The Reeds: from backyard barn to the major leagues
Robby General / Ball State Spring Training / March 23, 2017
Shelbie Reed spends nearly every day with her husband A.J. – a first baseman in the Houston Astros system.
Every home game during spring training, she watches her husband from her reserved seat, which lies between home plate and the home team’s dugout, at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.
But she’s been with him years before A.J. Reed was selected by the Houston Astros in the second round of the 2014 MLB draft.
“It’s been rewarding and difficult at times, but it’s been really fun,” Shelbie Reed said. “We’ve got to do so much at such a young age. We’ve got to travel all over the country, we’ve met some amazing, amazing people, really great friendships have come out of baseball and we’re really fortunate for that.”
Following his 3-year collegiate career at the University of Kentucky, A.J. Reed has spent his entire professional career with the Astros organization.
In just 4 years, A.J. Reed has moved across the country, playing in with the Astros minor league affiliates in Davenport, Iowa, Troy, New York, Corpus Christi, Texas, Lancaster, California, Fresno California and in a stint with the major league team in Houston, Texas.
“All of the moving around and having to find places to live and all of that, I actually grew up a little bit,” A.J. Reed said. “You know, it just kind of makes you grow up a little faster then some people might.”
After getting added to the Astros 40-man roster last season, A.J. Reed will start his season with Class AAA Fresno after getting cut from Houston’s major league camp in West Palm Beach, Florida on March 21.
Through all of the moving and mid-season call-ups, one thing has remained consistent for A.J. Reed – Shelbie Reed.
Indiana Roots
Shelbie Reed, then known as Shelbie Scamihorn, met her future husband in her family's livestock barn in Terre Haute, Indiana.
It wasn’t animals that brought the two of them together in high school, though – it was their passion for playing.
Shelbie Reed, then a softball player at Terre Haute South Vigo High School, would invite her teammates, as well as members of the Braves baseball team, to take batting practice in the barn, which her father converted into a batting cage.
“We had a lot of guys from high school and girls who would come out, and we would just practice,” Shelbie Reed said. “A.J. and I started becoming batting practice partners. We started throwing to each other every night and our friendship grew from there and we started dating.”
That was seven years ago, when Shelbie Reed was a sophomore in high school.
Nowadays, Shelbie Reed spends her time travelling the country with her husband, whose professional career has forced them to move to five different states.
“We stay at the team hotel and she’ll go to the road games, they’re not too far,” A.J. Reed said. “She’ll go to those and come to the games here and we get the evenings to hang out. She played softball, so she kind of gets the lifestyle.”
While the two of them spend nearly every day of their unpredictable life together, that wasn’t always the case.
Parting ways
A.J. Reed’s high school career was nothing short of dominant.
He finished his senior season with a .585 batting average, 48 hits, 16 home runs and 48 RBIs behind the plate as well as a 1.06 ERA and an 8-1 record on the mound.
He was named first-team all-state twice, was the 2011 Indiana High School Player of the Year and led the Braves to an IHSAA final four appearance in his senior season.
During that span, Shelbie Reed’s high school softball career kept her from seeing A.J. play. She posted the team’s highest batting average as a freshman, earned all-state honors as a senior and led the team as far as the sectional finals as a junior.
While the two weren’t always able to see each other compete, they spent time together off of the field. But their relationship changed when A.J. Reed committed to the University of Kentucky.
Shelbie Reed is two years younger than A.J., and after graduating high school she played softball at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
“We definitely did the long-distance thing and I played softball in college at Ball State,” Shelbie Reed said. “Our springs were the exact same and we just could not see each other. We’d drive halfway between Lexington and Muncie just to spend a dinner with each other, which was ordering a pizza.”
The nearly 180-mile round-trip routine continued throughout the 2014 season. The couple would see each other as often as they could in the offseason, but grew accustomed to spending time apart during the spring and early summer months.
Being apart didn’t affect A.J. Reed’s game, however. At Kentucky, his career picked up right where he left off in high school.
In his first year playing for the Wildcats, he was named a first-team freshman All-American and won several two-way player awards because of his success both hitting and pitching.
“He works so hard,” Shelbie Reed said. “He busts his butt year-round, especially in the offseason where we really see him work hard. I’m just so proud of him, from high school, to college, he’s done amazing.”
A.J. Reed’s collegiate career only lasted 3 years, because of an opportunity that arose following his junior year – a chance to play Major League Baseball.
“My junior year of college I kind of hit it off and then I thought, ‘I can really do something here and make money,’” A.J. Reed said. “So, I just really started focusing that year and putting myself in a really good position.”
As a junior, A.J. Reed led the NCAA in home runs (23), slugging percentage (.735) and OPS (1.211) en route to becoming the national player of the year – the third unanimous selection in Southeastern Conference history.
His final season in college was Shelbie Reed’s first season, and after receiving the news on June 5, 2014, Shelbie Reed knew she had to make a big decision.
