American baseball player (born 1980)
Baseball player
Kelly Brian Shoppach
(pronounced SHOP-ick; born April 29, 1980) is an American former professional
baseball
catcher
. He played in
Major League Baseball
(MLB) for the
Boston Red Sox
,
Cleveland Indians
,
Tampa Bay Rays
,
New York Mets
,
Seattle Mariners
and
Pittsburgh Pirates
.
High school career
[
edit
]
Shoppach attended
Brewer High School
in
White Settlement, Texas
, and was a student and a letterman in baseball and football. In football, he played quarterback, running back and linebacker, was a three-time all-district selection and as a senior, he was named the district's most valuable player.
College career
[
edit
]
Shoppach attended
Baylor University
, where he played three seasons of
college baseball
for the
Baylor Bears baseball
team. For the Bears, he hit .333 (168-for-505) with 26 home runs and 121 RBIs. He recorded a .993 career
fielding percentage
, with seven
errors
in 953
total chances
. In 2000, he played
collegiate summer baseball
with the
Harwich Mariners
of the
Cape Cod Baseball League
.
[1]
[2]
Shoppach began his junior season in 2001 by being named the
Most Outstanding Player
of the
Houston College Classic
.
[3]
He hit .397 with 12 home runs and 61 RBIs in 69 games for the season. He also posted a .998 fielding percentage with only one error in 406 chances. After the season, Shoppach received the
Johnny Bench Award
as the nation's top collegiate catcher.
[
citation needed
]
In addition to being selected "Big 12 Player of the Year", Shoppach was named First Team All-America in 2001 by
Baseball America
,
Baseball Weekly
,
Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball
and the
National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
.
Career
[
edit
]
Boston Red Sox
[
edit
]
The
Boston Red Sox
selected Shoppach in the second round of the
2001 Major League Baseball Draft
. In
2004
, playing for the
Pawtucket Red Sox
in the
Class AAA
International League
, Shoppach appeared in a career-best 101
games
behind the plate for Pawtucket and threw out 35 of 101 potential
base stealers
(34.7 percent) on his way to a spot on the International League's end-of-season All-Star Team. He also set a single-season home run record for Pawtucket catchers with 21 and also hit one as a
designated hitter
. His 22 homers matched his previous career total over two years and 208 games. Shoppach added career bests with 62
runs
scored and a .461
slugging percentage
.47 of his 93
hits
(51 percent) went for
extra bases
.
[4]
On May 26,
2005
, Shoppach was recalled from Pawtucket. He was hitless in 15 at-bats with seven strikeouts.
[5]
Cleveland Indians
[
edit
]
On January 27, 2006, Shoppach was traded from the Red Sox to the
Cleveland Indians
, along with
third base
prospect
Andy Marte
,
pitcher
Guillermo Mota
, a
player to be named later
, and cash considerations. The Indians in turn sent
outfielder
Coco Crisp
, catcher
Josh Bard
, and pitcher
David Riske
to the Red Sox.
[6]
The Indians received minor league pitcher Randy Newsom from the Red Sox to complete the trade.
[7]
He did better in 2006 after the trade. He went 27 for 110.
[5]
On June 26, 2007, Shoppach hit a pinch-hit three-run
walk-off home run
to defeat the
Oakland Athletics
8?5.
On July 30, 2008, Shoppach became the second American League player in history, and eighth player overall in
Major League Baseball
, to record five extra-base hits in a game. He had three doubles and two home runs (including a game-tying HR in the ninth inning) against the
Detroit Tigers
. He came to bat twice in extra innings with a chance to get a sixth extra-base hit, but he was intentionally walked in the 10th and struck out in the 12th inning. The Indians lost, 14?12, in 13 innings.
On April 16, 2009, Shoppach drove in the first-ever run at the new Yankee Stadium, his fourth-inning double driving in
Ben Francisco
.
Tampa Bay Rays
[
edit
]
On December 1, 2009, Shoppach was traded from the
Cleveland Indians
to the
Tampa Bay Rays
for pitcher
Mitch Talbot
.
[8]
On July 26, 2010, Shoppach caught a no hitter thrown by
Matt Garza
of the Tampa Bay Rays.
In the 2011 offseason the Rays signed former Red Sox teammates
Manny Ramirez
and
Johnny Damon
.
On September 30, 2011, Shoppach, in the first game of the
2011 American League Division Series
against the
Texas Rangers
, hit two home runs, accounting for 5 RBIs.
Return to Red Sox
[
edit
]
On December 13, 2011, Shoppach signed a 1-year, $1.35 million contract with the Red Sox with up to $400K in incentives. He began serving as the backup to
Jarrod Saltalamacchia
, replacing retired Red Sox Captain
Jason Varitek
and allowing prospect
Ryan Lavarnway
to return to the AAA
Pawtucket Red Sox
to further his minor league development.
