Centerfielder John Shelby was a speedy outfielder who even showed some hints of power occasionally throughout his career but in 1989, his offensive prowess was not to be found. Even as a Fast OF-2 blessed with a first column 11, his card is quite limited.
Shelby played for the 1989 Dodgers who were coming off their World Championship the previous year (Kirk Gibson, anyone?). LA gave him plenty of chances as he played in 108 games, starting in 86. Shelby couldn’t get going as he hit .183 with just 1 homer. The speed was there; he stole 10 bases but his power and overall offense was down.
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 Totals | 108 | 371 | 345 | 28 | 63 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 10 | 25 | 92 | .183 | .237 | .229 |
Shelby does get a single column 11 for his ten steals. I’m willing to wager that his Master Game steal rating isn’t quite as good since he was caught stealing 7 times.
For his one homer in 371 plate appearances, Shelby’s 1989 card gets just one 1 behind two 0s. While you’re looking at his second column, check out all the singles there. He has thirteen 7s or 8s there.
Other than his two 0s and the 11, you’ll just find two 8s and two 9s to reflect Shelby’s .183 batting average. That’s enough to give him a nasty 51-13.
Ugly numbers: 51-13, 25-40, 33-8
In 1990, Shelby was picked up by the Tigers as a free agent. He managed to hit more respectable if not spectacular, .248 for the Tigers in part time play.
If I am not mistaken Shelby was a classic example of a “platoon player” who when given the chance at a regular role showed why he was better off the bench. I remember him being in a platoon with Al Bumbry of the Orioles that allowed both to maximize their skill sets.
While Earl Weaver was best known as the “3 run homer fan” he was a pretty good evaluator of talent and had several platoons during the late 70’s and early 80’s that when moving on to other teams and getting regular playing time got exposed as well.
I should have known he would show up in the Terrible Card Tuesday lineup cuz man did my brother hate this guy and that was him as a Detroit Tigers player. The numbers he put up here on this card you show are just dreadful.