Art Shamsky
From The Met Wiki
Art Shamsky was an outfielder for the Mets from 1968 to 1971. He played in 406 games with the team. Shamsky had 42 homers and 162 runs batted in as a Met.
Shamsky came to the Mets from the Reds in a trade for Bob Johnson on November 8, 1967. In the ’68 season, he collected 140 total bases and led the team with four sacrifice flies and seven hit by pitches. At Los Angeles on April 11, Art hit a two-run single in the Mets’ 4-0 win over the Dodgers. He singled, doubled and tripled in a 5-2 Mets victory over the Braves at Shea Stadium on May 18. Shamsky hit a home run in a 5-3 Mets triumph over the Astros on June 20 at Shea. He had a homer and a run-scoring single in the Mets’ 7-1 win at Cincinnati on August 25. Art hit a grand slam in an 8-2 Mets victory over the Cardinals on August 30 at Shea. He also homered, tripled and scored twice in the Mets’ 2-0 triumph over the Pirates at Shea on September 13.
In 1969, Shamsky had a .300 batting average in 100 games played. He had 14 home runs in the Mets’ championship season. On June 14, Art singled, homered and had a stolen base in the Mets’ 3-1 win at Los Angeles. He had two singles and a pair of home runs in a 6-5 Mets victory at Philadelphia on June 19. Shamsky singled twice and hit a two-run homer in the Mets’ 9-5 triumph at Chicago on July 16. He had a run-scoring double and a three-run homer in a 6-0 Mets victory over the Giants on August 20 at Shea. Art had three singles, a homer and four runs scored in the Mets’ 5-3 and 6-1 wins over the Pirates in a doubleheader at Shea on September 21. He also drove in the winning run with a single in the 12th inning for a 6-5 Mets triumph at Chicago on October 1.
Shamsky had an outstanding League Championship Series in 1969. He batted .538 (7-for-13) in the Mets' three game Series sweep over the Atlanta Braves. In the World Series, Art was in the Mets' starting lineup on his 28th birthday for Game 3 against the Baltimore Orioles. It was the only Series start of his career.
Shamsky had 118 hits in 1970. He had 48 runs scored and 49 RBIs for the year. In the season opener at Pittsburgh on April 7, Art had a run-scoring single and a double in the Mets’ 5-3 win over the Pirates in 11 innings. He singled, doubled, homered and drove in three runs in a 14-5 Mets victory over the Giants on May 9 at Shea. Shamsky hit a two-run homer for all the scoring in a 2-0 Mets win at Houston on June 8. He singled twice and scored a run in a 4-3 Mets triumph over the Cardinals on July 7 at Shea. Art singled home the tying run during a ninth-inning comeback that resulted in a 5-4 Mets victory over the Reds in the first game of a doubleheader at Shea on August 23. He also had a run-scoring triple in a 4-3 Mets win in 12 innings at St. Louis on September 1.
In 1971, Shamsky appeared in 68 games. He had 25 hits for 50 total bases for the season. Art had an RBI single in a 5-2 Mets win at Cincinnati on April 21. At San Diego on May 29, he drove in both of the Mets’ runs with a homer and a double in the team’s 2-1 victory that completed a doubleheader sweep over the Padres. Shamsky hit a two-run homer in a 7-6 Mets triumph over the Phillies in the first game of a doubleheader on June 20 at Shea. He also had a run-scoring single in the Mets’ 4-2 win over the Padres at Shea on August 22.
Following the '71 season, Shamsky was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in an eight-player deal. He was released by St. Louis just before the start of the 1972 season, but spent time with the Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics during the year. Art was released by Oakland in July, ending his career.
Shamsky later became a sports reporter for WNEW-TV (Channel 5) in New York. He also served as a broadcaster for Mets games on the SportsChannel cable television station in 1980 and 1981.
In 2007, Shamsky managed the Modi'in Miracles in the first (and only) season of the Israel Baseball League. Like the Mets, the Miracles' uniform colors were blue and orange. The Miracles were defeated in the league's only championship game.
