Shannon Bolt Withem (born September 21, 1972) is a 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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He appeared in one game 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 ...

for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

on September 18 during the 1998 season. Withem also pitched in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

in 1999.

Amateur career

Withem attended

Willow Run High School Willow Run High School was a public high school in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan.Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti ( ), commonly shortened to Ypsi ( ), is a college town and city located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's popu ...

where he was an all-state pitcher for the Flyers baseball team. He had 7 no-hitters in high school and once struck out every batter in a 7-inning no-hitter.

Professional career

Withem was drafted in the 5th round of the 1990 Major League Baseball draft by the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

. He pitched in the Tigers' organization until 1995, then spent the 1996–97 seasons in the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

farm system. He was signed by the Blue Jays after the 1997 season. After going 17–5 with the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

, the Blue Jays' top farm team, he was called up in September. In his lone major league appearance, he pitched three innings in relief of

Kelvim Escobar Kelvim José Escobar Bolívar (born April 11, 1976) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Toronto Blue Jays (1997–2003) and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2004–2007, 2009). He won 101 games, but his career ...

, giving up one run on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts. After being released by the Blue Jays after the 1998 season, Withem signed with the

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido, Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō, in the Sapporo metropolitan area. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the major ...

in 1999. That season, he had a record of 6–7 with a 5.76

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 17 games. He was re-signed for the 2000 season, but hurt his elbow and did not pitch that season.Information on Withem's stint in Japan
/ref> The injury effectively ended his career, as he never again pitched professionally.

After baseball

Withem is now a Software Sales Executive in Michigan.

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Withem, Shannon 1972 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from Washtenaw County, Michigan Binghamton Mets players Bristol Tigers players Fayetteville Generals players Jacksonville Suns players Lakeland Tigers players Major League Baseball pitchers Nippon Ham Fighters players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Niagara Falls Rapids players Trenton Thunder players St. Lucie Mets players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Norfolk Tides players Toronto Blue Jays players Sportspeople from Ypsilanti, Michigan