Shawn Gilbert

Albert Shawn Gilbert

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 170 lb.
• School Golden West College, Arizona State University, California State University, Fresno
• High School Agua Fria High School
• Debut June 2, 1997
• Final Game July 2, 2000
• Born March 12, 1965 in Camden, NJ USA

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Albert Shawn Gilbert Jr. was drafted four times by three different teams - the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cincinnati Reds and the Minnesota Twins. It wasn't until their second try that the Twins were able to finally sign him in 1987.

The 5'9", 185 pound Gilbert was not too imposing (some sources say he was as small as 170 pounds), but he held his own in the minors by using his small stature to swipe 40 or more bases in 3 out of 4 seasons between 1988 and 1991. He also hit .372 in 43 at-bats with the Visalia Oaks in 1988.

Gilbert, who batted and threw right-handed, made his major league debut with the New York Mets on June 2, 1997, by which time he was already 32 years old. Over the next few years, he bounced between the majors and minors. On June 10, 1998, Gilbert was traded from the Mets to the St. Louis Cardinals for Wayne Kirby. He ended up swiping only 2 bases in 51 total major league games and hitting .149.

An interesting fact about Gilbert's major league career is in 51 games, he only had 47 at-bats and he scored more runs than he had hits. It is very rare for a player to appear in 50 or more career games with more runs than hits and with more games than at-bats. Two other examples of this are Charles Gipson and Glen Barker.

In the 1999 Pan American Games, Gilbert was 3 for 8 with a double as the backup shortstop to Travis Dawkins for Team USA.

He retired from professional baseball in 2003 at the age of 38 after playing in the Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates farm systems in all of 2001, 2002, and 2003.

Gilbert was an assistant coach at Fresno Pacific University, then moved to Long Beach State University as an assistant coach in 2011-2014. Gilbert became head coach at Servite High School in 2015.