Shawn Estes

Shawn Estes
Estes with the Padres in 2008
Pitcher
Born: February 18, 1973 (1973-02-18) San Bernardino, California
Batted: Right	Threw: Left
MLB debut
September 16, 1995 for the San Francisco Giants
Last MLB appearance
September 24, 2008 for the San Diego Padres
Career statistics
Win-Loss record	101-93
Earned run average	4.71
Strikeouts	1,210
Teams
San Francisco Giants (1995–2001) New York Mets (2002) Cincinnati Reds (2002) Chicago Cubs (2003) Colorado Rockies (2004) Arizona Diamondbacks (2005) San Diego Padres (2006, 2008)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star selection (1997)

Aaron Shawn Estes (born February 18, 1973 in San Bernardino, California) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. After he attended Douglas High School in Minden, Nevada, he was offered a scholarship by Stanford University. He turned it down, however, in favor of signing with the Seattle Mariners after he was selected by the Mariners in the 1st round of the 1991 MLB Draft out of Douglas High School.

Minor leagues

He began his career with the Bellingham Mariners in "A" ball in 1991. He then played with the Appleton Foxes, Arizona League Mariners and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers from 1992-1995. The Mariners traded Estes to the San Francisco Giants on May 21, 1995 for Salomon Torres.

The Giants moved him through their farm system rapidly during the 1995 season, sending him to the Burlington Bees, San Jose Giants and Shreveport Captains.

San Francisco Giants

Estes made his Major League debut with the Giants on September 16, 1995, working 5.1 innings as a starter against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He allowed five earned runs and collected the Loss. He was 0-3 in three starts for the Giants that September.

Estes returned to the minors to start the 1996 season, with the Phoenix Firebirds but was recalled to the Majors to start a game against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers on July 13. Estes worked seven shutout innings to record his first career victory.

Estes had his best season as a professional in 1997, when he went 19-5 with a 3.18 ERA for the San Francisco Giants. He was selected to the NL All-Star team during this season. He also has 4 career home runs and 28 RBIs, including a grand slam in 2000.

2002-2005

The Giants traded Estes to the New York Mets on December 16, 2001 for Desi Relaford and Tsuyoshi Shinjo. On June 15, 2002, Estes found himself at the center of a memorable controversy when he started against the New York Yankees against legendary pitcher Roger Clemens. In 2000, Clemens had beaned star Mets catcher Mike Piazza, followed by the notorious incident in Game 2 of the 2000 World Series in which Clemens threw a broken bat at Piazza. In the weeks leading up to Clemens' first appearance at Shea Stadium, the big question was whether the Mets would retaliate when the pitcher finally came to bat. With the fans standing in anticipation of the showdown, Estes made his intent clear on the first pitch: an 87 mph fastball that was about a foot behind Clemens. Estes would later find a better way to hurt Clemens, hitting a two-run homer in the fifth inning of the eventual 8-0 Mets win, setting off a loud roar from the sellout crowd of 54,347 and derisive chants of "Ro-ger! Ro-ger!"

Estes would ultimately start 23 games for the Mets with a record of 4-9 and a 4.55 ERA before he was traded again on August 15 to the Cincinnati Reds for Brady Clark, Raul Gonzalez, Elvin Andujar and Pedro Feliciano. He pitched in just six games for the Reds, finishing 1-3 with a high 7.71 ERA.

This led to a period where he appeared with three different teams over the next three seasons. He played for the Chicago Cubs in 2003 (8-11, 5.73 in 28 starts), Colorado Rockies in 2004 (15-8, 5.84 in 34 starts) and Arizona Diamondbacks in 2005 (7-8, 4.80 in 21 starts).

Injury problems

Estes (left) with fellow Padres pitchers Kevin Cameron and Justin Germano, in 2008.

Estes signed one year deal with the San Diego Padres for the 2006 season but made only one start before he was lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery.

Estes began his 2007 comeback with minor league appearances in Single-A, though he was soon promoted to Triple-A Portland. After his first start in Portland, Estes reaggravated his injured pitching elbow. He was placed on the disabled list retroactive to August 6.

On May 8, 2008, Estes finally returned to the Majors after missing most of the previous two seasons with injuries. He started eight games for the Padres in 2008, finishing 2-3 with a 4.74 ERA. The Padres chose not to resign him after the season.

On January 9, 2009, Estes signed a one-year minor league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers with an invitation to spring training. He was expected to compete for the fifth starter position but pitched poorly in spring training games and was released on March 22. However, after thinking about his options, he decided to stay with the Dodgers and report to minor league camp to attempt to transition into a situational reliever The Dodgers assigned Estes to the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes to open the season, where he was 3-4 with a 3.08 ERA in 13 starts before announcing his retirement because he didn't want to pitch in AAA.

Washington Nationals

On February 6, 2010, Estes signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals. On March 11, 2010, the Nationals released him. After his release from the Nationals, he retired from baseball.

Life after baseball

On July 31, 2010, Estes was honored with a plaque on the Giants Wall of Fame along with former teammate Rich Aurilia.

Personal life

Shawn and his wife Heather have two sons, Jackson and Cody. They live in Arizona.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)