Daily Freeman (Kingston, NY)

Former Yankee Stottlemyr­e dies at 77

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NEW YORK (AP) >> Mel Stottlemyr­e made his mark on the mound: He started Game 7 of the World Series, earned five championsh­ip rings as a pitching coach, wound up with a plaque at Monument Park.

But his most enduring impression might have come with the bat — more than a half-century later, he remains the last pitcher to hit an inside-the-park grand slam.

Stottlemyr­e, the ace who later oversaw stellar staffs for both the New York Yankees and Mets, has died. He was 77.

The Yankees said Stottlemyr­e died Sunday. He had been living in the Seattle area and had multiple myeloma for nearly 20 years.

“Mel was more than a pitching coach to me. He was a dear friend. Everything I accomplish­ed in the game was because of him. He taught me so much more than balls and strikes,” former pupil Dwight Gooden said in a statement.

A five-time All-Star and threetime 20-game winner, Stottlemyr­e went 164-139 with a 2.97 ERA in 11 seasons, all with the Yankees.

Stottlemyr­e made his major league debut in August 1964, providing a big boost in the pennant race. The 22-yearold rookie started three times against St. Louis great Bob Gibson in the World Series, eventually losing Game 7 on two days’ rest.

The right-hander showed he could excel at the plate, too. He got five hits in a game during his first year.

On July 20, 1965, Stottlemyr­e came up with the bases loaded in the fifth inning against Bos-

ton righty Bill Monbouquet­te. The Red Sox drew in their defense all over the diamond.

Instead, Stottlemyr­e hit a line drive that split left fielder Carl Yastrzemsk­i and center fielder Jim Gosger and kept rolling, well over 450 feet away at spacious Yankee Stadium. Stottlemyr­e took off, ran around third and slid home as the throw bounced past the catcher.

“I guess they thought I was going to bunt to squeeze in a run,” Stottlemyr­e said after the game.

Only one other time has a pitcher hit an inside-the-park grand slam — in 1910, by Deacon Phillippe of Pittsburgh.

Stottlemyr­e went 20-9 that year, completing 18 of his 37 starts, but the Yankees dipped below .500. Coming off a long period of dominance, the Yanks stayed stuck in a tailspin and never again reached the postseason during his playing days.

Stottlemyr­e then moved into the second phase of his career, teaching what he had learned. Working with the likes of Gooden, David Cone and Roger Clemens, Stottlemyr­e emerged as a top pitching coach.

“One of the classiest men I have ever known on or off the field. A wonderful pitching coach and father figure to the young pitchers on our Mets teams in the 1980s,” Ron Darling said in a statement.

Stottlemyr­e oversaw the Mets’ staff that won the 1986 title during a decade in Queens and earned four rings as Yankees manager Joe Torre’s pitching coach during a decade in the Bronx.

“Mel was a role model to us all and the toughest man I have ever met,” Torre said in a statement. “Sometimes a manager hires a friend to be their coach but with Mel, as with (Don Zimmer), he was my coach who became a dear friend and someone who became very special to me.”

Stottlemyr­e also coached with Houston and Seattle.

Sons Mel Jr. and Todd both pitched in the majors. Mel Jr. was hired last month as the Miami Marlins’ pitching coach.

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