Ex-Penn star Shannon signed by Phillies

The Quakers' 1996 leader in hits seemingly lost a chance to play pro ball when he hurt his hand. Mike Shannon, a 1996 Penn graduate, pulled off the very improbable on Monday. Around 2:00 p.m., the former pitcher and first baseman for the Quakers baseball squad was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies organization to a one-year minor league contract, Shannon confirmed last night. The 22-year-old's signing was unlikely because he was passed over in the spring draft due to a hand injury that occurred last spring. His age played a role, as well. But Shannon called up teams, including the Yankees, Mets and Orioles, and signed with the Phillies -- the first team that saw him work out. Shannon will begin spring training on March 9 in Clearwater, Fla., and expects to be assigned to a low-A affiliate. Besides undergoing rehabilitation on his hand from May through November, Shannon has been bartending at Smokey Joe's and working out in the Penn facilities and with the team. "He's worked his fanny off," Penn baseball coach Bob Seddon said. "He's worked out every single night lifting weights and swinging the bat. It's very difficult to get signed in that kind of environment." Shannon was signed as a third-baseman -- a position that he did not play at Penn. As a Quaker, Shannon saw plenty of time on the mound and at first base, with some time in the outfield. Not playing a more demanding infield position, Seddon said, was due to Shannon's heavy workload as a pitcher -- being the No. 1 man in the rotation last year. "You can't pitch and play shortstop," said Seddon, referring to Shannon's high school position. "You can't pitch and play third base, although we may be forced to do that with Armen Simonian this year." Scouts said last year that Shannon's pitching velocity wasn't hard enough to be considered major-league and his slugging wasn't up to par with the traditional powerhouse first basemen. "A lot of guys didn't do their homework, because I was saying that third base was the position for him all along," Seddon said. An All-American in 1995, Shannon said that he has been pretty disappointed until now. "Last year I was pretty depressed after I got hurt," Shannon said. "But my hand started to get better, and now it's like a big burden has been lifted." Shannon has the top two spots locked up in the Penn record books for hits in a season, with 70 in 1995 and 63 in 1996. Shannon also holds second place for doubles in a season (18), second in season batting average (.444) and second in season runs batted in (47). Last year, he played in 37-of-42 games and posted a 4-1 record with a 3.89 ERA, including two shutouts. At the plate, Shannon batted .444 with a .725 slugging percentage and a .623 on-base percentage. Shannon joins Mark DeRosa, who signed with the Atlanta Braves last June, as players who signed after the 1996 season.