Shawn Green

Biography

Shawn David Green (born November 10, 1972 in Des Plaines, Illinois) is a left-handed power hitter in Major League Baseball. He is noted for his swing and his arm in the outfield. He is also one of the most notable Jewish ball players.

Early career
Shawn Green was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1st round (16th pick) of the 1991 amateur draft and made his Major League debut on September 28, 1993. He spent most of 1993 and 1994 playing in the minors, where he compiled impressive numbers. For the Syracuse Chiefs in 1994 he hit .344 with 13 HRs and 81 RBIs.

In 1995, his rookie season, Shawn started slowly but picked up the pace later on as he became more comfortable with Major League pitching. He started in 97 games that season, hitting 15 HRs and batting .288. The 1996 and 1997 seasons were very similar in that Shawn faced limited at-bats, wasn't trusted to hit left-handed pitching, and continued to produce only in sporadic intervals. He was, however, developing in other ways. He proved to be more aggressive on the base paths in 1997 than any previous year and stole 14 bases. He was also developing his upper body strength in hopes of alleviating the skinny kid persona which had followed him from the minors.

Best years
In 1998, for the first time, Shawn was granted an every day spot in the line-up -- right-handed pitcher or left -- and he delivered by becoming the first Blue Jay to hit 30 or more home runs and steal 30 or more bases in the same season. The season was beyond what even his fiercest apologists over the previous seasons had predicted. Shawn had never hit more than 18 HRs in a season (Major or minor leagues) but was now showing the signs of becoming a true power hitter. He finished the season batting .278 with 35 HRs, 100 RBIs and 35 SBs.