The baseball season ended on Sunday for Texas Rangers reliever and ECU baseball alum Shawn Armstrong.
The Rangers’ quest to make the playoffs missed the mark down the stretch. However, Armstrong had one of his best seasons ever and earned the team’s Player of the Month honor for September, when he had a 1.29 ERA in 13 games, recording four saves in 14 innings with two earned runs, two walks and 13 strikeouts while holding batters to a .146 average.
Down the stretch, he became the face of the bullpen, which didn’t have a de facto closer. He had season career-bests in innings (73), strikeouts (74), saves (9) and WHIP (0.80).
His reach this season goes off the field, too. According to NolanWritin.com, a website that covers the Rangers, “He’s prepped, cooked, served and delivered meals at shelters and missions all across the American League. Armstrong takes part in Big League Impact, a non-profit organization started by former St. Louis pitcher Adam Wainwright, which pairs athletes with causes to help provide basic needs in communities ‘in an effort to save lives, restore dignity, and instill hope.’”
The story also indicates Armstrong offers a financial contribution to the JR98 Foundation, “a Fort Worth-based non-profit centered on advocating for mental health named for the late Jean Ramirez, who attended Boswell High School and was later the Tampa Bay Rays bullpen catcher until his death by suicide in 2022.”
He told the website how much he enjoyed the season. The team remains optimistic it will bring him back next season, too.
“When I got the offer from Texas, I told myself, I’m not even going to listen to other offers,” Armstrong said. “I had a wonderful organization interested in me. And I was going to go have fun and enjoy it. Whatever happens, happens. If it’s the last year, it’s the last year, but just be where your feet are. And then getting involved in Big League Impact and dealing with mental health, suicide prevention, it all just hit home. Enjoy the game. You never know when your last pitch is going to come. Enjoy what you are doing.”
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