Bob Scheffing, whose five-year tenure as general manager of the New York Mets included a pennant-winning team in 1973, died Saturday at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. He was 70 years old.

Scheffing joined the Mets in 1965, after a 10th-place finish, as director of player development. He helped in the grooming of such young pitchers as Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Jerry Koosman, Gary Gentry and Jon Matlack. Those talented pitching arms helped carry the Mets to a National League pennant and victory over the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series of 1969 and to the pennant again four years later.

Scheffing rose to the general manager's position in 1970, three months after the death of Johnny Murphy. As the chief baseball man in the Met front office, he negotiated contracts with many of the young stars in whose development he had played an important part. Following the death of Manager Gil Hodges in the spring of 1972, Scheffing assisted in the selection of Yogi Berra as the new manager.

He retired as general manager in 1975, but continued to serve the Mets as a consultant and trouble-shooter from his home in Scottsdale.

Robert Boden Scheffing, who was born on Aug. 11, 1915, in Overland, Mo., began his professional baseball career in 1935 as a minor league catcher and did not reach the major league level until 1941, when he was called up by the Chicago Cubs. After three years of military service during World War II, he played with the Cubs until 1950 and ended his catching career with the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1951. The right-handed batter's career average for 517 major league games was .263.

He managed Los Angeles of the Pacific Coast League in 1955 and 1956 before returning in 1957 to the Cubs, whom he managed for three years as a second-division team. He enjoyed more success with the Detroit Tigers in 1961, as his team won 101 games, finishing second by eight games to the Yankees. Scheffing was named the American League's manager of the year, but in 1962 Detroit dropped to fourth place and Scheffing was dismissed after 60 games of the 1963 season with the Tigers in ninth place.

He remained with the Detroit organization as an announcer and then as a special-assignment scout until taking the job a director of player development with the Mets.

Robert Scheffing (1913)