John T. Shelby (born February 23, 1958) is a former center fielder 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), ...

(MLB) who played from 1981 to 1991. He began his career as a member of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

before later playing for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

and Detroit Tigers. Shelby was a member of two

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

–winning teams: the 1983 Orioles and the 1988 Dodgers. His nickname was "T-Bone" because of his slight frame. He currently is a coach in the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

minor league system.

Early life

Shelby was born in Lexington, Kentucky, on February 23, 1958. In 1976, he graduated from

Henry Clay High School Henry Clay High School is an American public high school in Lexington, Kentucky. Opened on Main Street in 1928, it was named in honor of the Kentuckian and United States statesman, Henry Clay. The Main Street location now houses the main offices ...

in Lexington, where he played baseball (as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

) and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and was an all-area performer. After high school, he played one year of baseball at

Columbia State Community College Columbia State Community College is a public community college in Columbia, Tennessee. Founded in 1966, it serves nine counties in southern Middle Tennessee through five campuses. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schoo ...

Columbia, Tennessee Columbia is a city in and the county seat of Maury County, Tennessee. The population was 41,690 as of the 2020 United States census. Columbia is included in the Nashville metropolitan area. The self-proclaimed "mule capital of the world," Colum ...

Baseball career

Playing career

In the January 1977 amateur draft, Shelby was a first–round pick (20th overall) of the Baltimore Orioles. He made his professional debut that year for the

Bluefield Orioles Bluefield may refer to: *Bluefield, Virginia, US *Bluefield, West Virginia, US *Nvidia BlueField, a line of computer hardware See also *Bluefields Bluefields is the capital of the South Caribbean Autonomous Region in Nicaragua. It was also the ...

of the Appalachian League, batting .256 with 21 RBI in 60 games. John Shelby 1988

When Shelby was traded to the Dodgers during the 1987 season, the team was so desperate for a center fielder that he was rushed into uniform and into his first game. There was not even time to put his name on the back of his uniform, so he played the entire game without his name stitched onto his uniform. During Game 4 of the

1988 National League Championship Series The 1988 National League Championship Series was played between the National League West champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the National League East champion New York Mets. The Dodgers won the Series four games to three, en route to defeating the O ...

, he drew a crucial walk off

Dwight Gooden Dwight Eugene Gooden (born November 16, 1964), nicknamed "Dr. K" and "Doc", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Gooden pitched from 1984 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2000 for the N ...

in the top of the ninth inning, allowing

Mike Scioscia Michael Lorri Scioscia (, ; born November 27, 1958), nicknamed "Sosh" and "El Jefe", is an American former Major League Baseball catcher and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He managed the Anaheim / Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim / Los Ang ...

to come up and hit a game-tying home run, paving the way for the game-winning home run by

Kirk Gibson Kirk Harold Gibson (born May 28, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He is currently a color commentator for the Detroit Tigers on Bally Sports Detroit and a special assistant for the Tigers. As a player, Gibson ...

in the top of the twelfth inning. On June 3, 1989, he batted 0-for-10 in a 22–inning game against the Houston Astros. After the Dodgers released Shelby on June 2, 1990, he was signed eleven days later by the Detroit Tigers. He became a free agent following the season, but the Tigers re–signed him on November 26. He was released for good by the Tigers on August 13, 1991. In 1992, Shelby's final season as a professional baseball player, he appeared in 127 games for the

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 ...

, the Class AAA affiliate of 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 ...

. He tallied 17 home runs and 64 RBI, but managed only a .205 batting average.

Coaching career

He was the hitting coach for the

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an e ...

, the

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. In addition to managing several minor league teams, he has also served as a coach for the Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, and Milwaukee Brewers. He was hired as a roving minor league instructor with the

for the 2017 season.

Personal life

His oldest son, John Shelby III, is a former player in Minor League Baseball and now a coach in the farm system of the

. His second-oldest son, Jeremy Shelby, played one season in the Baltimore Orioles' farm system. His fourth-oldest son, JaVon Shelby, played for the University of Kentucky Wildcats baseball team and was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 2016 amateur draft. His nephew

Josh Harrison Joshua Isaiah Harrison (born July 8, 1987) is an American professional baseball infielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Oakland Athletics and ...

is a major league player.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelby, John 1958 births Living people Major League Baseball center fielders Baltimore Orioles players Los Angeles Dodgers players Detroit Tigers players Baseball players from Lexington, Kentucky African-American baseball players African-American baseball coaches Los Angeles Dodgers coaches Pittsburgh Pirates coaches Major League Baseball first base coaches Minor league baseball coaches Baltimore Orioles coaches Milwaukee Brewers coaches San Antonio Missions managers Bluefield Orioles players Miami Orioles players Charlotte O's players Rochester Red Wings players Albuquerque Dukes players Toledo Mud Hens players Pawtucket Red Sox players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople