Ben Sheets

Ben Sheets was a right-handed pitcher who won a gold medal with the USA baseball team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. That year he was playing in the minor leagues with the Huntsville Stars. Sheets played in college at Northeast Louisiana University, and played in the summers in the Cape Cod Baseball League, with the Wareham Gatemen in 1998 and the Orleans Cardinals in 1999. He was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers as the #10 pick in the first round of the 1999 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft.

Sheets came up to the big leagues in April 2001 with the Brewers and played with them from 2001-08. He did not play in 2009 as he was recovering from elbow surgery, and he similarly missed the 2011 season with another elbow injury. He played in 2010 with the Oakland Athletics and finished his career in 2012 with the Atlanta Braves. Sheets had a major league record of 94 wins and 96 losses with a lifetime ERA of 3.78. He made four All-Star Games, in 2001, 2004, and 2007-08. Sheets was inducted into the Milwaukee Brewers Hall of Honor in 2014.

After his playing career Sheets became a part owner of the American Hockey League’s Milwaukee Admirals and has been a volunteer baseball coach at his alma mater, the University of Louisiana at Monroe (formerly Northeast Louisiana University).