He grew up in
Effingham, Illinois. Shouse played college baseball at
Bradley University in
Peoria, Illinois from 1987 until 1990, when he signed with the Pirates after being drafted in the 13th round of the
1990 MLB draft. He is in the
Bradley Braves Hall of Fame. Shouse made his MLB debut in 1993, appearing in 6 games that season for the
Pittsburgh Pirates. He would then spend several years in the minor leagues of the Pirates and
Baltimore Orioles organizations and would not appear in the major leagues again until 1998, with the
Boston Red Sox. Again, Shouse would experience a long drought from the major leagues after 1998 bouncing around the minor league organizations of the
Arizona Diamondbacks,
Baltimore Orioles,
New York Mets and
Houston Astros. His next MLB appearance would be in 2002 with the
Kansas City Royals. Shouse finally broke into the MLB to stay with the
Texas Rangers, where he played from 2003-2006. During that time, he was effective as a
reliever, earning 34
holds in 3+ years. As he began his fourth year with the Rangers, Shouse was traded in May to the Brewers for minor league prospect
Enrique Cruz. From 2006 through 2008, Shouse was a reliable member of the
Milwaukee Brewers bullpen. He was usually used as a
left-handed specialist along with his teammate
Mitch Stetter. On February 10, 2009, Shouse signed a one-year deal with the
Tampa Bay Rays with an option for 2010. On November 18, 2009 Shouse's option was declined by the Tampa Bay Rays. On January 13, 2010, Shouse agreed to a minor league deal with the
Boston Red Sox. He was released on March 26. On July 5, 2010, Shouse agreed to a minor league deal with the
Tampa Bay Rays. Shouse retired on December 1, 2010. After their retirements,
St. Louis Cardinals outfielders
Rick Ankiel and
Chris Duncan both separately named Shouse the toughest pitcher they faced in their careers. ==Coaching career==