, Shamsky drove in runs in four straight games.
That week the Mets clinched the NL Eastern Division with a win over the Cardinals in game Shamsky did not play in.
On October 1st a Wrigley Field he drove in the games winning run with a 12th inning RBI single off the Cubs Hank Aguirre.
On the 1969 season Art had five game winning RBIs, while batting an even .300 with a .375 on base %, playing in 100 games on the year. He showed power with 14 HRs (second on the club to Tommie Agee) nine doubles, a .432 slugging % & 47 RBIs in only 303 at bats. In the outfield he posted a .992 fielding % making just one error, turning two double plays making two assists.
Post Season- 1969 NLCS: In the NLCS victory over the Braves, Art started all three games due to the Braves right handed pitching. Shamsky led all hitters batting .538, going 7 for 13.
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Back-to-Back Multi- Three Hit Post Season Games: In the Game #1 victory, he led off the 2nd inning with a base hit off Phil Niekro. He later crossed the plate with the first ever Mets post season run, scoring on a Jerry Grote base hit. In Game #2 at Atlanta’s Fulton County Stadium, he had another three hits, going 3-4, driving in Cleon Jones with a run in the 2nd inning. On the day he had three hits.
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In Game #3 at Shea Stadium, he got another hit (1-4) scoring on his roommate ken Boswell’s two run HR off George Stone in the 5th inning.
1969 World Series: In the Fall Classic win over the mostly left-handed pitching of the Baltimore Orioles, he started only in Game #3 at Shea Stadium going hitless. Shamsky also went 0 for 2 as a pinch hitter during the remainder of the Series.
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Honors: In 1969 after the Amazing Mets Championship run, he enjoyed fame as did many of the New York players. He appeared in Harper's Bazaar Magazine with model & future actress Lauren Hutton.After the Championship: Art began the season with an RBI double in the Mets opener in Pittsburgh, a 5-3 extra inning win. In the first month of the season he had five multi-two hit games & was batting .311 at the end of April.
From May 2nd to May 13th, Shamsky hit .341 with four HRs & 12 RBIs in the 12 game span. From May 2nd thru May 3rd he drove in runs in three straight games including both ends of a double header loss at San Diego.
Multi- Three RBI Game: On May 9th in a 14-5 win over the Giants at Shea, Art homered off Rich Robertson, while collecting a two run in single in the Mets eight run 5th inning. The next day he hit a solo HR off Juan Marichal & drove in two more runs in the 11-7 loss.
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On May 12th & 13th he homered in back-to-back games first with Montreal & then in Chicago in a win over the Cubs. Later that month he had another multi-two RBI game in a win at the Astrodome & then in early June drove in two more runs over the Astros at Shea.From June 12th thru June 16th he drove in runs in three straight games, while having his seventh multi-RBI game of the season. Art continued to hit well ending the month of June batting .322 for the season.
In July he saw his average fall 27 points dropping below .300 & having only one HR & three RBIs the entire month. From July 21st to August 23rd Art did not drive in a run, finally breaking the drought tying up a 9th inning game with the Reds with a base hit. He ended up scoring the walk off run when Wayne Granger walked Joe Foy with the bases loaded.
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On September 14th the Mets were tied with the Pittsburgh Pirates in first place but they lost eight o eleven games including six of seven to the Pirates to fall out of the pennant race. From September 13th thru the 18th Art drove in runs in five straight games. Multi-HR Game: On September 16th, Art had his only multi-HR game of the year hitting a pair of solo HRs off former Met prospect Steve Renko in a loss at Montreal.
In 1970 Art played in a career high 122 leading the team batting .293. He hit 11 HRs (fourth most on the club) with 118 hits 19 doubles two triples, 49 RBIs a .371 on base percentage & .803 OPS.
Trivia: Despite only 402 at bats, he was seventh in the league with 13 intentional walks.
Art played 58 games in the outfield posting a perfect .1000 fielding %. He also played in 56 games at first base (.995 fielding %) behind Don Clendenon & Ed Kranepool.
1971: By now injuries would ruin his season. Shamsky’s batting average fell over 100 points, in only 68 games & 135 at bats he hit just .185.
But his dream of playing in his native St. Louis fell short, as he was released at the start of the season. He was then picked up by the Chicago Cubs where he played 22 games & then had his contact purchased by the Oakland A’s where he saw action in eight games. But nagging back problems forced him to retire at age 32.
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Career Stats: In an eight-year career he batted .253 with 426 hits 60 doubles 15 triples 68 HRs 233 RBIs & 194 runs scored. He struck out 254 times with 199 walks, a .330 on base % & .757 OPS.
Retirement: After Baseball, he remained in New York getting involved in real estate as a consultant with First Realty Reserve. He also worked as a sports broadcaster for eight years, including a three year tenure with the Mets from 1979 to 1981.
Restaurant: For a brief period, he owned a midtown Manhattan restaurant, "Legends”.
Author: Shamsky co-wrote two books, “The Magnificent Seasons,” with Barry Zeman (2004) & "After the Miracle" with Eric Sherman (2019).
Family: Art & his first wife Randee have two daughters. In 1994 he married his second wife Kim. In 2006 after 13 years of marriage he was embroiled in a bitter public divorce whew she claimed he had committed adultery with both men & women.
He has appeared at two New York area Beatle fest- Beatles conventions promoting his 1969 heroics.
Honors: In 2008 Art was on hand for the closing ceremonies of Shea Stadium. In 2019 he attended the 50th Anniversary celebration of the 1969 Mets at Citi Field.
Honors: In 1994 Shamsky was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
He has been a strong promoter of Israeli baseball in Israel, managing a baseball team there at one point in a short-lived league. He is also involved in many Jewish baseball projects in the New York area as well. In 2016 he helped organize fellow 1969 Mets teammates Bud Harrelson, Jerry Koosman & Ron Swoboda in coordinating with Nancy Seaver in visiting Tom Seaver, who was recovering from Lyme disease at his California vineyard.
TV Trivia: In the American sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, Ray and Robert Roamo's childhood bulldog was named Shamsky #1 after the 1969 Mets outfielder. In Season 3 Episode 19 titled "Big Shots" On a trip to Cooperstown the Romano Brothers talk about the 1969 Mets. Teammates Art Shamsky, Tommie Agee, Jerry Grote, Bud Harrelson, Cleon Jones, Ron Swoboda, Tug McGraw & Ed Kranepool all make an appearance on the show.
