Art Shamsky
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Arthur Louis Shamsky (born October 14, 1941, in St. Louis, Missouri) was a Major League Baseball player from 1965 to 1972 for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, and Oakland Athletics. He played right field, left field, and first base. As of 2007 he is a manager in the Israel Baseball League.
Shamsky attended University City High School in St. Louis, as did fellow major leaguer and Israel Baseball League manager Ken Holtzman. He was signed by Cincinnati as a free agent in 1959.
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[edit] Minor league career
Shamsky began his professional baseball career as an 18-year-old with the 1960 Geneva Redlegs, and homered in his first at-bat. A roommate of Pete Rose that year, he hit .271 and slugged .480. His 18 homers were second in the league, well ahead of Tony Perez and Dick Allen. Shamsky led the league's outfielders in assists, and made the All-Star team.
He moved up to the Topeka Reds in 1961 and hit .288, slugging .469 with 15 home runs.
In 1962, he was with the Macon Peaches. Shamsky played with Pete Rose, Lee May, Darron Johnson, and Mel Queen on the Peaches.
By 1963, he was in AAA with the San Diego Padres, and hit .267 with 18 HR. Repeating with San Diego the next year, he batted .272 and hit 25 home runs to finish 8th in the Pacific Coast League in that category and second on the Padres behind Perez's 34.
[edit] Major league career
[edit] Cincinnati Reds (1965-67)
In 1965, Shamsky made the Cincinnati Reds out of spring training as a sub and hit .260.
Shamsky tied a major league record by homering in 4 consecutive at-bats for the Reds on August 12 and 14 of 1966. He finished the year with 21 HR (2nd on the team) and 47 RBIs, and a .521 slugging percentage, in only 234 at-bats. On August 12, Shamsky became the first player in Reds history to hit two extra-inning home runs in one game.
[edit] New York Mets (1968-71)
Shamsky was traded to the New York Mets before the 1968 season.
In 1969 Shamsky hit .300, with a .375 on base percentage, as a fourth outfielder and lefthanded pinch-hitter for the World Champion Mets. He batted .385 as a pinch hitter, and .388 in games that were late and close.[1] His .538 batting average and 7 hits led all batters in the 1969 LCS.
In 1970 he hit .293 with a .371 on base percentage. Despite only 402 at bats, he was 7th in the league with 13 intentional walks.
[edit] Chicago Cubs & Oakland A's (1972)
He remained with the Mets until 1972, when he played 22 games for the Chicago Cubs and Oakland A's.
Nagging back problems hastened Shamsky's departure from the game in 1972.
Shamsky retired after 13 years in pro baseball, with 170 homers and a World Series ring.
[edit] Halls of Fame
Shamsky is a member of the New York Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
He was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.
[edit] Managing career
Shamsky has signed on to manage a team in the 2007 first season of the Israel Baseball League.[2]
[edit] After baseball
After his baseball career, Shamsky became a real estate consultant with First Realty Reserve and a sports radio and television broadcaster for WNYW Television in New York City, where he also owns a restaurant, "Legends."
[edit] Trivia
In the American sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, Ray and Robert's childhood bulldog was named Shamsky Number 1, after the player. Shamsky made an appearance in this series as himself ('Big Shots' - Series 3, Episode 19).
Comedian Jon Stewart named his pit bull Shamsky after the player.
He has written a book, “ The Magnificent Seasons,” with Barry Zeman (Thomas Dunne Books).
As of 2006, he was embroiled in a divorce from his second wife, Kim Shamsky.[3]
[edit] External link
Categories: Living people | 1941 births | Cincinnati Reds players | New York Mets players | Chicago Cubs players | Oakland Athletics players | Jewish baseball players | Major league outfielders | People from St. Louis | Major league players from Missouri | Jewish American sportspeople | Israel Baseball League managers
