Shawn Estes

Aaron Shawn Estes is a professional baseball player who is currently a free agent. He was born on February 18, 1973 in San Bernardino, California.

Estes began his professional career with the Bellingham Mariners in "A" ball in 1991. He then played with the Appleton Foxes, Arizona League Mariners and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers from 1992 until 1995, when the Mariners traded Estes to the San Francisco Giants. The Giants moved him through their farm system rapidly during the 1995 season, sending him to the Burlington Bees, San Jose Giants and Shreveport Captains.

Estes made his Major League debut for the Giants on September 16, 1995. He spent time with the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Diego Padres in 2008.

He began his career with the Bellingham Mariners in "A" ball in 1991. He then played with the Appleton Foxes, Arizona League Mariners and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers from 1992-1995. The Mariners traded Estes to the San Francisco Giants on May 21, 1995 for Salomon Torres.

The Giants moved him through their farm system rapidly during the 1995 season, sending him to the Burlington Bees, San Jose Giants and Shreveport Captains.

San Francisco Giants

Estes made his Major League debut with the Giants on September 16, 1995, working 5.1 innings as a starter against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He allowed five earned runs and collected the Loss. He was 0-3 in three starts for the Giants that September.

Estes returned to the minors to start the 1996 season, with the Phoenix Firebirds but was recalled to the Majors to start a game against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers on July 13. Estes worked seven shutout innings to record his first career victory.

Estes had his best season as a professional in 1997, when he went 19-5 with a 3.18 ERA for the San Francisco Giants. He was selected to the NL All-Star team during this season. He also has 4 career home runs and 28 RBIs, including a grand slam in 2000.


2002 - 2005

The Giants traded Estes to the New York Mets on December 16, 2001 for Desi Relaford and Tsuyoshi Shinjo. He started 23 games for the Mets with a record of 4-9 and a 4.55 ERA before he was traded again on August 15 to the Cincinnati Reds for Brady Clark, Raul Gonzalez, Elvin Andujar and Pedro Feliciano. He pitched in just six games for the Reds, finishing 1-3 with a high 7.71 ERA.

Thisled to a period where he appeared with three different teams over the next three seasons. He played for the Chicago Cubs in 2003 (8-11, 5.73 in 28 starts), Colorado Rockies in 2004 (15-8, 5.84 in 34 starts) and Arizona Diamondbacks in 2005 (7-8, 4.80 in 21 starts).


Retirement

Estes retired on June 19, 2009. In an interview several weeks later, Estes claimed that he has not retired, but that he is simply unwilling to play AAA baseball.

Shawn and his wife Heather have two sons, Jackson and Cody. They live in Arizona.

Injury Problems

Estes signed one year deal with the San Diego Padres for the 2006 season but made only one start before he was lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery.

Estes began his 2007 comeback with minor league appearances in Single-A, though he was soon promoted to Triple-A Portland. After his first start in Portland, Estes reaggravated his injured pitching elbow. He was placed on the disabled list retroactive to August 6.

On May 8, 2008, Estes finally returned to the Majors after missing most of the previous two seasons with injuries. He started eight games for the Padres in 2008, finishing 2-3 with a 4.74 ERA. The Padres chose not to resign him after the season.

On January 9, 2009, Estes signed a one-year minor league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers with an invitation to spring training. He was expected to compete for the fifth starter position but pitched poorly in spring training games and was released on March 22. However, after thinking about his options, he decided to stay with the Dodgers and report to minor league camp to attempt to transition into a situational reliever The Dodgers assigned Estes to the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes to open the season, where he was 3-4 with a 3.08 ERA in 13 starts.