James Shields (baseball)
| James Shields | |||
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Shields with the Kansas City Royals
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| Chicago White Sox – No. 33 | |||
| Starting pitcher | |||
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Born: December 20, 1981 Newhall, California |
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| MLB debut | |||
| May 31, 2006, for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays | |||
| MLB statistics (through 2016 season) |
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| Win–loss record | 133–116 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.91 | ||
| Strikeouts | 1,977 | ||
| WHIP | 1.26 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
James Anthony Shields (born December 20, 1981) is an American professional baseball starting pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has pitched in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2006 through 2012, the Kansas City Royals in 2013 and 2014, and the San Diego Padres in 2015 and 2016.
Shields grew up in Newhall, California. He has two older brothers. While attending William S. Hart High School, he was named the Los Angeles Times's Valley Player of the Year in 1999, his junior season after leading Hart to the Division II championship. He had a 11–0 win–loss record with a 2.35 earned run average (ERA) with 123 strikeouts in 71 1⁄3 innings pitched. He also batted .478 with a then-school record 11 home runs and 45 runs batted in, being named the Southern Section's Division II Player of the Year. He declined a full scholarship to play baseball at Louisiana State University in favor of signing with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.Baseball America ranked him the 16th best high school prospect in 2000.
Shields was drafted in 16th round of the 2000 amateur baseball draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. After pitching well during his first season at the Class-A level in 2001, Shields underwent serious shoulder surgery that caused him to miss the entire 2002 season. His fastball lost some velocity as a result, forcing him to change his pitching approach and develop a changeup as he worked his way up through the Devil Rays system.
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