| Shawn Camp | |
|---|---|
| Free agent | |
| Relief pitcher | |
| Born: November 18, 1975 | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| April 5, 2004 for the Kansas City Royals | |
| Career statistics (through 2011 Season) |
|
| Win–Loss | 25-26 |
| Earned run average | 4.40 |
| Strikeouts | 335 |
| WHIP | 1.45 |
| Teams | |
Shawn Anthony Camp (born November 18, 1975) is an American professional baseball pitcher. Camp stands at 6'0" tall and weighs 200 pounds. He throws and bats right-handed and was born in Fairfax, Virginia.
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Camp began his baseball career as a catcher at Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax, Virginia.[1] He graduated from high school in 1994 and continued as a backstop in college while attending the University of North Alabama and George Mason University, the school from which he would be drafted. Struggling to hit collegiate pitching, Camp converted to a pitcher at George Mason with the help of then Patriots assistant baseball coach Dayton Moore.
The right-hander was drafted in the sixteenth round of the 1997 amateur entry draft by the San Diego Padres; the five hundredth overall selection of that year's draft.[2] The newly converted reliever steadily climbed the ranks of the Padres' minor league system, collecting 25 saves in his first two years of professional baseball.[3]
On July 10, 2001, Camp was dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for outfielder Emil Brown.[4] He continued to advance in the minors, receiving an invitation to the Pirates spring training camp in 2003. Failing to make the major league team, however, Camp was granted free agency by Pittsburgh at the end of the season.
In 2004 Camp joined the Kansas City Royals organization.[5] Signed by his former college coach and current Royals general manager Dayton Moore, Camp finally made his first major league roster. Camp made his major league debut on Opening Day, April 5. Facing the Chicago White Sox, Camp allowed two runs in two innings of work. He remained a semi-regular contributor to the Royals bullpen that season and in 2005, working primarily in middle and long relief, while shuttling between Kansas City and Triple-A Omaha.
Camp was granted free agency after the 2005 season, and signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.[6] From 2006 to 2007 Camp was a mainstay in the Devil Rays' beleaguered bullpen, amassing 75 appearances in 2006, second most in the American League. Control problems hampered Camp's success in Tampa Bay and his final year in Kansas City, however, and the righty struggled to poor ERAs of 6.43, 4.68 and 7.20 respectfully from 2005 to 2007. Camp had particular trouble with preventing inherited runners from scoring, allowing over forty percent (22 of 54) of runners on base to reach home in his final season with the Devil Rays.[7]
Camp signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays prior to the 2008 season.[8] Prepared with a new pitch, a change-up,[9] Camp excelled at Triple-A Syracuse and was recalled by Toronto soon after breaking camp. Limiting right-handed hitters to a paltry .204 batting average, Camp helped the Blue Jays staff to team ERA of 3.49, best in all of Major League Baseball that season. In 2009 Camp led the Blue Jays relief corp with a career best 79.2 innings pitched, while tallying a career high 58 strikeouts.