Life-long decision
One week after A.J. Reed was drafted by the Houston Astros, he was assigned to the Short-Season Class A Tri-City ValleyCats in Troy, New York – about 3 hours north of New York City.
Shelbie was able to see a few of A.J. Reed’s games that summer, but she returned to Muncie, to continue her education.
She played in the 2015 season, starting 39 games and helping the Cardinals make a run in the NCAA South Bend Regional, only to lose to No. 16 Notre Dame in Round 2 of the tournament.
That summer, Shelbie and A.J. Reed got married in their hometown of Terre Haute.
After finishing her communications degree at Ball State in 2016, Shelbie Reed began traveling full-time with A.J. Reed.
To this day, the path A.J. Reed took to become a major league baseball player is a blur to Shelbie Reed.
“When we were dating, it was kind of like baseball was kind of there, but it wasn’t like the backbone of our relationship,” Shelbie Reed said. “To this day, me and my family are like, ‘oh my gosh. When did all of this happen?’
“But, he’s always been amazing at playing, so I always believed he could do it and he always had the dream, so I was going to believe in that dream with him.”
While A.J. Reed is still in AAA Fresno, his career success in the minor leagues has put him in a good position moving forward.
“It’s a different game in the big leagues than it is in the minor leagues,” A.J. Reed said. “You’ve got to make adjustments and in the offseason, I feel like I put myself in a really good position to be successful this year.”
In his minor league career, A.J. Reed has hit .316 with 61 home runs and 231 RBIs. While that success didn’t transfer to his major league debut with the Astros last season – where he hit .164 with 3 home runs and 8 RBIs – it has been evident in spring training.
In his two springs with the Astros, A.J. Reed has held a .294 batting average, hitting 7 home runs and knocking in 11 RBIs.
While he will begin his second season with the Fresno Grizzlies, Shelbie Reed and himself are ready to receive a phone call like they did late last season.
“Once you get in the minor leagues, that’s kind of all you think about, is getting the call from the big leagues and what the feeling is going to be like,” A.J. Reed said. “You’re really excited, and then you kind of go into a panic because you have to get so much stuff figured out in a such a short period of time. I had to leave in two hours. I had to get everything in Fresno squared away and get some clothes and my wife had to meet me at the airport to give me some stuff.”
Regardless of what happens, or whatever moves the two will have to make this upcoming season, they’re prepared.
“In this lifestyle we take it day-by-day,” Shelbie Reed said. “Our favorite saying is ‘it is what it is,’ and we literally take it day-by-day.”
Shelbie Reed spends nearly every day with her husband A.J. – a first baseman in the Houston Astros system.
Every home game during spring training, she watches her husband from her reserved seat, which lies between home plate and the home team’s dugout, at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.
But she’s been with him years before A.J. Reed was selected by the Houston Astros in the second round of the 2014 MLB draft.
“It’s been rewarding and difficult at times, but it’s been really fun,” Shelbie Reed said. “We’ve got to do so much at such a young age. We’ve got to travel all over the country, we’ve met some amazing, amazing people, really great friendships have come out of baseball and we’re really fortunate for that.”
Following his 3-year collegiate career at the University of Kentucky, A.J. Reed has spent his entire professional career with the Astros organization.
In just 4 years, A.J. Reed has moved across the country, playing in with the Astros minor league affiliates in Davenport, Iowa, Troy, New York, Corpus Christi, Texas, Lancaster, California, Fresno California and in a stint with the major league team in Houston, Texas.
“All of the moving around and having to find places to live and all of that, I actually grew up a little bit,” A.J. Reed said. “You know, it just kind of makes you grow up a little faster then some people might.”
After getting added to the Astros 40-man roster last season, A.J. Reed will start his season with Class AAA Fresno after getting cut from Houston’s major league camp in West Palm Beach, Florida on March 21.
Through all of the moving and mid-season call-ups, one thing has remained consistent for A.J. Reed – Shelbie Reed.
Indiana Roots
Shelbie Reed, then known as Shelbie Scamihorn, met her future husband in her family's livestock barn in Terre Haute, Indiana.
It wasn’t animals that brought the two of them together in high school, though – it was their passion for playing.
Shelbie Reed, then a softball player at Terre Haute South Vigo High School, would invite her teammates, as well as members of the Braves baseball team, to take batting practice in the barn, which her father converted into a batting cage.
“We had a lot of guys from high school and girls who would come out, and we would just practice,” Shelbie Reed said. “A.J. and I started becoming batting practice partners. We started throwing to each other every night and our friendship grew from there and we started dating.”
That was seven years ago, when Shelbie Reed was a sophomore in high school.
Nowadays, Shelbie Reed spends her time travelling the country with her husband, whose professional career has forced them to move to five different states.
“We stay at the team hotel and she’ll go to the road games, they’re not too far,” A.J. Reed said. “She’ll go to those and come to the games here and we get the evenings to hang out. She played softball, so she kind of gets the lifestyle.”
