View source for Joe Schultz Jr.

{{Short description|American baseball player, coach, and manager (1918–1996)}}
{{For|the baseball outfielder|Joe Schultz (outfielder)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Joe Schultz Jr.
|image=Joe Schultz Jr. (coach) - St. Louis Cardinals - 1965.jpg
|caption=Schultz Jr. in 1965
|position=[[Catcher]] / [[Coach (baseball)|Coach]] / [[Manager (baseball)|Manager]]
|birth_date={{Birth date|1918|8|29}}
|birth_place=[[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|1996|1|10|1918|8|29}}
|death_place=[[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], U.S.
|bats=Left
|throws=Right
|debutleague=MLB
|debutdate=September 27
|debutyear=1939
|debutteam=Pittsburgh Pirates
|finalleague=MLB
|finaldate=September 23
|finalyear=1948
|finalteam=St. Louis Browns
|statleague=MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.259
|stat2label=[[Home run]]s
|stat2value=1
|stat3label=[[Runs batted in]]
|stat3value=46
|stat4label=Managerial record
|stat4value=78–112
|stat5label=[[Winning %]]
|stat5value={{Winning percentage|78|112}}
|teams=
'''As player'''
* [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] ({{mlby|1939}}–{{mlby|1941}})
* [[St. Louis Browns]] ({{mlby|1943}}–{{mlby|1948}})
'''As manager'''
* [[Seattle Pilots]] ({{mlby|1969}})
* [[Detroit Tigers]] ({{mlby|1973}})
'''As coach'''
* [[St. Louis Browns]] ({{mlby|1949}})
* [[St. Louis Cardinals]] ({{mlby|1963}}–{{mlby|1968}})
* [[Kansas City Royals]] ({{mlby|1970}})
* [[Detroit Tigers]] ({{mlby|1971}}–{{mlby|1976}})
|highlights=
*2× [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1964}}, {{wsy|1967}})
}}
'''Joseph Charles Schultz Jr.''' (August 29, 1918 – January 10, 1996) was an American [[Major League Baseball]] [[catcher]], [[coach (baseball)|coach]], and [[manager (baseball)|manager]].<ref name="retrosheet">{{cite web |title=Joe Schultz's career statistics |url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/S/Pschuj103.htm |access-date=April 9, 2009 |website=[[Retrosheet]]}}</ref> Schultz was the first and only manager for the [[Seattle Pilots]] franchise during their lone season before they became the [[Milwaukee Brewers]].<ref name="1969seattle">{{cite web |title=1969 Seattle Pilots team statistics |url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1969/TSE101969.htm |access-date=April 9, 2009 |website=[[Retrosheet]]}}</ref> Seattle entered the [[American League]] as an expansion franchise in [[1969 Seattle Pilots season|1969]], and moved to [[Wisconsin]] shortly before the [[1970 Milwaukee Brewers season|following season]].<ref name="brewersfranchise">{{cite web |title=Milwaukee Brewers franchise |url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/M/FR_MIL.htm |access-date=April 9, 2009 |website=[[Retrosheet]]}}</ref>

==Playing career==
Born in [[Chicago]], he was the son of a major league [[baseball player]]—[[Joe Schultz (outfielder)|Joe (Germany) Schultz]], an [[outfielder]] who played for seven of the eight [[National League (baseball)|National League]] clubs (1912–16; 1919–25) and who later became a manager in the [[St. Louis Cardinals]]' extensive [[farm system]]. In 1932, at age&nbsp;13, Joe Jr. appeared in his first professional game, as a [[pinch hitter]] for the [[Houston Buffaloes]] of the Class A [[Texas League]]; the elder Schultz was managing Houston and Joe Jr. was serving as the Buffaloes' [[batboy]] that season.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Weiss |first1=Bill |last2=Wright |first2=Marshall |title=TEAM #42 1931 HOUSTON BUFFALOES (108-51) |url=http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/history/top100.jsp?idx=42 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113055743/http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/history/top100.jsp?idx=42 |archive-date=January 13, 2008 |website=[[Minor League Baseball]]}}</ref>

