Former Gov Kelley created his own baseball destiny

Few days will be more important to Shawn Kelley than June 1st, 2007.

The October 2007 day he and the former Kelsey McNalley were married; the upcoming birth of his first child in late August; the day in early April 2009 that Kelley was told he had made the Seattle Mariners ball club are all dates undoubtedly more important to Kelley. 

June 1st, 2007 was the day Shawn Kelley literally created his own destiny. Kelley was wrapping up his senior baseball season at Austin Peay State University. Even though he was Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year, owning an eye-popping 11-3 record, a 2.52 earned-run average and a nine-game winning streak, Kelley had no guarantee what lie ahead for him as far as his baseball future was concerned.

Although he impressed many entering this date with fate, he also was a fifth-year senior. Fifth-year seniors, especially pitchers, sometimes are viewed by professional baseball scouts as if they are too old, or worse yet, as if they are touched by disease.

Rumors had Kelley perhaps being drafted somewhere in rounds 20-25. But George Sherrill, now with the Los Angeles Dodgers, heard those same rumors when he was at Austin Peay back in the late 1990s and he went undrafted—he was a four-year college player.

Austin Peay was set to play Vanderbilt, the favorite to win the NCAA baseball championship in the first round of regional play in Nashville. And, oh by the way, the Commodores also would pitch the overwhelming choice to be the 2007 major league draft’s No. 1 pick, David Price, against the Governors.

His mound opponent? Shawn Kelley.

“I knew there would be a scout or two of every major league team watching Price,” Kelly said. “I figured it might be the last game I ever pitched so I decided to go out and do it right.”

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