[9]
New York Mets
[
edit
]
On August 14, 2012, Shoppach was traded from the Red Sox to the
New York Mets
for a
player to be named later
,
[10]
later identified as
Pedro Beato
.
[11]
On August 17 he had his first home run as a Met.
Seattle Mariners
[
edit
]
Shoppach signed with the
Seattle Mariners
for 2013.
[12]
The Mariners also signed former teammate from the Mets
Jason Bay
. He was designated for assignment on June 14 after
Henry Blanco
was signed.
[13]
In 35 games with Seattle, Shoppach batted only a .196 batting average.
[14]
He was given his release on June 20.
Washington Nationals
[
edit
]
Shoppach signed a minor league contract with the
Washington Nationals
on July 3, 2013, and went to Triple-A Syracuse. He opted out of his contract and became a free agent July 31.
[15]
Pittsburgh Pirates
[
edit
]
Shoppach signed a minor league contract with the
Pittsburgh Pirates
on August 12, 2013, and was assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis.
[16]
He was released August 28.
[17]
Second stint with Indians
[
edit
]
Shoppach signed a minor league contract with the
Cleveland Indians
on August 30, 2013. He became a free agent after the 2013 season.
[18]
Awards and highlights
[
edit
]
- Portland Sea Dogs
player of the year (
2003
)
- International League All-Star (
2004
)
- Red Sox Minor League Defensive Player of the Month (April 2005)
- 2005 Pawtucket Red Sox Player of the Year
- Led
AL
in Hit By Pitch (2009)
- Caught Matt Garza's no hitter
(July 26, 2010)
- 8th player to record five extra-base hits in a game (July 30, 2008)
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League"
(PDF)
. capecodbaseball.org
. Retrieved
September 25,
2019
.
- ^
"2000 Harwich Mariners"
. thebaseballcube.com
. Retrieved
September 23,
2021
.
- ^
"Baylor University || The Lariat Online || News"
. Baylor.edu. February 6, 2001
. Retrieved
June 8,
2012
.
- ^
"Kelly Shoppach Minor League Statistics & History"
. Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
April 18,
2011
.
- ^
a
b
"Kelly Shoppach Statistics and History"
. Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
April 18,
2011
.
- ^
Castrovince, Anthony (January 27, 2006).
"Tribe finalizes two deals in a day"
.
MLB.com
. Archived from
the original
on April 6, 2012
. Retrieved
December 1,
2009
.
- ^
Winston, Lisa (August 3, 2007).
"Newsom climbs ladder unconventionally"
.
MLB.com
. Archived from
the original
on July 17, 2012
. Retrieved
December 1,
2009
.
- ^
Beck, Jason (December 1, 2009).
"Indians deal Shoppach to Rays"
.
MLB.com
. Retrieved
December 1,
2009
.
- ^
Speier, Alex (December 13, 2011).
"Kelly Shoppach agreement spells likely end for Jason Varitek with Red Sox"
.
WEEI-FM
. Retrieved
December 13,
2011
.
- ^
"Mets acquire Shoppach from Red Sox"
.
MLB.com
. Retrieved
September 30,
2021
.
- ^
"Beato to Red Sox to complete Shoppach deal"
.
MLB.com
. Retrieved
August 19,
2012
.
- ^
"Seattle Mariners reportedly close to deal with Kelly Shoppach | Mariners.com: News"
. Archived from
the original
on January 31, 2013.
- ^
"Mariners sign catcher Blanco; DFA Shoppach"
.
KING 5 Sports
. June 14, 2013. Archived from
the original
on December 14, 2013
. Retrieved
June 14,
2013
.
- ^
"Mariners sign Henry Blanco"
.
ESPN
.
Associated Press
. June 14, 2013
. Retrieved
June 15,
2013
.
- ^
Links, Zach (July 31, 2013).
"Kelly Shoppach Opts Out"
.
MLB Trade Rumors
.
- ^
Adams, Steve (August 12, 2013).
"Pirates Sign Kelly Shoppach"
. MLB Trade Rumors
. Retrieved
June 8,
2014
.
- ^
Steen, Aaron (August 28, 2013).
"Pirates Release Kelly Shoppach"
. MLB Trade Rumors
. Retrieved
June 8,
2014
.
- ^
Storm, Stephanie (August 30, 2013).
"Tribe signs OF Jason Kubel and C Kelly Shoppach in late effort to beef up punchless lineup"
.
Akron Beacon Journal
.
External links
[
edit
]