Steven Francis Shea (December 5, 1942 – March 4, 2015) was a

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 ...

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), ...

who played from 1968 to 1969 for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

and

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 ...

. Listed at , , he batted and threw right handed. Born in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, Shea grew up in

Bedford, Massachusetts Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population of Bedford was 14,383 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. History ''The following compilation comes from Ellen Abrams (1999) based on information ...

. He attended the

University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medica ...

Amherst Amherst may refer to: People * Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name * Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst'' * Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...

. Shea was signed by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

as a free agent in 1961, playing in their

Minor League Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

system from 1962 through 1964. Following his release, he signed with Houston in 1965 and pitched three solid seasons in the minors before joining the Astros in 1968. He gained credit for the victory in his first Major League appearance, pitching 1 perfect innings against the

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 ...

in a 5–4, 10-inning game. After that, Shea was sold to the expansion Expos on the eve of their maiden 1969 season. He worked in the Expos' second-ever contest, a 9–5 loss to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, pitching of shutout ball, but did not factor into the decision. Shea finished with a good 2.87 ERA and did not have a decision in ten relief appearances. He was sent to the Triple-A

Vancouver Mounties The Vancouver Mounties were a high-level minor league baseball club based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1956– 62 and – 69. Its home field was Capilano Stadium. During the Mounties' first tw ...

in the midseason and finished his professional career as a pitcher/manager for the Triple-A

Winnipeg Whips The Winnipeg Whips were a professional Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A minor league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that played in the International League from 1970 to 1971. The team was affiliated with the Montreal Expos of Ma ...

in 1971. Overall, Shea posted a 4–4 record with a 3.22 ERA and six saves in 40 pitching appearances for Houston and Montreal,

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

26 batters while

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults o ...

19 in 50 innings of work. He went 34–42 with a 3.95 ERA in nine Minor League seasons spanning 1962–1971. In between, Shea played winter ball for the

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...

club of the

Venezuelan League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

in the 1969–1970 season.Pura Pelota – 1969–1970 Statistics
/ref> Besides baseball, Shea earned an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

and worked in executive banking for more than 20 years before retiring as president and chief executive officer of Rockingham Bank Corp in 1997. The next year, he joined the Central Asian-American Enterprise Fund and began his mission to help to transform the lives of individuals and their countries. In addition, Shea was a creator of the Central Asia-American Education Foundation and served as president and board member for the rest of his life. Through his efforts, hundreds of students from Central Asia received a business or economics education and many more will in the future. Shea died in 2015 in

North Hampton, New Hampshire North Hampton is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,538 at the 2020 census. While the majority of the town is inland, North Hampton includes a part of New Hampshire's limited Atlantic seacoast. History ...

, at the age of 72.

Sources

External links

RetrosheetSteve Shea
at Baseball Gauge
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shea, Steve 1942 births 2015 deaths People from North Hampton, New Hampshire Sportspeople from Rockingham County, New Hampshire Baseball players from Worcester, Massachusetts American expatriate baseball players in Canada UMass Minutemen baseball players Amarillo Sonics players Boston College alumni Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cocoa Astros players Houston Astros players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball pitchers Minor league baseball managers Montreal Expos players Newton-Conover Twins players Oklahoma City 89ers players Palatka Cubs players Ricker College alumni St. Cloud Rox players Vancouver Mounties players Winnipeg Whips players