| Shane Bieber | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bieber with theCleveland Indians in 2020 | |
| Cleveland Guardians – No. 57 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1995-05-31)May 31, 1995 (age 29) Orange, California, U.S. | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 31, 2018, for the Cleveland Indians | |
| MLB statistics (through 2024 season) | |
| Win–loss record | 62–32 |
| Earned run average | 3.22 |
| Strikeouts | 958 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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Shane Robert Bieber (born May 31, 1995) is an American professionalbaseballpitcher for theCleveland Guardians ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). As awalk-on, Bieber playedcollege baseball for theUC Santa Barbara Gauchos, and was selected by the Indians in the fourth round of the2016 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut with Cleveland in 2018, was named anAll-Star in 2019 and 2021, and received theAmerican League's 2020Cy Young Award.
Bieber attendedLaguna Hills High School inLaguna Hills, California.[1] Bieber's pitch speed reached the mid-80s as a junior and hiscommand was very strong. He was recruited to playcollege baseball atUniversity of California, Santa Barbara as awalk-on and did not receive much attention from many other programs.[2] As a senior in 2013, he pitched to an 8–4 record with a 1.40 ERA.[3]
After graduating in 2013, he enrolled at theUniversity of California, Santa Barbara where he played for theUC Santa Barbara Gauchos baseball team as a walk-on.[1][2][3] He earned a scholarship by his sophomore year.[2] In 2014, he playedcollegiate summer baseball in theWest Coast League for theCowlitz Black Bears. In 2015, he playedcollegiate summer baseball in theCape Cod Baseball League for theYarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.[4] In 2016, his junior year, he went 12–4 with a 2.74 ERA in 18 starts.[5] He was drafted by theCleveland Indians in the fourth round of the2016 Major League Baseball draft.[6][7]
Bieber signed and made his professional debut with theMahoning Valley Scrappers, where he spent the whole season, posting a 0.38 ERA in 24 innings.[8] He spent 2017 with theLake County Captains,Lynchburg Hillcats, andAkron RubberDucks, pitching to a combined 10–5 record with a 2.86 ERA in 28 starts between the three teams.[9][10][11]
On May 25, 2018, Bieber pitched a rain-shortened seven-inningno-hitter for the Triple-AColumbus Clippers against theGwinnett Stripers.[12]
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The Indians purchased Bieber's contract on May 31,2018, and added him to their active roster.[13] He made his major league debut that evening, starting against theMinnesota Twins atTarget Field. He pitched5+2⁄3 innings, giving up four runs (all earned) and eight hits while walking one and striking out six as the Indians defeated Minnesota 9–8.[14] Bieber finished his rookie season with an 11–5 record, a 4.55 ERA, and 118 strikeouts in 20 appearances.[15]
Owning a 7–3 record with a 3.54 ERA over 18 games (17 starts) to begin the2019 season, Bieber was named anMLB All-Star for the first time, for the All-Star Game played at Progressive Field inCleveland.[16] He struck out the side on 19 pitches in the fifth inning as the American League won, 4–3. He received theAll-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award.[17] Bieber finished the season with a 15–8 record in 34 games (33 starts). In214+1⁄3 innings, he struck out 259. For the season, he received mention for theCy Young Award voting for the first time, placing fourth in the American League.[18]
The Indians made Bieber theirOpening Day starting pitcher in2020. They faced theKansas City Royals on July 24, 2020, at Progressive Field. Bieber struck out 14 batters in six innings in a 2–0 victory, setting a team record for most strikeouts by a starting pitcher onOpening Day.[19] In his next start on July 30 versus theMinnesota Twins, he struck out 13 batters in eight innings, tyingKarl Spooner for the most strikeouts by a pitcher in their first two starts in a season.[20]
In August, Bieber started six games and recorded a 1.63 ERA with 57 strikeouts, including five starts with double figures in strikeouts. Upon reaching 50 innings for the season, Bieber had tallied 84 strikeouts, the most by a starting pitcher in MLB history in that span, according to theElias Sports Bureau. At the end of the month, he had led the majors in ERA (1.20), strikeouts (84), wins (six), and innings (52+2⁄3). He was named American LeaguePitcher of the Month, his first monthly award in the major leagues.[21] Bieber reached 100 strikeouts at the62+1⁄3-inning mark versus Minnesota, the fastest in terms of innings pitched in one season in MLB history, passingMax Scherzer with 63 innings in 2018.[22]
For the 2020 season, Bieber became the first pitcher sinceJustin Verlander (who won in 2011 with the Detroit Tigers), to capture the American League pitchingtriple crown (8 wins, 1.63 ERA, 122 strikeouts) as the AL leader in each of the three categories.[23] He also led the AL in WAR (3.2), won-loss percentage (.889), fewest hits per 9 IP (5.353), and strikeouts per 9 IP (14.198).[24]
In the2020 American League Wild Card Series against theNew York Yankees, Bieber allowed seven runs on nine hits in4+2⁄3 innings, and the Indians were defeated 12–3.[25] They lost the best-of-three series, 2–0, following a 10–9 loss on Game 2. After the season, Bieber was awarded theAL Cy Young Award.
Bieber was the Indians' Opening Day starter for the 2021 season. On June 14, Bieber was placed on the injured list with a subscapularis strain. He was later transferred to the 60-day injured list on July 25.[26] Bieber was activated off of the injured list on September 24.
On March 22, 2022, Bieber signed a $6 million contract with the Guardians, avoiding salary arbitration.[27]
In 2022 he was 13–8 with a 2.88 ERA in 200 innings.[28] After the season, Bieber won theGold Glove Award, along with teammatesSteven Kwan,Andrés Giménez, andMyles Straw.[29]
On January 13, 2023, Bieber agreed to a one-year, $10.01 million contract with the Guardians for the 2023 season, avoiding salary arbitration.[30] After being placed on the 15-day injured list July 15 with elbow inflammation, Bieber was transferred to the 60-day injured list on July 24.[31] On September 22, Bieber was activated from the injured list and slotted as the starting pitcher that day against theBaltimore Orioles.[32]
Bieber started the 2024 season allowing no runs and winning both of his starts while striking out a league–leading 20 batters in 12 innings pitched. However, on April 6, 2024, it was announced that Bieber would undergoTommy John surgery to repair hisulnar collateral ligament, ending his season.[33]
On December 11, 2024, Bieber re-signed with the Guardians on a one-year major league contract with a player option for the 2026 season.[34]
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Bieber and longtime girlfriend, Kara, got engaged in July 2021.[35] They got married on January 21, 2023 in Malibu. During the baseball season, Bieber resides inWestlake, Ohio, a suburb ofCleveland.[36] With the same last name as Canadian singerJustin Bieber, the Cleveland pitcher chose "Not Justin" as his nickname for Players Weekend in 2019.[37] Justin was seen wearing a "Not Shane Bieber" jersey a few weeks later.[37] Bieber later gifted Justin an Indians jersey.[38] That same year, aTopps baseball card mistakenly called the pitcher "Justin" on the back of the card, with both Biebers joking about the mistake onTwitter.[39]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | American League Pitcher of the Month August 2020 | Succeeded by |
