Mel Stottlemyre (1941 – 2019), Yankees legend

Mel Stottlemyre died Sunday, January 13, 2019, at the age of 77 after battling bone marrow cancer.

Stottlemyre (1941 – 2019) was a five-time All-Star pitcher for the New York Yankees who became a top pitching coach. He was a Yankee his entire playing career, winning 20 games 3 times when the Yankees were not at the top of the league. He became a highly sought after pitching coach who tutored Dwight Gooden and Roger Clemons, winning 4 World Series rings as a coach with the Yankees and one with the Mets.  

His moving speech at the 2015 Yankees Oldtimers Day: “Today in this Stadium, there is no one that’s happier to be on this field than myself,” he said, choking up. “This is such a shock to me because the era I played in is an era where, for the most part, the Yankees have tried over the years, I think, somewhat to forget a little bit...If I never get to come to another Oldtimers Day, I will take these memories and I’ll start another baseball club, coaching up there, whenever they need me.”