Joe Jr. batted left-handed and threw right-handed; he was listed as {{convert|5|ft|11|in}} tall and {{convert|180|lb}}. He had a distinguished prep career at [[St. Louis University High School]] and signed his first contract with the Cardinals in 1936, but was drafted by the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]], where his father had become minor league director, after the 1939 season. After appearing in only 22 [[games played|games]] for Pittsburgh between 1939 and 1941, Schultz made his way back to St. Louis with the [[Baltimore Orioles|Browns]] of the [[American League]], where he spent six seasons (1943–48) as a backup catcher and [[pinch hitter]]. In 328 major-league [[at bat]]s over all or parts of nine MLB seasons, Schultz [[batting average (baseball)|batted]] .259 with 85 [[hit (baseball)|hits]], 13 [[double (baseball)|doubles]] and one [[home run]], struck as a pinch hitter against [[Pete Gebrian]] of the [[Chicago White Sox]] at [[Comiskey Park]] on August 11, 1947.<ref name="retrosheet" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 11, 1947 |title=Retrosheet Boxscore: Chicago White Sox 5, St. Louis Browns 2 (1) |url=https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1947/B08111CHA1947.htm |access-date= |website=[[Retrosheet]]}}</ref>

==Coach for Browns and Cardinals==
In 1949, Schultz served as a coach with the Browns, and then he managed in the [[minor leagues]] from 1950 to 1962, returning to the Cardinals' organization in 1958.

He became a Cardinals coach in 1963 and worked with three National League pennant winners (1964, 1967 and 1968), and two world championship clubs (1964, 1967) through 1968.

==Manager for Seattle Pilots==
The success of the Cardinals led to Schultz's 1969 opportunity with the Pilots. Although they were badly outdrafted by their fellow expansion team, the [[Kansas City Royals]], during the player selection lottery, Schultz and general manager [[Marvin Milkes]] actually thought the Pilots would finish third in the newly formed [[American League West]].  Indeed, Schultz managed to keep his patchwork team within striking distance of .500 for most of the early part of the season. However, a 9–20 July effectively ended any chance at respectability, and the Pilots finished last in the new West, with a mark of {{nowrap|64–98 ({{winning percentage|64|98}}).}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Joe Schultz Managerial Record |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/schuljo05.shtml |access-date=March 16, 2023 |website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]] |language=en}}</ref>

However, it can be argued that Schultz's efforts were hamstrung by the Pilots' off-the-field problems. They played at [[Sick's Stadium]], an aging minor league park that was clearly inadequate even as a temporary facility. The Pilots were also plagued by an unstable, undercapitalized ownership; they were nearly broke by the end of the season.

Schultz was relieved of his duties as manager in mid-November,<ref name="pfschz">{{cite news |date=November 19, 1969 |title=Pilots fire Schultz, seek another manager |page=11 |newspaper=[[The Bulletin (Bend)|The Bulletin]] |agency=[[United Press International|UPI]] |location=Bend, Oregon |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zChYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HvcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2578%2C5898743 |via=[[Google News]]}}</ref><ref name="spfjsc">{{cite news |date=November 20, 1969 |title=Seattle Pilots fire Joe Schultz |page=16 |newspaper=[[Lewiston Morning Tribune]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |location=Idaho |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xoFfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dDAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3322%2C3458567 |via=[[Google News]]}}</ref> and was replaced by [[Dave Bristol]] as the team struggled in limbo during the 1969–70 offseason.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 25, 1969 |title=Bristol Is Selected Over Martin as Manager of Pilots; NEW LEADER GETS MULTI-YEAR PACT Salary Terms Not Revealed for Ex-Manager of Reds, Who Replaces Schultz |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/11/25/archives/bristol-is-selected-over-martin-as-manager-of-pilots-new-leader.html |access-date=March 16, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Only weeks before the 1970 season opener, the Pilots were purchased by a group headed by [[Bud Selig]] and transferred to Milwaukee, where they have remained since.

