Shaun Marcum

Shaun Michal Marcum

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.
• School Southwest Missouri State University
• High School Excelsior Springs High School
• Debut September 6, 2005
• Final Game June 17, 2015
• Born December 14, 1981 in Kansas City, MO USA

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Biographical Information

Shaun Marcum was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 3rd round of the 2003 amateur draft. He was signed by scout Ty Nichols and made his pro debut that summer.

Marcum missed all of the 2009 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September 2008. He had established himself as a top starter in his second full season for the Toronto Blue Jays, with a 3.29 ERA in 25 starts in 2008. He came back to be the Jays' opening day starter in 2010, taking a no-hitter into the 7th inning before giving up a walk, a hit to Vladimir Guerrero and a three-run game-tying homer to Nelson Cruz. He ended up with a no-decision.

Marcum delivered the 2-0 cutter to Alex Rodriguez on August 4, 2010 that turned into home run number 600 for A-Rod at New Yankee Stadium. On August 16, he pitched the first complete game of his career, a one-hitter over the Oakland Athletics; the only hit he gave up was a 7th-inning solo home run to Conor Jackson in the 3-1 victory. After the season, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for top infield prospect Brett Lawrie. He had his best season with the Brewers in 2011, reaching 200 innings for the first time and finishing the year 13-7, with a 3.54 ERA in 33 starts. He was one of five Brewer starters to log 10 or more wins, helping the team to the NL Central title. In the postseason, he was terrible, however, giving up 7 runs in 4 2/3 innings in a loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS, and then losing both of his starts to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS; these were not tough losses either, as he gave up 9 runs on 10 hits in two starts. In Game 6, he gave up 4 runs in the top of the 1st inning, putting his team in an early hole and forcing his manager, Ron Roenicke to yank him in favor of Chris Narveson before the start of the second inning. It was too late, however, as his teammates were never able to close the gap and he was charged with the loss that eliminated Milwaukee from the playoffs.

Marcum's 2012 season started poorly as well, as he came down with stiffness in his shoulder before making his first Cactus League start in early March and had to be shut down temporarily; he later missed more time with elbow tightness. He pitched well when he was healthy, however, going 7-4, 3.70 in 21 starts with 109 strikeouts in 121 innings. The Brewers were out of contention all season however, and did not attempt to re-sign him when he became a free agent at the end of the year. Instead, he signed with the New York Mets on January 24th.

Shaun was projected to take the place of departed ace R.A. Dickey in the starting rotation in 2013. However, he pitched about as far from a Cy Young Award winner as possible at the start of the season, after missing the first three weeks of the year with an injury suffered in spring training. He lost his first start, on April 27th, then had to be used in relief in the 14th inning of a game two days later, and suffered another loss, giving up two runs to the Miami Marlins in the 15th inning. After 6 appearances, he was 0-5 with a 6.59 ERA when he finally pitched a solid game on May 26th, striking out a career-high 12 batters and walking none in 7 innings. However, he left with the score tied, 2-2, and it was reliever LaTroy Hawkins who was gifted with the win when the Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves, 4-2, with a pair of runs in the bottom of the 8th. He fell to 0-7 on June 8th after a superb effort. Having been scheduled to start two days earlier in a game that was rained out, he was fresh when he came into another long game against the Marlins, this one tied at 1 after 12 innings. He pitched scoreless ball until the 20th inning, but his opponent, Kevin Slowey, who had come in the bottom of the 13th after also having skipped a start, matched him for 7 innings. Marcum cracked first, when he gave up three consecutive hits in the 20th and allowed a run that handed him another loss. For the day, his pitching line was 8 innings, 5 hits, 1 run, no walks and 7 strikeouts. He finally registered his first win on June 26th, when he pitched 8 shutout innings in a 3-0 defeat of the Chicago White Sox. He then experienced tingling and numbness in his right arm in a game against the Brewers on July 6th; further exams revealed indicated the need for surgery on his throwing shoulder, bringing an end to his season. His record stood at 1-10, 5.29 in 14 appearances.

On December 16, 2013, Marcum signed a one-year deal as a minor league free agent with the Cleveland Indians, with a shot at making the team's starting rotation in 2014. Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway had worked successfully on a number of other reclamation projects like Marcum, most notably Scott Kazmir whose career was resuscitated under Callaway's watch in 2013. However, he did not pitch at all in the major leagues that season, as injuries limited him to only 9 minor league games and a total of 17 1/3 innings. He started the 2015 season with an appearance in long relief with the Indians on April 12th, in which he gave up only 1 run in 5 innings to the Detroit Tigers after T.J. House and Austin Adams had put the team in an early hole. In spite of this good showing, he was assigned to the AAA Columbus Clippers for a while but earned a call back to Cleveland after going 4-0, 1.36 in 5 starts. On May 20th, he won his first start in almost two years, 4-3 over the Chicago White Sox. After the 2015 season Marcum retired and joined the coaching staff at Northwestern Oklahoma State University.

Notable Achievements

• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (2011)

Related Sites

• Shaun Marcum on mlb.com