Abstract: A short stroke shift lever device that is capable of shifting gears within a small space by a ratchet-like mechanism. When a pivotally mounted shift lever is moved from an intermediate portion of a shift groove to a front end or rear end of the shift groove with a pin of a ball shaft coming into a hole of a control plate, the ball shaft rotates via the joint toward the front side or rear side and the control plate rotates around the shaft; subsequently, a protrusion comes into a groove adjacent to the groove into which the protrusion had come until then, and the shift position of an automatic transmission is changed one step. By repeating a pivotal movement of the shift lever, the gear of the automatic transmission may be changed to any position. The device reduces the amount of space required for installation of the shift lever.