The Chaparral Pumas Baseball program held their annual alumni game Saturday, Jan. 16, in front of a packed crowd who not only came out to support the Pumas, but also came out to witness a part of history.
For the third time in as many years, a special jersey retirement ceremony was held for a current Major League Baseball player. This time around, former Puma standout and current MLB player, Shane Peterson was honored.
Peterson, a 2005 graduate of Chaparral is currently with the Milwaukee Brewers as an outfielder and before the alumni game had his No. 21 Puma jersey officially retired on the wall of fame located on the outfield fence of the Chaparral baseball field. Peterson joins other Chaparral greats Allen Craig (currently with the Boston Red Sox), Robbie Brantley (currently in the White Sox organization) and former Chaparral coach, David Barrett, who were all also in attendance.
It was great to see Shane’s high school jersey retired,” said Barrett. “He was an extremely well respected double-sport intelligent student athlete. In addition to his tremendous athleticism, he was hard working, mild mannered and humble. He excelled on the mound, first base and in the outfield as well as at the plate. I always enjoyed his sense of humor, often displaying his dry wit.”
Peterson went on to attend Long Beach State University, where he was named Second Team All-Big West in 2006 and First Team All-Big West in 2007 and was Co-Big West Player of the Year in 2008. He was drafted in 2008 by the St. Louis Cardinals, second round (59th overall), but was traded to the Oakland Athletics for Matt Holliday July 24, 2009. He was added to the 40-man roster Nov. 20, 2012, and was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs in 2014 and then again by the Milwaukee Brewers Dec. 23, of that same year.
“Chaparral alumni are all over the country and world doing great things. Shane is just another example of the high caliber of young people graduating from Chaparral. Retiring Shane’s jersey at the Annual Alumni Game is a small thank you for his outstanding contribution to Chaparral High School and Puma Baseball. Shane continues to hold the school record for most innings pitched and most strikeouts in a season. Having Allen and Robbie join Shane at the event was a homerun! We all need role models, and these three young men represent the best of the best in our community and their chosen profession,” said Chaparral Principal Gil Compton.
The day concluded with the Pumas varsity team squeaking out a 13-12 win over the alumni, which did not include any of the current major leaguers as they are not allowed to participate while under contract. New head coach Brian Brown, who was just named two weeks ago, had a very special treat for Chaparral High School Baseball PSG President, Eva Ebersole, who witnessed her freshman son Sam, get to play against older brother Ben, a 2015 graduate and former CHS baseball player.
“It’s a great honor for our CHS baseball program to have three of our very own MLB players return to their school to meet other alumni and players every year and seeing my boys at an age where they can really compete against each other, well it was a special day all-around,” said Ebersole.
The excitement for baseball season is mounting as MLB players have less than a month before they must report to spring training practices. For local high school baseball teams, preseason games start in late February.
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