Craig Shipley

Craig Barry Shipley

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 185 lb.
• School University of Alabama
• High School Epping Boys High School
• Debut June 22, 1986
• Final Game September 25, 1998
• Born January 7, 1963 in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia

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Biographical Information

Craig Shipley is the brother of Mark Shipley, a defensive standout in the Australian Baseball League who played in spring training in the US one year but never made it to Organized Baseball. Shipley has coached for Australia in the 2001 Baseball World Cup and 2006 World Baseball Classic.

When Craig Shipley made his major league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1986, he was only the second Australian-born player to debut in the majors; the first, Joe Quinn had debuted over 100 years earlier, in 1884. Shipley was then followed by a large number of other Australians beginning in the 1990s.

After his playing days, Shipley became Vice President for International Scouting for the Boston Red Sox. However, he was not retained when Ben Cherington succeeded Theo Epstein as General Manager after the 2011 season. He was credited with much of the work when Boston signed Japanese pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima, both of whom were key contributors to the Sox's 2007 World Championship. He later was a Arizona Diamondbacks scout, signing Maik Ehmcke and Jordan McArdle.

In 2005, he was inducted into the Baseball Australia Hall of Fame as part of the initial class.

Related Sites

• Craig Shipley at the SABR Bio Project