Delino Lamont DeShields (born January 15, 1969), also nicknamed "Bop", is an American former professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
second baseman
In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...
and current baseball coach. He played for 13 seasons in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
(MLB) for the
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...
,
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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
,
St. Louis Cardinals,
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...
, and
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
between 1990 and 2002. He is currently the manager of the minor league
Harrisburg Senators, the Double-A affiliate of the
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...
.
His son
Delino DeShields Jr. played in MLB for seven seasons, and his daughter
Diamond DeShields plays for the
Chicago Sky in the
WNBA.
Early life
DeShields was born in
Seaford, Delaware where he was raised by his mother and grandmother. He was an All-American in baseball and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
at
Seaford High School. DeShields signed a letter of intent to play
college basketball
College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
at
Villanova University
Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...
. However, after being selected as the 12th overall pick in the
1987 MLB draft, he chose a career in baseball.
Career
Montreal Expos
DeShields signed for $130,000 with the
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...
.
He made his Major League debut on
Opening Day of the 1990 season. He recorded four hits in his debut, the most for a debutant in the
National League since
Mack Jones 29 seasons earlier. He became the regular second baseman for the Expos in 1990, finishing in second place for the
NL Rookie of the Year award. He suffered from a
sophomore slump
A sophomore slump (also known as a sophomore jinx or sophomore jitters) is when a sophomore fails to live up to the relatively high standards that occurred during freshman year.
It is commonly used to refer to the apathy of students (second year ...
in 1991, but went on to post his two best years in 1992 and 1993,
hitting .294 and averaging 45
stolen bases.
Los Angeles Dodgers
On November 19, 1993, DeShields was traded to 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
for then-prospect
Pedro Martínez. In retrospect, this is considered one of the worst trades in Dodgers history. DeShields hit .241 during his three years in Los Angeles, while Martinez went on to win three
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball ( ...
s and established himself among the greatest pitchers of all time.
St. Louis, Baltimore and Chicago
In November 1996, DeShields signed as a free agent with the
St. Louis Cardinals. In December 1998, he signed with the
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...
.
On April 4, 2001, he was the last out in
Hideo Nomo's no-hitter against the
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...
. In July 2001, the Orioles released DeShields and he signed with the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
.
Post-playing career
DeShields is the co-founder of the Urban Baseball League. He also travels with
Oil Can Boyd to promote baseball in
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
communities.
Cincinnati Reds organization
DeShields managed the
Dayton Dragons, a single-A affiliate of the
Cincinnati Reds, in the 2011 and 2012 seasons. On December 12, 2012, it was announced that DeShields would become the manager for the Reds Double-A minor league team, the
Pensacola Blue Wahoos for the 2013 season. On December 1, 2014, DeShields became manager of the
Louisville Bats, replacing
Jim Riggleman.
After spending the 2022 season as the
Cincinnati Reds' first base and baserunning coach, DeShields was fired on October 6, 2022, following a season that saw Cincinnati lose 100 games.
Washington Nationals organization
In 2023, he became the manager of the
Harrisburg Senators, the
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...
Double-A affiliate.
Personal
DeShields is married to Michelle Elliott DeShields, an educator and television host for the
PBS series Georgia Traveler airing on
Georgia Public Broadcasting. He has five children; two from his first marriage,
Delino Jr. and
Diamond
Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...
, along with three from his current marriage, D'Angelo, Denim and Delaney. Two children from his earlier marriage followed in his footsteps and became professional athletes. Delino Jr. was an outfielder in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
from 2015 to 2021, and
Diamond
Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...
plays for the
Chicago Sky of the
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.
The WNBA w ...
(WNBA).
Highlights
* Named State Baseball Player of the Year in 1986.
* Placed second in
Rookie of the Year Award voting in 1990
* Led
National League in
triples (14, 1997)
* Nine-time top 10 finisher among NL base stealers (1990–98)
* His career 463 stolen bases ranks him 44th on the all-time list
* Wore his socks just below the knee, to honor the players of the defunct
Negro leagues
* Inducted into the
Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in 2006.
* Inducted into the
Eastern Shore Baseball Foundation Hall of Fame and Museum in 2010.
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders
In baseball statistics, a stolen base is credited to a baserunning, baserunner when he successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is throwing the ball to home plate. Under Rule 5.06 of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Official Rules ...
*
List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
In baseball, a Triple (baseball), triple is recorded when the ball is hit so that the Batting (baseball), batter is able to advance all the way to third base, Run (baseball), scoring any Baserunning, runners who were already on base, with no Erro ...
*
List of second-generation Major League Baseball players
References
External links
Delino DeShields Baseball Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deshields, Delino
1969 births
Living people
African-American baseball coaches
African-American baseball managers
African-American baseball players
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Arkansas Travelers players
Baltimore Orioles players
Baseball coaches from Delaware
Billings Mustangs managers
Bowie Baysox players
Chicago Cubs players
Cincinnati Reds coaches
Delmarva Shorebirds players
Frederick Keys players
Gulf Coast Expos players
Indianapolis Indians players
Jacksonville Expos players
Jamestown Expos players
Los Angeles Dodgers players
Louisville Bats managers
Major League Baseball first base coaches
Major League Baseball second basemen
Montreal Expos players
People from Seaford, Delaware
Baseball players from Sussex County, Delaware
Rockford Expos players
St. Louis Cardinals players
Baseball players from Atlanta
Sportspeople from College Park, Georgia
21st-century African-American sportsmen
20th-century African-American sportsmen
20th-century American sportsmen