By WFAN.com
The baseball world came together on Monday to remember Mel Stottlemyre after the Yankee great passed away on Sunday following a long battle with bone marrow cancer.
Stottlemyre pitched for the Yankees from 1964-74. In that time, he went 164-139 with a 2.97 ERA and 1,257 strikeouts. He was a 20-game winner three times during his career.
The Washington native also found success as a pitching coach. He won four World Series rings while on the Yankees' staff from 1996-2005, and also won a world title as the pitching coach for the 1986 Mets.
Some of the pitching greats he mentored include Doc Gooden, Ron Darling, Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens and Mariano Rivera. Stottlemyre also spent time as the pitching coach for the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners.
Mike Francesa began his show on Monday afternoon by paying tribute to Stottlemyre.
"There were two Yankees, in modern time, who were born at the wrong time," said Francesa. "Mel Stottlemyre was born just a little too late. He missed the dynasty that would have propelled him to a hall of fame career ... Mel Stottlemyre came up in the first pennant race that I remember every day. The 1964 pennant race, the last great pennant race of the Yankee dynasty, the aging Yankee dynasty, which was beginning to crumble before our eyes. This was Mantle's last great year, he should've been the MVP. They were in a three-team chase with the Orioles and the White Sox, and they made two pivotal moves down the stretch. One was getting Pedro Ramos in the bullpen, the other one was reaching into their farm system and bringing up a pitcher who went 9-3 in his rookie season ... and wound up going 1-1 in the World Series that year."
He was obviously a tremendous player, but many of the tributes to Stottlemyre have also touched on just how good of a person he was. Joe Torre called him a "role model to us all and the toughest man I have ever met."
Francesa agreed that Stottlemyre was one of the great gentlemen in baseball history.
"For Met fans, and especially Yankee fans, and for baseball fans everywhere, there's a little sadness today because this was one of the classic gentlemen that the game of baseball produces, and someone that was a very important part of the city for a very long time. May he rest in peace."
Listen to Mike's full tribute to Mel Stottlemyre above.
