Shannon Stewart: A Memorable Outfielder Who Turned Around The Twins' 2003 Season

It was a trade previously covered at Twins Daily by Tom Froemming and Cody Christie. Let’s take a closer look at Shannon Stewart’s entire career.

Shannon Harold Stewart was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on February 25, 1974. As a child, he moved to Florida and excelled in three sports while attending Southridge High School in Miami. In addition to baseball, Stewart also excelled in football and track. The Toronto Blue Jays drafted the talented six-foot, 175-pound Stewart in the first round (19^th pick) of the 1992 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

As a first-round pick, Shannon Stewart was always a highly-rated prospect, being listed by Baseball America as a top 100 prospect before the 1995, 1996, and 1997 seasons. In the minor leagues, he was a good offensive player, producing on-base percentages ranging from .723 in 1993 while at Low-A to .942 at Triple-A in 1997. He had cups of coffee with the Blue Jays in 1995 and 1996, but his success at Triple-A in 1997 proved he was fully ready for the big leagues.

The right-handed Stewart had played mostly center field in the minor leagues, but he settled primarily in left field in the majors. With Toronto not contending in 1997, Stewart played almost every day from his recall on August 13 through the end of the season. His 1997 statistics were very promising. He batted .286/.368/.446 for an OPS+ of 113. For the next six seasons, he was a mainstay in left field for the Blue Jays. In each of those seasons, he played at least 136 games. His OPS ranged from .782 to .882. His WAR peaked at 5.0 in 2000 when he hit .319/.363/.518. He had 21 home runs and 69 RBI that season, both career highs. 

Meanwhile, the Twins had won the American League Central in 2002 but struggled during the first half of 2003. During the All-Star break, they decided to make a move and acquired Shannon Stewart. They traded promising young outfielder Bobby Kielty to the Blue Jays (see links above) to jump-start the team. It worked almost perfectly. Stewart had a great second half, and so did the Twins. He was immediately inserted into the leadoff spot and responded by batting .322/.384/.470 after the trade. The Twins went on to a 46-23 record after the trade, which drove them to a second consecutive American League Central Division crown. The trade worked about as well as could be expected. Stewart’s contributions were recognized as he finished fourth in AL MVP voting that season.

Stewart batted .304 in 2004 and finished with a .827 OPS. He had excellent numbers but only played 92 games before plantar fasciitis limited his season. When he was out, Lou Ford played spectacularly, and the Twins cruised to another division title with a 92-70 record. Stewart and Ford led the offense, along with Torii Hunter and Corey Koskie.

2005 was the only season during Stewart’s tenure when the Twins did not win the division; they finished third with an 83-79 record. Stewart’s numbers dipped to .274/.323/.388. His OPS+ was 87. Really, the whole offense struggled, with only Matthew Lecroy, Joe Mauer, and Torii Hunter putting up better-than-average numbers. But this was the season Hunter broke his ankle in Boston and was done after only 98 games. It just wasn’t their year. 

The Twins and Stewart returned to their winning ways in 2006, going 96-66. They won the division again for the third time in Stewart’s four seasons with the team. But Stewart was not a big part of it, playing only 44 games, with none coming after July 15. 

Now for the bad news. The Twins won three division titles in Stewart’s time with the Twins but could not do anything in the playoffs. In 2003, the Twins won the first playoff game against the Yankees, 3-1, but then lost close contests in Games Two and Three before being blown out in Game Four to lose the series 3-1. In 2004, they again lost to the Yankees three games to one. They again won Game One due to a masterful shutout by Johan Santana and Joe Nathan. But, again, they lost the next three games to the Yankees, two in extra innings, and their 0-18 playoff streak was underway.

Stewart’s contributions to the playoff efforts were mixed. In 2003, he batted .400/.471/.533 but 2004 saw him hit .200/.190/.200. He was injured in 2006. 

Stewart’s contract was up after the 2006 season. Michael Cuddyer had established himself in 2006 as the right fielder. Torii Hunter was the center fielder. And the promising Jason Kubel was coming. Stewart was expendable with his increasing injury issues and younger reinforcements knocking on the door. He signed as a free agent with Oakland, where he had one decent season before completing his career with a partial season back in Toronto. The Blue Jays released him on August 11, 2008.

For his career, Shannon Stewart batted .297/.360/.430. His OPS was .790 (106 OPS+). He had 115 home runs and 580 runs batted in. Stewart scored at least 100 runs four times. He also stole over 20 bases four times, with a high of 51 steals in 1998. His 202 hits in 2001 were the third most in the American League. He accumulated 24.9 WAR in 14 seasons. He never appeared in an All-Star game but garnered MVP votes in two seasons. He was 25^th with Toronto in 2001 and the fourth-place finish with the Twins in 2003, as mentioned above. While his best seasons were in Toronto, he certainly contributed to some good teams in Minnesota. His time here produced a batting line of .294/.354/.418 – consistent with his career norms. He had 29 home runs and 162 runs batted in. I would have guessed more for both of those numbers. I thought he provided positive value during his time in Minnesota and was instrumental in the 2003 turnaround.

Stewart’s Instagram account reports, “[he is a] husband, father of three wonderful kids and a philanthropist.” He currently resides in Miami, Florida.

Do you have any lasting memories of Shannon Stewart? Please share them in the comments below.

If you like looking back at the Twins past, check out my previous articles at Twins Daily History.

Sources include Baseball Reference.

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