My Personal Shawn Green Biography

Shawn David Green was born on November 10 1972 to Judy and Ira Green in Des Plaines Illinois. Ira worked in sales and when Shawn was a year old the family moved first to New Jersey and then on to San Jose California, where they remained until Shawn was twelve. The next move was to Tustin California.

Although Shawn’s main sporting love was baseball he also played soccer until he was ten. Baseball was always his game though and from a very early age, even as a toddler he loved to hit and throw a ball with his dad. As he grew his parents bought him his own batting cage and pitching machine. They were always there to help and encourage their son whenever needed. (In later years Shawn would say how this help and support of his family helped him through the good times and the bad.) Some days he would hit up to 200 balls a day until he could hardly hold a bat. Next day he would be back for more. He just loved to hit.

Maybe during this time he would be dreaming of playing in Fenway Park in Boston like his baseball idol Ted Williams. Little did he know then that in just a few short years he would be right there hitting one of the longest home runs to right field of the 1997 season to win the game for a future hall of famer Roger Clemens! In fact it was Green’s hitting that won three out of four games in that series, two of them with home runs.

Whilst still living in San Jose, Shawn became a member of the Little League program and went on to play in the Pony League before moving to Irvine. Baseball was his life, he just loved to play all year around! He attended Tustin High School where he really started to show what the future would hold for him.

During this time he also tied the California Interscholastic federation hit record with 147 during his senior year and was a first team selection to the 1991 USA Today All-USA high school team. 1991 was a very big year for Shawn he also won a baseball scholarship to Stanford University and oh yes he was also drafted by the Blue Jay’s as their first round pick and sixteenth over all. Yes 1991 was good to Green. It was a difficult decision for Green to make Baseball or University? To start with he was very undecided and even started at Stanford in the fall of ‘91.

Then he managed to strike a deal with the Jay’s. What if he played ball in the summer in the Minor Leagues but go back to finish his schooling in the off season? The deal was done! This kept everyone happy as the Jay’s wanted him but he had the intelligence to know that he needed his education just in case things did not work out in baseball and even if they did what about when his career was over! Yes he needed that education, just in case!

He also received one of the highest signing bonuses at that time, a portion of which he donated to the Metropolitan Toronto Housing Authority Breakfast Club which provides breakfast for kids that would normally go to school hungry. He knew he was privileged and wanted to share that privilege with those less fortunate than himself.

As anyone who has ever attended a Jays’ game will verify, if there is a player out there signing autographs it will be Shawn Green. He really does care about others. Even though he is very shy he knows just how to make a kids day. He always has a smile and you can see he is doing his job not just for money like some players but for the love of the game too. If more players made the effort to do what he does it would go a long way towards bringing people back to baseball!

Select a year to see the highlights of that year for Shawn

The Minor League Years
1995 The Rookie Year
1996 The up and down season
1997 Something to prove.
1998 The New Beginning
1999 Proving Them All Wrong