The San Francisco Examiner ran through the area's top potential draft picks in late May 1989 and, there at the end under "Sleepers and Question Marks," was high schooler Shawn O'Connell.
The pitcher out of Campolindo High School had gone 6-5 and "throws hard enough to bear watching," The Examiner wrote.
O'Connell did get taken in that draft and he eventually signed and turned pro. His pro career lasted parts of four seasons. He topped out at single-A.
O'Connell's career began that year in 1989, taken by the Orioles in the 38th round of the draft out of Campolindo High in Moraga, Ca.
O'Connell didn't make it to the field with the Orioles, though, until the next year, 1990, at rookie Bluefield. He saw 18 games in relief and went 1-1, with a save and an 8.16 ERA.
He returned to Bluefield for 1991. He threw two hitless relief innings that July. He earned a save that August.
For 1992, he moved to single-A Kane County. Early that April, he admitted to his new manager Joel Youngblood to getting tired on the mound in an outing where he gave up two runs in three innings, The South Bend Tribune wrote. Youngblood wasn't impressed.
"I went out and asked him, 'Are you tired?'" Youngblood told The Tribune afterward. "He said, 'Yeah.' I said, "You've only thrown 39 pitches. I throw 200 every day (in batting practice).'"
That May, O'Connell entered a game in the 10th inning and saw seven batters over two innings for the win. Overall, O'Connell saw 22 relief outings, with a 9.71 ERA. The Orioles released him in July.
O'Connell signed on with independent Sioux Falls for 1993, but his time there proved brief. He saw a single game to end his career.
- San Francisco Examiner, May 30, 1989: Bay Area's Top Draftees
- South Bend Tribune, April 12, 1992: S.B. Sox
Made the Majors:1,423-32.0
Never Made Majors:3,019-68.0%-X
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