Jeffrey Lee Shaw (born July 7, 1966) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

(AL), and the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

, and

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL), during a 12-year career from 1990 to 2001. He is the father of MLB

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

Travis Shaw Travis Richard Shaw (born April 16, 1990) is an American professional baseball infielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers and Toronto Blue Jays—his nickname is Mayor o ...

Amateur career

Shaw started his baseball career at Washington Senior High School, located in

Washington Court House, Ohio Washington Court House (often abbreviated as Washington C.H.) is a city in Union Township, Fayette County, Ohio. It is the county seat of Fayette County and is located between Cincinnati and Columbus. The population grew almost 1.5% from 2010 to ...

. While he was enrolled at the

University of Rio Grande The University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College (originally Rio Grande College) is a private university and public community college merged into one institution in Rio Grande, Ohio. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commissio ...

, he attended a tryout camp for the

during the summer of 1985, where he received little attention. He and his mother then drove to

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

to try out with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

at the home field of New York's Triple-A affiliate, the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

. He drew the interest of scouts by upping the speed on his fastball from to while he played in a

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a consid ...

league in Washington Court House. Shaw played for Cuyahoga Community College-West, but transferred to

Cuyahoga Community College Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) is a public community college in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Founded in 1963, it is the oldest and largest public community college within the state. Tri-C schedules on the semester basis, and offers over 1,000 co ...

to be eligible for the draft. Shaw was selected by the

with the first pick of the opening round of the January 1986 amateur draft, signing on May 11, 1986.

Professional career

Shaw first pitched professionally during 1986 for the Batavia Trojans, a

Class A Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

affiliate of Cleveland. He rose through their

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

, reaching Double-A in 1988 with the

Williamsport Bills The Williamsport Bills were a Class AA Eastern League baseball affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, and New York Mets from 1987 to 1991 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania in the United States. They played their games in Bowman Field, ...

and Triple-A in 1990 with the

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockie ...

. Shaw made his major-league debut on April 30, 1990. He played three seasons with Cleveland, then became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. In November 1992, Shaw signed with the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

, who traded him the following month to the

in a multi-player deal. Shaw then played for Montreal during the 1993–1995 seasons. In August 1995, Montreal traded Shaw to the

in exchange for pitcher

José DeLeón José DeLeón Chestaro (born December 20, 1960) is a Dominican former professional baseball right-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phill ...

. After finishing the season with the White Sox, Shaw again became a free agent. In January 1996, Shaw signed with the

, allowing him to commute to the ballpark from his home in Washington Court House. He played for the Reds until July 1998, when he was traded to the

. Shaw played another three seasons before retiring; his final MLB appearance was on October 6, 2001.

Trade to the Dodgers

On July 4, 1998, the Reds traded Shaw to the Dodgers for

Paul Konerko Paul Henry Konerko (; born March 5, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman from 1997 to 2014, most prominently as a member of the Chicago White Sox, where he was a si ...

and

Dennys Reyes Dennys Reyes (; born April 19, 1977) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. In more than a decade-long career in Major League Baseball (MLB), he played for 11 different teams, often as a left-handed specialist. Nicknamed "The Big Swe ...

. This trade was not what Shaw wanted. He had signed a three-year extension (to begin in 1999) with the Reds after the 1997 season. Though he could have negotiated for a higher rate elsewhere, he was willing to sign a contract with the Reds at a discount since he could live at his home in Washington Court House. Shaw's agent stated they asked Reds general manager Jim Bowden for a

no-trade clause In professional sports within the United States and Canada, a trade is a sports league transaction between sports clubs involving the exchange of player rights from one team to another. Though player rights are the primary trading assets, draft p ...

, but he would not agree to one. Shaw was asked during a Reds game to leave the dugout to take a call from Bowden, and was told he was being traded. Learning it was to the Dodgers, Shaw said it was "the farthest place from Washington Court House." Because Shaw had so recently signed a long-term contract, he was entitled to ask for a trade. To keep Shaw, Dodgers general manager

Kevin Malone Kevin Malone is a fictional character in the American television series ''The Office (US TV series), The Office''. He is portrayed by Brian Baumgartner. Kevin's counterpart in the The Office (UK TV series), UK TV series is Keith Bishop, who sha ...

ended up spending more than he bargained for, signing Shaw to a three-year, $15 million contract making him the second-highest paid closer in the league. Shaw's wife and children subsequently moved out to California with him.

Career summary

Shaw received many accolades and awards during his career. In 1997, he won the

Rolaids Relief Man Award The Rolaids Relief Man Award was an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given from 1976 to 2012 to the top relief pitchers of the regular season, one in the American League (AL) and one in the National League (NL). Relief pitchers enter th ...

for the

, as he led the league with 42 saves and recorded a 2.38

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA). He was also selected to the National League All-Star team twice, once in 1998 and again in 2001. He was selected in 1998 as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, but was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the beginning of the All-Star break, thus his first game he pitched as a Dodger was in the 1998 All-Star Game. Shaw featured a

split-finger fastball A split-finger fastball or splitter is an off-speed pitch in baseball that looks to the batter like a fastball until it drops suddenly. Derived from the forkball, it is so named because the pitcher puts the index and middle finger on different ...

as his strikeout pitch.

Family

Shaw is married with three children. His son,

, also became an MLB player.

References

External links

, o
Pura Pelota (Venezuela)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Jeff 1966 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Ohio Batavia Trojans players Canton-Akron Indians players Chicago White Sox players Cincinnati Reds players Cleveland Indians players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Montreal Expos players National League All-Stars National League saves champions Ottawa Lynx players People from Washington Court House, Ohio Rio Grande RedStorm baseball players Tri-C Triceratops baseball players University of Rio Grande alumni Waterloo Indians players Williamsport Bills players