Ronald Wayne Shepherd (born October 27, 1960) 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 ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

. The former

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

played part of three seasons 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), ...

, from 1984 until 1986, for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

; his pro career lasted 15 years (1979–93), including four years in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. The native of

Longview, Texas Longview is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, and county seat of Gregg County, Texas, Gregg County; a small part of Longview extends into the western portion of neighboring Harrison County, Texas, Harrison County. Longview is located in East Tex ...

, stood tall, weighed , and threw and batted

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

Career

Shepherd was selected by Toronto in the second round of the 1979 Major League Baseball Draft out of

Kilgore High School Kilgore High School is a public high school located in the city of Kilgore, Texas, in Gregg County, United States and classified as a 4A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Kilgore Independent School District located in southwest Gregg Count ...

. During the closing month of the 1984 season, the Blue Jays recalled Shepherd from the Triple-A

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

, and during his big league debut he appeared in 12

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

, nine as a

pinch runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...

. He was hitless in four

plate appearances In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

. He split 1985 between Toronto and Syracuse, and got into 38 games with the Blue Jays, but made only four hits in 35

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

. Then, in 1986, he was recalled from Syracuse in late May and spent the last four months of the season on the Toronto roster. He collected 14 hits in 69 at bats, for a .203

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, with four doubles and his only two MLB

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

. In 115 major league games, Shepherd had only 114 plate appearances, highlighted his extensive use as a

. He scored 23 runs, stole three bases (with one

caught stealing In baseball, a runner is charged, and the fielders involved are credited, with a time caught stealing when the runner attempts to advance or lead off from one base to another without the ball being batted and then is tagged out by a fielder whil ...

), and had 18 total hits. He walked five times, and had 37

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

Sources

, o
RetrosheetPelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd, Ron 1960 births Living people African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Texas Bravos de León players Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Indianapolis Indians players Kinston Eagles players Knoxville Blue Jays players Leones de Yucatán players Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball outfielders Medicine Hat Blue Jays players Sportspeople from Longview, Texas Petroleros de Minatitlán players Sultanes de Monterrey players Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Blue Jays players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople