Shawn Chacón

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**Shawn Chacón**

Pittsburgh Pirates — No. 32
Starting pitcher
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
April 29, 2001 for the Colorado Rockies
Selected MLB statistics (through August 2, 2006)
Record	36-51
ERA	5.07
Strikeouts	463
Teams
Colorado Rockies (2001-2005) New York Yankees (2005-2006) Pittsburgh Pirates (2006-Present)

Shawn Anthony Chacón (pronounced: /ʃəˈkon/; born December 23, 1977 in Anchorage, Alaska) is a major league starting pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He throws an 88-92 mph sinker, a big curveball, a slider, and a changeup. He was acquired in July 2005 for minor league pitchers Ramon Ramirez and Eduardo Sierra. The Pirates dealt Craig Wilson for Shawn Chacon on the trade deadline on July 31, 2006. Shawn Chacon will likely be non-tendered by the Pirates, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

1 Career as a Rockie
2 Time in pinstripes
3 On the leaderboards
4 External links

[edit] Career as a Rockie

Chacón was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 3rd Round of the 1996 Free-Agent Draft. Chacón made his MLB debut in 2001 as a member of the Colorado Rockies. He developed into a capable starter and was Colorado's 2003 All-Star representative, finishing 11-8 with a 4.60 ERA. The next year, he was converted into a closer and put up one of the most bizarre stat lines in baseball history. Chacón was 9th in the National League with 35 saves, but his record was 1-9 and his ERA 7.11. Chacón was 1-7 in 2005 as a starter before being traded to the Yankees.

[edit] Time in pinstripes

Many New York fans and members of the tough New York media criticized the trade, calling it a bandage and not a solution, much like how the Yankees saw starts from Tim Redding, Darrell May and Sean Henn in 2005. Chacón was excited to be coming to New York, and he did not waver under the initial pressure and criticism. In his first start as a Yankee, he pitched six innings without allowing an earned run against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He finished 7-3 with a 2.85 ERA for the Yankees. Chacón made his postseason debut in Game 4 of the 2005 Division Series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He pitched 6⅓ innings and allowed just 2 runs in a Yankee win.

Before the 2006 season, sportswriters thought that Chacon would be a big key to the Yankee rotation. Chacon got off to a slow start, but started pitching well in late April. On May 16th, the Texas Rangers scored 7 runs off Chacon. After the terrible start, Chacon went on the 15-day disabled list. Chacon came off the DL on June 11th. Since coming off the DL, Chacon couldn't pitch 5 innings forcing the Yankees to use their tired bullpen. On July 6th, Chacon was sent to the bullpen after giving up seven runs in 1⅓ innings against the Cleveland Indians on July 4th. He was replaced in the rotation by Kris Wilson.^[1] During the July 31st 2006 mid-season non-waiver trade deadline, he was dealt for the less expensive Craig Wilson.

He made his Pirates debut wearing the No. 39, but later switched to the No. 32.

[edit] On the leaderboards

Chacón is among the Rockies all-time leaders in various pitching categories. This is due in part to the Rockies short history and lack of pitching success. A T indicates a tie on the list.

T-4th, career ERA (5.20, shared with Kevin Ritz)
10th, career wins (24)
1st, career hits allowed per 9 innings (8.85)
2nd, career strikeouts per 9 innings (6.27)
7th, career saves (35) (NOTE: Some records show him tied for 6th with Brian Fuentes but these have not been updated for 2006.)
2nd, single season saves (35, 2004)
6th, career innings pitched (552⅓)
6th, single season strikeouts (134, 2001)
5th, career strikeouts (385)