One of the closest elections on Tuesday, Nov. 3 was one that you probably weren’t following closely.
But the winner of it, by just 28 votes, was a former MLB pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels, Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins: Matt Shoemaker.
Shoemaker pitched in a lot of tight moments in the major leagues, but it’s unlikely he’d ever been in such a narrow finish as the one he got on Election Night.
Here’s what you need to know.
Matt Shoemaker Election
Shoemaker was running for a seat on the Saline Area Schools Board of Education in Michigan.
Saline is a city in Michigan that’s about 10 miles southwest of Ann Arbor. It has about 9,000 residents.
The local school board there had three open seats, which are four-year terms. There were five candidates up for election.
Shoemaker won the third and final elected spot with 6,598 votes. Fourth place on the voting had 6,570 votes.
This is how the local newspaper, The Sun Times News, summed it up:
Five candidates competed for three four-year seats on the Saline Area Schools Board of Education.
Carl Spina led with 8,528 votes, followed by Christy Lillie with 8,169. Matt Shoemaker claimed the third seat with 6,598 votes, narrowly edging Afifa Corrigan, who received 6,570. Andrea Roe finished with 5,786.
In the separate partial-term race, Timothy Austin won with 7,456 votes, followed by Charlie Hirst with 3,847 and Deandre Calvert with 1,606.
All nine precincts were fully counted, with voter turnout at 77.12%. Shoemaker’s 28-vote margin remains subject to the official canvass.
So technically, they’ll still count to make sure on that 28-vote margin. But it appears Shoemaker has won that spot.
Matt Shoemaker MLB Career
Shoemaker himself is originally from the state of Michigan. He went to Trenton High School and Eastern Michigan University.
He was an undrafted player out of EMU who made his way to the major leagues anyway.
Shoemaker broke in with the Angels in 2013, throwing five scoreless innings that season in one start.
His breakout came in 2014 when he went 16-4 for the Angels with a 3.04 ERA.
Shoemaker threw four more seasons with the Angels, including a 3.88 ERA in 2016.
After 2018, Shoemaker departed to spent two seasons with the Blue Jays. He had a 1.57 ERA in five outings in 2019 and a 4.71 ERA in six outings in 2020.
Shoemaker concluded his MLB career with the Twins in 2021 when he threw in 16 games and had an 8.06 ERA.
Overall, Shoemaker finished 46-41 for his career with a 4.24 ERA. He struck out 580 batters in 662.2 innings.
He also made two postseason appearances — allowing one run in six innings for the Angels in 2014, then allowing no runs in three innings for the Blue Jays in 2020.
Shoemaker turned 40 in September.
Ex-Blue Jays Pitcher Wins Election By Just 28 Votes