The Pilots' year of existence was immortalized in ''[[Ball Four]]'', the best-selling, controversial memoir of the 1969 season by Seattle [[pitcher]] [[Jim Bouton]] that was published in 1970. Bouton tells humorous anecdotes about Schultz and some of the motivational speeches he gave to the Pilots. According to Bouton, Schultz's speeches were heavily laced with profanity, even with some original curses (his favorites being the seemingly interchangeable and used for all occasions: "''shitfuck''" and "''fuckshit''"). The author claims that Schultz was well liked by his team, but some of his choices were questioned by the players. In a May 28 game against the [[Baltimore Orioles]], he accidentally gave the umpire the wrong lineup card, which came to backfire when opposing manager [[Earl Weaver]] noticed they were batting out of order.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bouton |first=Jim |author-link= |date= September 2000|title= Ball Four: The Final Pitch |url= |location= |publisher=Sports Publishing |page=186|isbn=1-58261-310-9}}</ref> In a later anthology on managers Bouton edited, ''[[I Managed Good, But Boy Did They Play Bad]]'', Bouton noted Schultz's sense of humor and added that, given the circumstances of the last-place team, "I couldn't have had a better manager than Joe Schultz."

==Remainder of career==
Schultz coached with the [[1970 Kansas City Royals season|Royals]] (1970) and the [[Detroit Tigers]] (1971–76) before leaving baseball.

After [[Billy Martin]] was fired with 28 games left in the 1973 season, Schultz took over as interim manager for Detroit for the rest of the way, compiling a mark of 14–14.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 3, 1973 |title=Tigers Dismiss Martin For 'Policy' Infractions |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |agency=[[United Press International|UPI]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/09/03/archives/tigers-dismiss-martin-for-policy-infractions-foul-line-to-foul-line.html |access-date=March 16, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Joe Schultz Managerial Record |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/schuljo05.shtml |access-date=March 16, 2023 |website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]] |language=en}}</ref> Counting his interim stint with the Tigers, he had a career record of 78–112 (.411) as a major league skipper.<ref name=":0" /> Apart from that assignment, Schultz never managed in the majors again after the Pilots collapsed.

==Death==
Schultz died in [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], at the age of 77, and is interred at [[Calvary Cemetery (St. Louis)|Calvary Cemetery]] in St. Louis.<ref name=retrosheet/>

==See also==
{{Portal|Baseball}}
* [[List of second-generation Major League Baseball players]]
* [[List of St. Louis Cardinals coaches]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Baseballstats|br=s/schuljo05}}
*{{Find a Grave}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-sports}}
{{succession box | title=[[St. Louis Cardinals]] [[coach (baseball)|first-base coach]] | before=[[Harry Walker]] | years=1963–1964 | after=[[Mickey Vernon]]}}
{{succession box | title=[[St. Louis Cardinals]] [[coach (baseball)|third-base coach]] | before=[[Vern Benson]] | years=1965–1968 | after=[[George Kissell]]}}
{{succession box | title=[[Kansas City Royals]] [[coach (baseball)|third-base coach]] | before=[[Jo-Jo White]] | years=1970 | after=[[George Strickland (baseball)|George Strickland]]}}
{{succession box | title=[[Detroit Tigers]] [[coach (baseball)|third-base coach]] | before=[[Grover Resinger]] | years=1971–1976 | after=[[Fred Hatfield]]}}

{{s-end}}

{{1964 St. Louis Cardinals}}
{{1967 St. Louis Cardinals}}
{{Milwaukee Brewers managers}}
{{Detroit Tigers managers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schultz, Joe Jr.}}
[[Category:1918 births]]
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