Rollie Sheldon, two-time World Series-winning Yankees pitcher, dead at 89

Rollie Sheldon, a two-time World Series champion pitcher with the Yankees, has died, the team announced Wednesday.He was 89.According to an online obituary, he died in Lee’s Summit, Mo., on Aug.

31.No cause of death was given.“The Yankees mourn the passing of Rollie Sheldon and extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends and loved ones,” the Yankees said in a statement on social media.A Putnam, Conn., native, Sheldon served in the United States Air Force before spending time at Texas A&M and UConn.

With the Huskies, Sheldon was an athlete on the baseball and basketball teams.The right-hander signed with the Yankees before the 1960 season — with a scout believing he was 20 when he was in fact 23 — and flourished in the New York Penn League with a 15-1 record and a 2.88 ERA.“If [scout Henry Hesse] thought I was 20,” Sheldon continued, “I wouldn’t say anything because I didn’t want to blow this opportunity to play pro ball.

I interrupted my parents’ ‘coffee break’ and asked them to sign for me,” Sheldon said of his signing, according to the Society for American Baseball Research.“They knew I had always wanted to play pro ball but were surprised I would sign with the Yanks when I was a Red Sox fan…I believe anyone would have done the same thing…keep quiet.”Sheldon was summoned to The Bronx in 1961, pitching to the tune of an 11-5 record with a 3.60 ERA over 35 games (21 starts).

He also completed two shutouts, the most he’d ever throw in a season during his five years in the big leagues.He was on Yankees teams that won back-to-back World Series crowns in 1961 and ’62, but did not pitch in either series.Sheldon did, however, pitch 2 2/3 scoreless innings in 1964 when the Yankees fell to the Cardinals in the Fall Classic.Over three-plus seasons with the Yankees, Sheldon held a 23-15 record with a 4.14 ERA and 202 strikeouts over 389 1/3 innings.Being able to play for the Yankees, even for someone who had grown up ...