Setting the pace

A relatively unknown player in Major League Baseball, Chris Shelton exploded onto the scene this year.

On April 17, Shelton became the fastest American League player ever to hit nine home runs. He is currently tied for third in the A.L. in homers (10) and is third the league in slugging percentage (.766).

Currently, the Tiger first baseman is hitting .319 with six doubles, three triples, and 20 RBIs. For his efforts, Shelton has been named the Deseret Morning News Athlete of the Month for the month of April.

"I try not to set personal number goals; they can serve as a distraction," said Shelton, a Salt Lake City native. "If you get near the end of the season and you haven't reached your goals, you can begin to struggle and your numbers might actually suffer."

Shelton has succeeded at every level where he has played. He prepped at Cottonwood High (1998), played two years at Salt Lake Community College and one year at the University of Utah.

While playing at Utah, he was voted Mountain West Conference Player of the Year. Later that year he was selected in the 33rd round by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pittsburgh failed to protect Shelton on its 40-man roster within three or four years of his original signing date, making Shelton available for the Rule 5 Draft and the Tigers selected him and put him immediately on their roster.

Shelton made his Major League debut on April 15, 2004, against the Toronto Blue Jays. He went hitless in two at-bats. Five days later, Shelton got his first hit in the majors against the Minnesota Twins when he smashed a double off Carlos Silva. Shelton continued to hit well that season and blasted his first home run, a 426-foot shot, on May 28 in a 7-5 loss to Baltimore.

Shelton started the 2005 season at Triple-A Toledo, batting .331 with eight home runs. On May 31, Shelton was called up to Detroit to replace Carlos Pena. Since then, Shelton has become a permanent fixture on the Tigers' roster and has continued to improve.

In 107 games last year, he batted .299 with 18 homers and 59 RBIs.

"I didn't do anything different in the offseason," he said. "I just did my usual hitting training. I hired a personal trainer, but I don't really attribute that to my success."

Curtis Hale, Cottonwood High's athletic director, coached Shelton from the time he was a freshman until he graduated. Hale said he isn't surprised Shelton has done so well.