After a game in Mississippi, an inebriated woman asked John Shelby III to autograph a baseball and added, “Can you put your number on it?”
Then a center fielder for the Birmingham Barons, Shelby said, “I’m sorry, ma’am; I’m married.”
“Not your phone number; your baseball number,” she replied.
Shelby said, “I felt real stupid after that.”
Shooting straight is a Shelby trait.
As the oldest of six children, he learned to be “pretty straightforward” and develop a sense of humor.
“I like to make people laugh. I keep it nice and easy around the clubhouse and around my house. I try to keep a nice atmosphere where everybody can have fun and be themselves,” said Shelby, who was recently traded to the Montgomery Biscuits, the Southern League Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.
The 2009 and 2010 seasons, both with the Barons, the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, were not as much fun as some seasons he’s had. Shelby struggled.
Desperately wanting to fulfill the dream of following in his father’s footsteps and playing in the major leagues, he repeated the same classification for the first time since being drafted in 2006.
“I never thought I would repeat a level. I never thought I would have any struggles with baseball,” said Shelby, who hit .243 in 2009 and .249 in 2010. He did hit 11 home runs in 2010 and, in 2008, was the White Sox Minor League Player of the Year.
“I feel like I’ve matured a lot,” said Shelby as he learned to stay positive and “grind” every day.
Through it all, Shelby relied on God.
“I want to give God my all. That is my mission. I play to glorify God. I don’t want to judge anybody, but I think a lot of people play this game and they are all about baseball. I know God has given me talent. It’s not that we can pick and choose what we want to be in life. It is the gift God gives us. That passion to play baseball is really huge, and I’ve got to give Him all the glory for that. Being able to do something that I love every day is an honor.”
From day one, Shelby was destined to play baseball. His parents put a baseball in his crib.
Shelby’s father, John Jr., played 11 seasons in the big leagues with the Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroit Tigers. He was on World Series championship teams with the Orioles in 1983 and the Dodgers in 1988. He is now a coach for the Milwaukee Brewers.
When younger brother Jeremy was drafted to the Bluefield (W.Va.) Blue Jays, it became a Shelby triple play.
However, John Jr. gave his sons more than a baseball dream.
“My dad is a positive role model. He is definitely a godly man,” John III said.
Both ordained ministers, his parents “don’t just preach it; they live it,” said John III, a member of Greater New Hope Christian Center in Lexington, Ky., his hometown.
His “biggest thing” is to be a godly example. “I have put that into my own heart, no matter where I am.”
He’s also put that on his arm with a tattoo of Matthew 5:16.
He also has Proverbs 3:5 tattooed on his arm.
A “huge” Bible verse is Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
“I put that on my bat, just to know without Him, basically we are nothing,” John III said.
In 2009, he slammed 10 homers and had 49 RBIs. Last year, his .412 slugging percentage was among team leaders, but he wanted his batting average to be better. He stole 30 bases in 2009, seventh in the Southern League and first among White Sox minor leaguers.
Drafted by the White Sox in the fifth round, he was named by Baseball America as their best athlete of the 2006 draft class.
With the Kannapolis (N.C.) Intimidators in 2007, he led White Sox minor leaguers in triples. He tied the Carolina League record with three home runs in one game with Winston-Salem in 2008.
The 25-year-old was Kentucky’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2003 as a senior at Tates Creek High School, and at the University of Kentucky (UK), he was a pre-season All-American his junior year and second team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) as a sophomore and junior.
It was at UK that he became closer to God. While he became a Christian when he was a child, he said it wasn’t until he was a college freshman that his life changed.
John III lives by the motto “There is no victory without a battle.”
He only had to look in his family to see battles.
At age 13, Jeremy was diagnosed with Hodgkin Disease. Chemotherapy and radiation treatments followed.
The way Jeremy, now 23, fought the lymphoma, which he said made his faith stronger and appreciation for life greater, inspired John III.
Today Jeremy, who was first team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference at Grambling State University in Louisiana, is cancer-free.
“He is my little big brother. He always helps me out. We talk every night and push each other through the hard times.
“There are many times when you want to give up but you can’t. You have to have faith in baseball, faith in life. There is always going to be a battle.”
Studying the Bible is the “main thing,” and “a lot of people out there praying for me every day” helps maintain his spiritual fervor.
Among those praying for him is his wife, Tricia. The couple married before the 2010 season.
“I want to increase my faith every day,” he said. “I want to keep on being a witness. I hope I lead a lot of people to Christ and increase a lot of people’s faith.”
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