Paul Shuey

2.1. Childhood and family

Paul Kenneth Shuey was born on September 16, 1970, in Lima, Ohio. His family relocated to North Carolina when he was ten years old. His father played a significant role in teaching him how to pitch from a young age. He played American Legion Baseball and Babe Ruth League baseball alongside Everett Lindsay.

2.2. High school baseball

Shuey attended Millbrook High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. During his time at Millbrook, he excelled as both a starting pitcher and a right fielder. He achieved a no-hitter while pitching for the school's baseball team against Garner High School. His strong performance earned him recognition on the North Carolina's All-Triangle and All-State teams.

3.1. Performance and awards

Shuey enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), where he played college baseball for the North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of NCAA Division I. He primarily served as the team's closer. In 1990, his freshman year, Shuey was honored as a freshman All-American and an All-ACC pitcher for the Tar Heels. That season, he achieved an 8-1 win-loss record and recorded eight saves. He led the team with 31 appearances, contributing to the Tar Heels winning both the ACC regular season and tournament championships in 1990.

Despite suffering a patellar tendon rupture in 1991, Shuey led the Tar Heels with a 1.70 ERA that season. In the 1992 season, he led the team with a 3.13 ERA and recorded 87 strikeouts over 69 innings pitched. Shuey and Chad Holbrook were co-recipients of the team's S.H. Basnight Award, recognizing them as the team's most valuable players. Through 2001, Shuey's career winning percentage of .818 ranked fourth all-time in UNC history. He earned a letter in all three seasons he played at UNC.

3.2. National team representation

In the summer of 1991, Shuey was selected to pitch for the United States national baseball team. He represented the U.S. at the 1991 Pan American Games.

4.1. MLB draft and debut

The Cleveland Indians selected Paul Shuey as their first-round draft pick, making him the second overall selection in the 1992 Major League Baseball draft. The Indians had high hopes for Shuey, envisioning that he could develop into a closer similar to Rob Dibble of the Cincinnati Reds. Shuey made his professional debut in 1992 with the Columbus Red Stixx of the Class-A South Atlantic League. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut on May 8, 1994.

4.2. Cleveland Indians

Heading into the 1993 season, Baseball America ranked Shuey as the 81st best prospect in baseball. He pitched for the Kinston Indians of the Class-A Carolina League in 1993, where he recorded a 1-0 record with a 4.84 ERA in 15 appearances. Later that season, he was promoted to the Canton-Akron Indians of the Class-AA Eastern League. He began the 1994 season with Kinston, achieving a 1-0 record with a 3.75 ERA and eight saves in 13 appearances.

The tragic deaths of Indians' relief pitchers Steve Olin and Tim Crews in a boating accident underscored the team's urgent need to develop pitching talent like Shuey. Shuey was promoted directly from Class-A Kinston to the major leagues during the 1994 season, a rare move, as he was the first player to do so since Greg Swindell in 1986. On May 14, 1994, Shuey became the tenth American League pitcher to strike out four batters in a single inning. He also pitched for the Charlotte Knights of the Class-AAA International League that season. Baseball America continued to recognize his potential, ranking him as the 67th best prospect in baseball heading into the 1995 season.

Shuey faced early struggles with the Indians in 1994 and 1995, compiling an 0-3 win-loss record, five saves, and a 7.00 ERA across 21 appearances. In 1995, he also pitched for the Buffalo Bisons of the International League and spent time on the disabled list due to an injured hamstring. To gain more experience, he pitched for the Senadores de San Juan of the Puerto Rico Baseball League during the winter of 1995.

After starting the 1996 season with Buffalo, Shuey was promoted back to the Indians, where he improved significantly, achieving a 5-2 record with a 2.85 ERA. He participated in the postseason with the Indians, appearing in three games during the 1996 American League Division Series, which the Indians ultimately lost to the Baltimore Orioles. At the start of the 1997 season, Shuey signed a three-year contract with the Indians, guaranteed for 3.20 M USD. With an option year and performance bonuses, the contract's maximum value could reach 11.60 M USD over four seasons.

With José Mesa and Mike Jackson serving as the team's primary closers, Shuey primarily pitched in middle relief. He spent time on the disabled list on three separate occasions during the 1997 season. In 1998, Shuey led all American League relief pitchers with an exceptionally low .132 batting average against when the opposition had baserunners in scoring position. His consistent strong performances when healthy fueled the Indians' hope that he could eventually become their closer. Shuey appeared in four postseasons for the Indians, including in 1998, when he pitched 6¹/₃ scoreless innings for the Indians in the 1998 American League Championship Series.

In 1999, while pitching on a wet mound in Cleveland, Shuey injured his right hip. This injury led to multiple surgeries over the subsequent seasons, including repairs to a torn labrum and the removal of bone spurs. He concluded the 1999 season with an 8-5 record, a 3.53 ERA, and six saves, with his eight wins tying for the most among Cleveland's relief pitchers. In 2000, new Indians' manager Charlie Manuel expressed intentions to transition Shuey into the closer role. However, when Shuey was on the disabled list, Steve Karsay filled in as the team's closer. He again spent time on the disabled list in 2001 due to a strained elbow ligament. During his tenure with the Cleveland Indians, the team achieved five division championships through 2001.

