- Ray Shore
Raymond Everett Shore (
June 9 ,1921 —August 13 ,1996 ), nicknamed "Snacks," was an Americanpitcher , coach and scout inMajor League Baseball . A native ofCincinnati, Ohio , Shore threw and batted right-handed, stood 6'3" (191 cm) tall and weighed 230 pounds (104 kg).Shore broke into professional baseball as a
catcher beforeWorld War II , but by the time he mustered out of military service in 1946, he had converted to pitching. While his major league pitching career was ordinary — he appeared in 31 games over parts of three seasons (by|1946; by|1948-by|1949) with the St. Louis Browns, winning one of four decisions and compiling anearned run average of 8.27 in 62⅓ innings pitched — Shore would become a stellarrelief pitcher with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the Triple-AInternational League during the 1950s. However, by the end of the 1957 season, Shore's active career was over. He was out of the game for three seasons.In by|1961,
Bill DeWitt , who was the owner and general manager of the Browns when Shore pitched there, assumed the same positions with Shore's hometownCincinnati Reds . DeWitt hired Shore as the Reds' batting practice pitcher in by|1961-by|1962, then promoted him to a full-time coaching position, which Shore held from by|1963 through by|1967.In by|1968, Shore became the Reds' "superscout," serving as both the advance scout analyzing upcoming opponents and as a special assignment scout asked to evaluate playing talent at the major league level. He became one of the most respected scouts of this kind in baseball, advising then-Cincinnati general manager
Bob Howsam on a series of trades — including the deal that netted eventualBaseball Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan from theHouston Astros — that helped Cincinnati win fourNational League pennants andWorld Series titles in 1975 and 1976. After Shore switched allegiances to thePhiladelphia Phillies , his scouting reports helped the Phils win three NL pennants and the1980 World Series .Shore was still scouting for the Phillies when he died, at age 75, during a scouting trip to St. Louis in 1996.
External links
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/shorera01.shtml Playing record]
References
* Duxbury, John, and Kachline, Clifford, eds., "The Baseball Register, 1967 edition." St. Louis:
The Sporting News , 1967.
* Obituary from theCincinnati Post , August 14, 1996.
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