New York baseball legend Mel Stottlemyre, a five-time All Star and five-time World Series Champion who was known as much for his coaching abilities as he was for his prowess on the mound, passed away on January 13, 2019, following a lengthy battle with multiple myeloma. He was 77 years old.

Stottlemyre was raised in the small town of Mabton, Washington, located southeast of Seattle; after being scouted out of Yakima Valley Community College, he signed for the New York Yankees in 1961 and was assigned to the Harlan Smokies of the Appalachian League. He soon made his way up the ranks of the Minor Leagues, and in the 1964 season for the Richmond Virginians, Stottlemyre posted a 1.42 ERA – the best in the International League. Stottlemyre was called up that year, making his MLB debut on August 12, 1964. He’d go on to post a 9-3 record to help the Yankees snag their fifth consecutive pennant. In that World Series, Stottlemyre faced off against Bob Gibson of the Cardinals three times, besting him once, earning a no decision, but then dropping the decisive Game 7.

The following season he led the American League with 18 complete games, 291 innings pitched, and 1,188 batters faced, and more importantly, winning 20 games for New York. He was named for the AL roster for the ’65 All Star Game, though he didn’t appear in the contest. That same year, Stottlemyre (known as a good hitting pitcher) knocked in a rare inside-the-park grand slam.

In both ’68 and ’69, Stottlemyre again won 20 games; between 1971 and 1973, he tossed a cool 18 shutouts. Over the course of his playing career, he’d throw a total of 40 shutout complete games. His last MLB appearance as a player was in August of 1974.

Just a few years after retiring from pitching, Stottlemyre joined the Seattle Mariners as a roving instructor, in 1977. After a few years in that position, the New York Mets hired him as their pitching coach, a role in which he’d serve for a decade (including the 1986 World Series Champion team). He also served a quick two years for the Houston Astros before being hired for the Yankees coaching staff in 1996. The pitching staff that he helped lead would go on to be a key factor in New York’s dominating run of picking up four rings in five years. The staff, under Stottlemyre, maintained an ERA average of just 4.23 for the 10 seasons he spent with them. After one final season as a pitching coach – in 2008, for the Mariners – he retired from baseball entirely.

Two of Stottlemyre’s sons, Todd and Mel Jr., went on to follow in their father’s footsteps, both becoming MLB pitchers. Stottlemyre was first diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2000, and though it went into remission, it returned in 2011. Stottlemyre and his family were open supporters of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation for many years.

Stottlemyre was enshrined in Monument Park by the Yankees in 2015 as part of their Old Timers Day.

“Today in this stadium, there is no one that’s happier to be on this field than myself,” Stottlemyre said during his speech. “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 Old Timers Day, I will take these memories and I’ll start another baseball club, coaching up there, wherever they need me.”