Craig Barry Shipley (born 7 January 1963) is an Australian executive and former player in Major League Baseball. On 16 November 2012, he was appointed special assistant to Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers.[1]
| Craig Shipley | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Shipley with the Diamondbacks in 2013 | |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | |
| Third Baseman / Assistant General Manager | |
| Born: 7 January 1963 Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| 22 June, 1986, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| 25 September, 1998, for the Anaheim Angels | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .271 |
| Home runs | 20 |
| Runs batted in | 138 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| Member of the Australian | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2005 |
As a player, he was an infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1986–87), New York Mets (1989), San Diego Padres (1991–94 and 1996–97), Houston Astros (1995) and Anaheim Angels (1998). He played collegiately at the University of Alabama. Shipley batted and threw right-handed; he stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall, and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg) (12 stone 7).
Playing career
editShipley was born and raised in Australia, attended Epping Boys High School in New South Wales and learned to play baseball from his father, Barry.[2] He played college baseball at Alabama as a shortstop.[3] Shipley homered in his first collegiate at-bat and, as of 2022, held Alabama's single-game record for runs scored, with six in a 1984 game against Georgia Southern.[4]
Shipley began switch-hitting in college at the suggestion of his coaches.[3] Before the start of the 1986 season, after struggling offensively for two seasons in the minors, he reverted to batting exclusively from the right side of the plate.[5]
He helped the Padres win the 1996 National League Western Division championship, appearing in 33 games played – 21 after 31 July – and batting .315 with 29 hits, five doubles, one home run, seven runs batted in and seven stolen bases. In the field, he started at four different defensive positions: second base, third base, shortstop and right field. However, he did not appear in the postseason.
In 11 seasons, Shipley played in 582 games and had 1,345 at bats, 155 runs scored, 364 hits, 63 doubles, six triples, 20 home runs, 138 RBI, 33 stolen bases, 47 bases on balls, a .271 batting average, .302 on-base percentage, .371 slugging percentage, 499 total bases, 15 sacrifice hits, nine sacrifice flies and 7 intentional walks.
Post-playing career
editShipley's post-playing career began in 2000, when he was a roving minor league baserunning and infield instructor for the Montréal Expos. He then returned to the Padres as a professional scout, working for Towers, in 2001–2002.
In 2003, Shipley followed former Padres executives Larry Lucchino and Theo Epstein to the Boston Red Sox, where he began as special assistant to the general manager, player development and international scouting. He was named a vice president in 2006, and was appointed senior vice president, international scouting, in 2009. In February 2011, Shipley was promoted again, when he was named senior vice president, player personnel and international scouting.[6] However, weeks after Epstein departed the Red Sox for the Chicago Cubs in October 2011, Shipley was dismissed in an overhaul of the Boston front office under the team's new general manager, Ben Cherington.[7]
In 2012, Shipley was hired by the Arizona Diamondbacks as an assistant to general manager Kevin Towers.[8][9] As of 2022[update], he is still part of the Diamondbacks front office, assisting "the Baseball Operations Department in international and special assignment scouting, evaluating the D-backs' farm system and serving as an advisor to the GM."[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Arizona Diamondbacks official site". Archived from the original on 20 May 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- ^ Growden, Greg (16 October 1986). "The artful Dodger who lives by stealing bases". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 41. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
- ^ a b Growden, Greg (5 May 1983). "Shipley set to hit the big time in US baseball". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 42. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
- ^ "Alabama Baseball 2022 Media Guide" (PDF). RollTide.com. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ^ Casaus, Phil (6 April 1986). "Collins 'Excited' About This Year's Dukes". Albuquerque Journal. p. H3. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
- ^ The Boston Globe, 25 February 2011
- ^ Boston Globe.com 2011.11.22
- ^ "International scouts Craig Shipley and Mike Lord plucked Xander Bogaerts from an unlikely place. | Sports on Earth". Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
- ^ "D-backs name Craig Shipley assistant to the general manager". MLB.com.
- ^ "Craig Shipley - Special Assistant to the GM". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
External links
edit- Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet