Shane Timothy Heams (born September 29, 1975, in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

) is a former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medalist. His minor league baseball career spanned from 1996 to 2005.

Baseball career

Heams played baseball at Bedford High School in

Temperance, Michigan Temperance is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,188 at the 2020 census. The CDP is located within Bedford Township. The community was established a ...

, where he was named to the first team of the All-Great Lakes League team in 1993 and 1994 as an

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 c ...

. After graduation, he was drafted in the 41st round of the

1994 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1994 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation picks Compensation Picks Other notable players * Troy Glaus, 2nd round, 37th overall by the San Diego Padres, but did no ...

by the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

. He played 22 games in the outfield for the minor league

AZL Mariners The Arizona Complex League Mariners are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The team is com ...

in 1995, finishing the year with a .197

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 ...

. In 1996, the Mariners converted Heams to a pitcher, where he appeared in 30 games in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

in the

Arizona League The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it ...

in 1996 and 1997. On March 31, 1998, Heams announced his retirement, but came out of retirement shortly thereafter and signed with the Detroit Tigers in April. He spent the remainder of the year with the

Jamestown Jammers The Jamestown Jammers were a minor league baseball team based in Jamestown, New York from 1994 until 2014. The team was the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates and played in the New York–Penn League. The team pla ...

, ending the season with a 3.86 ERA in 24 games. He pitched for the

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpa ...

in 1999, where he was named to the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

's East Division all-star team. In November 1999, he was added to the Tigers'

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

, with Heams signing a one-year contract with Detroit in February 2000. He pitched for both the Double-A

Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

of the Southern League and the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

of the International League in 2000, recording a 2.59 ERA with Double-A Jacksonville in 39 games, but allowed 12

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

in 9.2 innings with Toledo. On August 23, Heams was named to the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball t ...

to compete in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

. At the games, he pitched against Japan,

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. Heams earned a gold medal when the United States defeated Cuba in the finals. Heams split the 2001 season between Double-A Erie and Toledo, appearing in 50 games across the two levels. He resigned with Detroit on a one-year deal the following February, but he was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

and claimed by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

on April 2. He pitched for three of the Red Sox' minor league clubs, including the Triple-A

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

, but was traded to the Colorado Rockies in July. He appeared in nine games with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox before the season ended. In November, Heams signed with the Cincinnati Reds, but asked for his release after declining to take part in extended spring training. After sitting out the 2003 season, Heams signed with the independent

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, that is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League, known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021, and w ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball in April 2004. He appeared in 95 games in 2004 and 2005 for Somerset, including 12 games as a starter, before ending his playing career.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heams, Shane 1975 births Living people Olympic gold medalists for the United States in baseball Everett AquaSox players Arizona League Mariners players Jamestown Jammers players West Michigan Whitecaps players Jacksonville Suns players Toledo Mud Hens players Erie SeaWolves players Sarasota Red Sox players Trenton Thunder players Pawtucket Red Sox players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Somerset Patriots players Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics