READING, Pa. — The walk from the Reading Fightin' Phils' clubhouse to the dugout typically takes about 30 seconds. Unless you're Stephen Shackleford. For Shackleford, it can take a good half hour.
That’s because Shackleford, as the de facto mayor of Baseballtown, has to talk to the people. He signs autographs, poses for pictures and listens to stories. Most of the folks at Reading’s First Energy Stadium seem to know the team’s closer.
More impressively, the 26-year-old right-hander out of the Savannah College of Arts & Design, seems to know everyone by name.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity that has been given to me here,” Shackleford said, sounding less like a politician and more like a down-to-earth dude from Louisville, Kentucky. “I love Baseballtown. The fans here are awesome and it’s great to be a part of history.”
That bit of history is the Reading saves record, which Shackleford added to on Thursday night with his 26th of the season. Last Monday night Shackleford saved his 25th game to break the franchise record held by Justin Friend (2012), Wayne Gomes (1996) and Toby Borland (1991).
Of those 26 saves, three have come in outings longer than an inning and six have been sewn up with 13 pitches or fewer. Shackleford needed 31 pitches to wrap up his pair of saves this week and, more importantly, he has not allowed an earned run in more than a month (since July 11 in Akron).
Not bad for a 35th round draft pick out of art school who throws 92-mph, has been released twice and even spent a stint in Independent League ball.
MLB
“[Being a closer is] a big deal and he’s embraced it,” Reading manager Dusty Wathan said. “It’s fun for me to have a [true] closer. To have a full-time closer is nice because sometimes the organization wants guys to go two innings or to be used in different roles.”
As a minor-league free agent, not much was expected from Shackleford headed into this season. Drafted in 2010 as the 1,068th overall pick by the Giants, Shackleford was “discovered” by chance at a high school showcase in Tennessee. From that he caught the eye of the Savannah School of Art & Design’s baseball coach and was invited to visit the campus where he was offered a scholarship.
“It was the best of both worlds,” Shackleford said of his college experience. “All the guys on the team were in the same boat as me from all around the United States. We all liked the art and liked to play baseball. It was great.
“My sophomore year we went to the NAIA World Series.”
In three years of college ball, Shackleford “put up numbers” though he didn’t necessarily turn many heads with his fastball or 6-foot-1, 185-pound build. A 19-5 record with a 2.59 ERA and 170 strikeouts in 194 1/3 innings over his last two seasons was enough for the Giants to take a chance.
Or, perhaps, it was enough for Shackleford to leave school and try out pro ball.
It wasn’t easy. Though Shackleford continued to put up numbers in rookie and low-A ball in two seasons with the Giants — 82 strikeouts and a 3.69 ERA in 80 1/3 innings — he was released before the 2012 season. Three weeks in Independent League ball with a team in Florence, Kentucky got him an offer with Seattle where he continued to post numbers.
However, though Shackleford racked up 116 strikeouts in 116 2/3 innings with a 2.93 for the Mariners’ high-A and Double-A clubs, he was released again.
That’s when the Phillies and Wathan stepped in. Figuring Shackleford would have nothing to lose after being waived twice, Wathan decided to make him the team’s closer. He did the same thing with Friend, another minor-league free agent looking to get noticed.
So why not make him the closer?
“To me, if you have a minor-league free agent it’s easy to put those guys on the map,” Wathan said. “We put Justin Friend on the map and gave him a chance. Shack came in and saved a few games and I kind of gave those guys a chance by putting them on the map. Shack has a 2.50 ERA, he was an all-star, he put himself on the map. To help their careers I think it’s tremendous. It’s just a situation where he has the right build for it and the right mentality and it works out good.”
Shackleford’s man-of-the-people nature and his ability to make friends could be his strongest attribute on the diamond. Part of that is why Shackleford was so insistent on being the team’s designated catcher of the dozens of first pitches thrown before every game.
In fact, when spring training camp broke in Clearwater and he was headed to Reading, the first thing Shackleford wanted to know wasn’t the franchise save record, but if he could be the catcher for the ceremonial first pitches.
“I love catching the first pitch. I’ve been doing it for a couple of years now. That was the first thing I asked when we got here from Clearwater,” Shackleford said. “It’s a great way to give back to the fans and you meet a lot of cool people, too.”
And it might even help the first-place Reading Phils in the late innings, too, reasons Wathan.
“You have to be able to communicate with people. He does all kinds of stuff, he catches the first pitches and it’s big because it helps him forget if he has a bad day,” Wathan explained. “The biggest thing is to forget if you have a bad day, especially if you’re a closer. If your bad day is one run and you lose, that’s something everyone remembers. Nobody remembers if you give up two runs in the sixth inning.”
With 26 saves and counting and a little more than two weeks, plus the playoffs, remaining in the season, perhaps Shackleford’s most memorable moment is yet to come.