Chris Shelton Career Tracker

| Chris Shelton 26 | 1B

Current Status: Active




Christopher Bob Shelton (born June 26, 1980 in Salt Lake City, Utah), is a Major League Baseball first baseman who plays for the Toledo Mud Hens. Before entering professional baseball, he played at Cottonwood High School, Salt Lake Community College, and the University of Utah. Shelton was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the thirty-third round, although he never made the team's 40-man roster. Unprotected, he was selected by the Tigers in the rule 5 draft. He split time catching for the team with Brandon Inge until the acquisition of Ivan Rodriguez in 2004. Then Chris started playing first base.

Due to his red hair and prodigious batting, he has earned various nicknames, such as "Red Pop" (a reference to the Detroit-made Faygo beverage) from the Tiger faithful. Tigers play-by-play commentators Rod Allen and Mario Impemba often call him "Big Red" or "Orange Crush." Detroit radio broadcaster Sean Baligian has been known to refer to him as "Chris Shelton, Professional Hitter". In addition, it is not uncommon to hear the name "Lord Shellington", "Hard Beltin' Chris Shelton", "Showtime Shelton", "C-Shel", or "the Shelton of Swing" shouted by fans when he comes to bat at Comerica Park.

Professional Career


In 2006, Shelton hit nine home runs in the first 13 games of the season; this made him the fastest player in American League history to reach that mark at that point in a season. He also became the fourth player in baseball history to hit at least nine home runs in his team's first 13 games; he trails only Mike Schmidt in 1976, Larry Walker in 1997 and Luis Gonzalez in 2001 in that regard.[1]. He earned the American League Player of the Week accolade for April 3, 2006.[2] Shelton's power dropped significantly after April, however, and on July 31, 2006, he was optioned to Triple-A Toledo to make room for Sean Casey, whom the Tigers had acquired from Pittsburgh in a trade-deadline deal. On September 1, Chris Shelton was recalled back to Detroit.

During
the 2007 spring training Chris Shelton started and finished spring traning with the Tigers and by the end of spring training there was one spot left on the team's roster and the fight was between Marcus Thames and Chris Shelton. Shelton did not make the roster, which left him to Toledo for the 2007 season.

His wife, Heather R. is also from Salt Lake City. They were married on July 10, 2007.

I would like to see Beltin' Shelton back in Detroit!!

Shelton who?

yeah, I know. I still like the guy!!

He'll officially be a Ranger after the Rule V draft tomorrow...

YAY!! sorry I didn't really like him

mrsrabelo wrote:

YAY!! sorry I didn't really like him

Well, he was DFA, so he was going to be gone anyways!

Catbox, you can move this to either the "Rangers" or "old players" section!

bobrob2004 wrote:

mrsrabelo wrote:

YAY!! sorry I didn't really like him

Well, he was DFA, so he was going to be gone anyways!

Catbox, you can move this to either the "Rangers" or "old players" section!

Done

Shelton is gone? Was he released?

Been so many moves by the Tigers! Hard to keep track!

gs78 wrote:

Shelton is gone? Was he released?

Rangers picked him up in the rule 5 draftl

That picture is HILARIOUS.

Thanks! Players are coming and going so fast these days!

But I like the players that are now Tigers! :dontrelle: :edgar:

Go Tigers!

Oh Christ.

catbox_9 wrote:

gs78 wrote:

Shelton is gone? Was he released?

Rangers picked him up in the rule 5 draftl

Not exactly. We got Guzman for him. They waited until after the draft to announce it in case the Rangers wanted to add a Rule V draftee. They didn't.

bobrob2004 wrote:

He'll officially be a Ranger after the Rule V draft tomorrow...

He's a Ranger...

Who exactly do we STILL HAVE??!!!!

uhhhhhhhhhhhh........Chad Durbin......for now. :/

Hopefully Chad won't be traded!

bobrob2004 wrote:

catbox_9 wrote:

gs78 wrote:

Shelton is gone? Was he released?

Rangers picked him up in the rule 5 draftl

Not exactly. We got Guzman for him. They waited until after the draft to announce it in case the Rangers wanted to add a Rule V draftee. They didn't.

Yeah, you're right...

So Long Shelton!

Glad I didn't buy a Shelton Detroit Tigers Jersey!

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Former Tiger Chris Shelton was cut by the Texas Rangers on Monday, just more than a month after they acquired him in a trade.

Texas designated the first baseman for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for right-hander Kazuo Fukumori, who agreed to a $3 million, two-year contract with the Rangers last month.

The team has 10 days to trade, release or send Shelton outright to the minors. He was obtained from Detroit on Dec. 5 for outfielder Freddy Guzman.

