No new autographed cards arrived in the mail today, so I went back into my collection to share this gem. It is Mel Stottlemyre of the New York Yankees, card number 225 in the 1967 Topps Baseball set of 609.The autograph was obtained during the 2009 Spring Training season. Mr. Stottlemyre was the pitching coach for the United States team in the World Baseball Classic. The USA team was playing an exhibition game versus the Toronto Blue Jays and Mr. Stottlemyre was gracious enough to sign the card for me with a blue sharpie.
Mel Stottlemyre's career lasted 11 years, all with the New York Yankees. He made the All-Star team five times, won 164 games, had a career 2.97 earned run average, and won 20 games in a season three times.
After his playing days were over, Mel stayed involved in the game as roving instructor and pitching coach for the New York Mets, Houston Astros, New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners. He won 5 World Series Championships as pitching coach, 1986 for the Mets and 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000 for the Yankees. He still remains one of the best pitching authority in the game. Mel also had two sons, Mel Jr and Todd Stottlemyre, who also pitched in the major leagues.
To learn more about Mel Stottlemyre, go to his biography at wikipedia.com.
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