While the two of them spend nearly every day of their unpredictable life together, that wasn’t always the case.
Parting ways
A.J. Reed’s high school career was nothing short of dominant.
He finished his senior season with a .585 batting average, 48 hits, 16 home runs and 48 RBIs behind the plate as well as a 1.06 ERA and an 8-1 record on the mound.
He was named first-team all-state twice, was the 2011 Indiana High School Player of the Year and led the Braves to an IHSAA final four appearance in his senior season.
During that span, Shelbie Reed’s high school softball career kept her from seeing A.J. play. She posted the team’s highest batting average as a freshman, earned all-state honors as a senior and led the team as far as the sectional finals as a junior.
While the two weren’t always able to see each other compete, they spent time together off of the field. But their relationship changed when A.J. Reed committed to the University of Kentucky.
Shelbie Reed is two years younger than A.J., and after graduating high school she played softball at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
“We definitely did the long-distance thing and I played softball in college at Ball State,” Shelbie Reed said. “Our springs were the exact same and we just could not see each other. We’d drive halfway between Lexington and Muncie just to spend a dinner with each other, which was ordering a pizza.”
The nearly 180-mile round-trip routine continued throughout the 2014 season. The couple would see each other as often as they could in the offseason, but grew accustomed to spending time apart during the spring and early summer months.
Being apart didn’t affect A.J. Reed’s game, however. At Kentucky, his career picked up right where he left off in high school.
In his first year playing for the Wildcats, he was named a first-team freshman All-American and won several two-way player awards because of his success both hitting and pitching.
“He works so hard,” Shelbie Reed said. “He busts his butt year-round, especially in the offseason where we really see him work hard. I’m just so proud of him, from high school, to college, he’s done amazing.”
A.J. Reed’s collegiate career only lasted 3 years, because of an opportunity that arose following his junior year – a chance to play Major League Baseball.
“My junior year of college I kind of hit it off and then I thought, ‘I can really do something here and make money,’” A.J. Reed said. “So, I just really started focusing that year and putting myself in a really good position.”
As a junior, A.J. Reed led the NCAA in home runs (23), slugging percentage (.735) and OPS (1.211) en route to becoming the national player of the year – the third unanimous selection in Southeastern Conference history.
His final season in college was Shelbie Reed’s first season, and after receiving the news on June 5, 2014, Shelbie Reed knew she had to make a big decision.
Life-long decision
One week after A.J. Reed was drafted by the Houston Astros, he was assigned to the Short-Season Class A Tri-City ValleyCats in Troy, New York – about 3 hours north of New York City.
Shelbie was able to see a few of A.J. Reed’s games that summer, but she returned to Muncie, to continue her education.
She played in the 2015 season, starting 39 games and helping the Cardinals make a run in the NCAA South Bend Regional, only to lose to No. 16 Notre Dame in Round 2 of the tournament.
That summer, Shelbie and A.J. Reed got married in their hometown of Terre Haute.
After finishing her communications degree at Ball State in 2016, Shelbie Reed began traveling full-time with A.J. Reed.
To this day, the path A.J. Reed took to become a major league baseball player is a blur to Shelbie Reed.
“When we were dating, it was kind of like baseball was kind of there, but it wasn’t like the backbone of our relationship,” Shelbie Reed said. “To this day, me and my family are like, ‘oh my gosh. When did all of this happen?’
“But, he’s always been amazing at playing, so I always believed he could do it and he always had the dream, so I was going to believe in that dream with him.”
While A.J. Reed is still in AAA Fresno, his career success in the minor leagues has put him in a good position moving forward.
“It’s a different game in the big leagues than it is in the minor leagues,” A.J. Reed said. “You’ve got to make adjustments and in the offseason, I feel like I put myself in a really good position to be successful this year.”
In his minor league career, A.J. Reed has hit .316 with 61 home runs and 231 RBIs. While that success didn’t transfer to his major league debut with the Astros last season – where he hit .164 with 3 home runs and 8 RBIs – it has been evident in spring training.
In his two springs with the Astros, A.J. Reed has held a .294 batting average, hitting 7 home runs and knocking in 11 RBIs.
While he will begin his second season with the Fresno Grizzlies, Shelbie Reed and himself are ready to receive a phone call like they did late last season.
“Once you get in the minor leagues, that’s kind of all you think about, is getting the call from the big leagues and what the feeling is going to be like,” A.J. Reed said. “You’re really excited, and then you kind of go into a panic because you have to get so much stuff figured out in a such a short period of time. I had to leave in two hours. I had to get everything in Fresno squared away and get some clothes and my wife had to meet me at the airport to give me some stuff.”
Regardless of what happens, or whatever moves the two will have to make this upcoming season, they’re prepared.
“In this lifestyle we take it day-by-day,” Shelbie Reed said. “Our favorite saying is ‘it is what it is,’ and we literally take it day-by-day.”