A week after that deal, Texas acquired first baseman Ben Broussard in a trade with Seattle.

Shelton spent last season with Triple-A Toledo, hitting .269 with 14 home runs, 31 doubles and 65 RBIs in 139 games. He was Detroit's opening-day first baseman in 2006 and got off to an outstanding start before slipping into a slump that sent him back to the minors.

Shelton batted .326 with a team-record 19 extra-base hits, including 10 homers, in April 2006 to help Detroit open 16-9. But he hit only six homers after April 30, and his average slid to .277 by the time he was sent down to the minors at the trade deadline.

The Rangers have recalled Chris Shelton after DFA Jason Botts.

He signed a minor league deal with the Mariners...

I thought his career was over


Good Luck Chris

Shelton showing pop for Mariners
Journeyman first baseman hoping to stick with Seattle

PEORIA, Ariz. -- The best two weeks of Chris Shelton's career admittedly went to his head, causing more headaches than he ever could have imagined.

"I was pretty hard-headed when it came to making adjustments with my swing," Shelton said on Sunday. "When you don't make any adjustments, you don't have any success. It took a little time, but I feel like I've made those [adjustments] so I can get back on the right path."

The forlorn path Shelton has taken during the past three seasons has gone through Detroit, Toledo, Oklahoma City, Arlington and Peoria. He hopes the next stop is Seattle.

"I want to come in here, put on a good show and hopefully make the decision tough for the guys in the front office," he said. "I want to show them that I can fit into the club."

The quiet 28-year-old from Salt Lake City has made himself noticed, slugging a team- and Cactus League-high three home runs.

It kind of reminds you of the first two weeks of the 2006 regular season, when Shelton hit nine home runs in his first 13 games with the Tigers. He was the hottest thing going in Motown.

"I had a lot of confidence in myself," he recalled. "It was a good situation for me personally, and I was able to go out and relax and be myself. I was comfortable. I'd had some success the year before and coming in [to the '06 season, manager Jim] Leyland gave me an opportunity and said, 'You're going to play. You're going to be our guy.' That relaxed me a lot and helped me get off to that start."

There are no such assurances coming from the Mariners this spring, but there are job openings and Shelton has shown early signs of giving Seattle something it needs -- some offensive pop.

The Mariners finished next-to-last in the American League in home runs last season with 124, and the departed Raul Ibanez hit 21 of them.

Coming into Spring Training, left-handed hitting Russell Branyan was penciled in as the everyday first baseman. There are a lot of Cactus League games remaining, but the veteran is off to a slow start, going 3-for-12 with one extra-base hit -- a triple -- and two RBIs.

Manager Don Wakamatsu has not mentioned "platoon system" at first base, but there might be a chance of the regular season beginning next month with Branyan starting against right-handers and a right-handed batter against lefties.

Chris Shelton, perhaps?

"I have seen Chris for a long time and there is no doubt he has the power and he can give you a good at-bat," Wakamatsu said. "I have not been disappointed in what I've seen [this spring].

"The year he had the home run barrage, he started it against Texas, so I have seen what he's able to do. What we're trying to figure out is where the inconsistencies are, so the more we play him, the better feel we'll get."

The more games and at-bats the merrier as far as Shelton is concerned. He would prefer being an everyday player, but part-time duty in the big leagues beats full-time duty in the Minor Leagues.

Shelton has played just 41 games in the Majors since the '06 season.

"It has been frustrating," Shelton said. "I feel like there were some things that needed to happen for me to make some changes and make some adjustments."

He discarded the toe-tap routine during his at-bats, worked on his swing to make it more consistent, and perhaps even more important, lost weight during the offseason.

Shelton said he reported to Spring Training with the Rangers last season out of shape, packing almost 20 pounds more than he should have, and never was able to lose weight.

Though he batted a solid .340 with 11 home runs and 51 RBIs in 67 games for Triple-A Oklahoma, Shelton struggled with the Rangers, batting .216 with two home runs and 11 RBIs.

The Mariners signed him as a Minor League free agent last Dec. 3 and invited him to Spring Training as non-roster player.

By the time he signed with Seattle, Shelton already had decided to shed some weight.

"I lost 15 pounds," he said. "I feel like I'm moving real well and my body feels great. That's the biggest thing for me."

The diet apparently didn't affect his power.

"I wanted to lose weight, but also maintain strength as much as possible," he said. "I feel like I was able to do that."

Furthermore, he got rid of that hard-head of his. He finally changed a swing that had gone sour on him.

"It took awhile to get used to, but the time I spent in Triple-A last season, my confidence came back," he said. "I was able to go out there and compete every day and have some success.

"I had a really good offseason as well and I came in here ready to go."

Go Shelton