Art Shamsky
Posted by Andy on August 5, 2011
It's amazing how often Art Shamsky's famous 1966 performance is mentioned on this blog. In that game, he entered in the 8th inning and ended up with 3 homers and 5 RBI.
I did an advanced Google search and here are past posts on this blog that mentioned the game in either the original post or the comments:
Pirates @ Reds, August 12, 1966
Two catchers homering in the same game for the same team ...
140+ HRs Since 1919 In Games Team Lost
Trivia time – who are these 10 players?
Most Home Runs by a Pinch Runner
August 5th, 2011 at 6:25 pm
Andy -- I thought of Shamsky's game a couple days ago, and showed it to a disbelieving friend, in the wake of Scott Hairston's wasted heroics on July 31. Hairston entered as a PH, homered in both his trips, including a game-tying shot with 2 out in the 9th; Mets lost in the bottom half.
What made you think of Shamsky?
August 5th, 2011 at 6:47 pm
My new all-time favorite Andy post. Pretty much says all that needs sayin'.
August 5th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
I bet he was watching Everybody Loves Raymond. It's the name of Robert's dog.
August 5th, 2011 at 7:48 pm
JA, I got the idea for this post a couple of days ago when a commenter mentioned the game again on another one of my posts. It wasn't even one on the list above, which is partial.
August 5th, 2011 at 8:12 pm
3 He named his dog after his favorite ballplayer.In one episode he says,"you know he homered in his first at bat?It was all down hill from there."Not quite true,he was a decent platoon player and won a WS.
August 5th, 2011 at 9:28 pm
Let's not forget....Art Shamsky was the only player in MLB History to bat for Frank Robinson. And when he did, he Hit A Home Run!!!!
August 5th, 2011 at 10:00 pm
@1 and 4, that was probably my fault :-), mentioning Shamsky as having the highest single-game WPA in Andy's article on the top 100 WPAs yesterday. Maybe the best batting performance off the bench, ever -- and the Reds lost the game anyway.
August 5th, 2011 at 10:31 pm
I approve of any topic regarding the great Art "Blam" Shamsky.
August 6th, 2011 at 8:50 am
Not a shabby game by Bob Bailey. Clearly not as impressive as Shamsky, but is his .969 WPA one of the highest in a game where there was another player higher?
August 6th, 2011 at 2:00 pm
I bought Art Shamsky's 1971 Topps card without knowing who he was, just because it's an awesome photo. Through this blog I've learned more about his claim to fame. You have to appreciate utility players like Shamsky who come up big in the clutch.
August 6th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
@9
Pondering your question, Tristam, I think it all comes down to the heart of the meaning of the Win Above Replacement statistic, as I understand it. You can see that I've been taking tutoring about it from Whiz and Johnny T., in another recent blog.
You are aware, of course, that Bob Bailey and Art Shamsky were on opposing teams?
That being assumed, your question becomes "What is the highest total WPA accumulated in an single game by two players?" A difficult question to answer, but Bailey and Shamsky, with their combined 2.472 WPA, may be unique in searchable baseball history.
My rough grasp of what would be required, based on my WPA 101 course, would be an extra-inning game, where the score was close throughout creating a lot of high-leverage PA, and that involved a lot of lead changes. The Pirates'-Reds' game meets all these criteria.
August 6th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
I will anxiously read any blog post anywhere that mentions Art Shamsky
August 7th, 2011 at 12:37 am
@11 - Thanks for the response Neil. I am aware that they are on opposing teams. However, I don't think that changes the question. I was curious about the "best 2nd best wpa of a game". The combined wpa reminds me of the question about HR hitting brothers. If you look at combined, Tommie Aaron looks pretty good with Hank at with his 13 HRs and 768 combined. But there is a long list of brothers, who didn't hit as many as their brother, but hit a lot more than 13. Hope this makes some kind of sense. Just curious, but really don't have the first idea how to figure it out.