4.3. Los Angeles Dodgers

As the 2002 trade deadline approached, several teams expressed interest in acquiring Shuey. On July 28, 2002, Shuey was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Terry Mulholland and minor league pitchers Ricardo Rodríguez and Francisco Cruceta. With the Dodgers in contention for a playoff spot that season, they aimed to pair Shuey with closer Éric Gagné to establish a formidable bullpen for the late innings of games.

Upon joining the Dodgers, Shuey initially struggled, recording a 9.35 ERA in his first eleven appearances after the trade. However, he adjusted his pitching approach and subsequently improved, allowing no runs in his next five appearances. Shuey remained with the Dodgers through the end of the 2003 season. During spring training prior to the 2004 season, he suffered a torn ligament in his thumb. While rehabilitating that injury, he reinjured his hip while fielding a bunt. As a result, Shuey spent the entire 2004 season on the disabled list. The Dodgers later sued the Hartford Life Insurance Company, which had insured Shuey's contract, over his 3.25 M USD salary for the 2004 season, claiming the insurance company failed to honor their claim.

4.4. Baltimore Orioles

After the 2004 season, Shuey became a free agent. He signed a minor league contract with the Indians in 2005, attempting a comeback. However, after pitching only two innings for the Class-AA Akron Aeros, he retired due to persistent pain in his right hip.

Shuey sat out the entire 2006 season to undergo a hip replacement surgery. This experimental procedure, which involved installing a metal hip, was performed in Montreal, as it had not yet been approved in the United States. On February 2, 2007, he signed another minor league contract, this time with the Baltimore Orioles, which included an invitation to spring training. He suffered an injury during spring training and did not make the major league roster. He was sent to the minor leagues, making one appearance for the Class-AA Bowie Baysox before joining the Norfolk Tides, the Orioles' Class-AAA affiliate. His contract was purchased by the Orioles on June 19, 2007, and he appeared in a game against the San Diego Padres that same night.

While his fastball had previously reached speeds of 95 mph earlier in his career, Shuey's fastball struggled to reach 90 mph due to his metal hip. On July 1, 2007, he recorded his first save since 2002, in a game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He finished the 2007 season with a 9.82 ERA in 22 games. In his second-to-last appearance, during the first game of an August 22 doubleheader, he surrendered the final nine runs in a historic 30-3 defeat to the Texas Rangers, which set an American League record for the most runs scored by a single team in a game. As his fastball velocity began to increase, Shuey injured his back. The Orioles gave Shuey his outright release on September 5, 2007, marking his final season in MLB.

4.5. Injuries and rehabilitation

Throughout his career, Paul Shuey was significantly impacted by a series of injuries, often requiring extensive rehabilitation and surgeries. In 1991, during his college career at UNC, he suffered a patellar tendon rupture. During his early professional career in 1995, he spent time on the disabled list due to an injured hamstring.

A major recurring issue was his right hip injury, which he first sustained in 1999 while pitching on a wet mound in Cleveland. This led to multiple surgeries over the following seasons, including repairs to a torn labrum and the removal of bone spurs. In 2001, he was sidelined again with a strained elbow ligament. His hip issues continued to plague him, as he reinjured it in 2004 during rehabilitation for a torn thumb ligament suffered in spring training. This forced him to miss the entire 2004 season.

In 2005, after attempting a comeback with the Cleveland Indians, he retired again after only two innings due to persistent pain in his right hip. To address his chronic hip problems, Shuey underwent an experimental hip replacement surgery in Montreal in 2006, which involved installing a metal hip and was not yet approved in the United States. Despite the hip replacement, he suffered another injury during spring training with the Baltimore Orioles in 2007. Later in his final season, as his fastball velocity showed signs of returning, he injured his back, ultimately leading to his release.

5.1. Bass fishing career

After retiring from professional baseball, Shuey transitioned to a career in bass fishing. As of 2008, he was actively competing in local bass fishing tournaments. He expressed aspirations to compete in the Bassmaster Elite Series of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society, considering the tournaments he participated in as "Double-A"-level.

5.2. Coaching career

In 2013, Paul Shuey began working as an assistant coach for the Barton Bulldogs women's soccer team at Barton College.

6.1. Family

Paul Shuey lives in Wake Forest, North Carolina, with his family. He is married to Julie and they have three daughters: Morgan (born 1997), Casey (born 1998), and Kate (born 2006). He dedicates his time to his family as a father, in addition to his coaching and bass fishing pursuits.

6.2. Other personal matters

Shuey has been recognized for his contributions to baseball through inductions into two Halls of Fame. In 2011, he was inducted into the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the Millbrook High School Hall of Fame in 2012. Shuey successfully overcame posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which he developed following a car accident in 1996.

7.1. Yearly pitching records

This table details Paul Shuey's pitching statistics throughout his Major League Baseball career.

7.2. Jersey numbers

Paul Shuey wore the following uniform numbers during his MLB career:

• Cleveland Indians: 53 (1994-2002, partial season)
• Los Angeles Dodgers: 44 (2002, partial season - 2003)
• Baltimore Orioles: 23 (2007)