Charley Schanz

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Charles Murrell Schanz (June 8, 1919 - May 28, 1992) was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Blue Jays (1944), Philadelphia Phillies (1945-1947), and Boston Red Sox (1950). The 6'3 1/2", 215 lb. right-hander was a native of Anacortes, Washington.

Schanz had a successful rookie season (13-16, 3.32, for the last place [[Philadelphia Blue Jays) but was relatively ineffective after that. (5.03 ERA in his last four years) He made his major league debut on April 20, 1944, starting and losing 8-2 to the Brooklyn Dodgers at Shibe Park. His first major league win came in his second start five days later, a 12-inning 4-3 home victory over the New York Giants. He pitched his first major league shutout on September 3, 1945 vs. the Boston Braves in the second game of a home doubleheader. The score was 5-0.

Schanz's key pitch was his fastball. A 1949 issue of the Pacific Coast Baseball News put it plainly: "Charley is fast - very fast..."

He had a tendency to be wild, as he finished in the league's top ten for the following categories: bases on balls allowed (1944 and 1945), wild pitches (1944 and 1946), and hit batsmen (1944, 1945, and 1946). One highlight as a relief pitcher, however, was finishing in the TOP TEN for saves three straight seasons (1944-1946).

Career totals for 155 games include a 28-43 record, 72 games started, 23 complete games, 2 shutouts, 49 games finished, and 14 saves. He allowed 302 earned runs in 626.2 innings pitched for an ERA of 4.34.

Schanz died at the age of 72 in Sacramento, California.

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