Former MLB pitcher and local pizzeria owner is an author

Indiana Jones is a household name. The movie franchise, beginning in 1981, ranks among the most iconic of director Steven Spielberg’s illustrious career.

Third in a line of five installments is "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." It was well-received by critics and audiences alike upon its 1989 release. 

Shane Rawley sees it a bit differently. For the once-hopeful screenwriter, it’s a maddening watch.

“When it came out, there was a lot of parts that were very, very similar to what I did,” Rawley said. “I’m watching and I’m going, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’”

Nearing the end of his MLB career, he submitted a screenplay for the film, and even got positive feedback from the studio. 

His version centered on Jones' search for his father. He also wrote a mysterious opening scene and chase sequence on a moving train, all of which made the final cut.

However, there was not one shred of credit to his name. And there was nothing Rawley could do about it — he hadn't copyrighted his script.

Missing out on Hollywood, though, didn't imprison his imagination.

Rawley, the 70-year-old founder/owner of Shaner’s Pizzeria in Sarasota, has published three fiction novels. Following his introductory tale “Peter Cobb: Three Strikes You’re Out,” in August 2023, he rolled out “January Freeze: A Peter Cobb Adventure” in April 2024 and “A February Thaw: A Peter Cobb Adventure” in February 2025.

There’s even more on the way. He finished his fourth novel and sent it to his publisher, American Real Publishing, last week. He’s hoping for a release in early 2026.

He’s actively working on the fifth. The writing process usually takes him three to four months, and once this one is complete, he has no plans on stopping.

“I’ve been writing since I was playing baseball. I just never did anything about it,” Rawley said. “I’d write a little article here and there, start a couple books and never finish (them). Five years ago or so, with all this self-publishing stuff, I figured, ‘Let me go ahead and try something.’”

Photo by Jack Nelson

Rawley — hailing from Racine, Wisconsin — moved to Sarasota in 1982. Before opening Shaner’s Pizzeria in 1991, he played 12 seasons in the MLB as a southpaw, active on the mound from 1978 to 89. 

He spent time with the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins. The longest of his four stops came with Philadelphia, where in 1986, he was an All-Star.

That standout season ended with a 3.54 ERA and 73 strikeouts across 157.2 innings pitched. Once Rawley closed the book on his playing days, he held an all-time record of 111-118 with 40 saves and a 4.02 ERA.

The sport is synonymous with Shaner’s Pizzeria. Memorabilia decorates the walls, neon signs of team logos glow bright, and hundreds of baseball cards line the bar.

But he always has copies of his published works sitting on a shelf in his office. He’s equally as happy to discuss protagonists and antagonists as he is strikes and balls.

Starting a book series meant creating a character for readers to follow — someone they could truly invest in. To do so, Rawley molded Peter Cobb from his own baseball background and fascination with the Vietnam War.

“It was just such an incredible time period, and at the time growing up, I didn’t really think that much about it. I was into sports, and it was just background noise,” Rawley said. “But the more you dig into it, you realize how screwed up it was.”

Photo by Jack Nelson

Cobb — fittingly, a Racine native — gets off to a hot start as a player in the minor leagues during the 1969 season, but the draft sends him into the U.S. military that winter. A bullet nearly kills him near the end of his tour in Vietnam.

Still, he finds a way to get back on the diamond. Cobb plays for the Milwaukee Brewers following rehab and assembles three outstanding seasons from 1973 to 75, establishing himself among the MLB’s cream of the crop.

An on-field meltdown in 1975, though, leads to a PTSD diagnosis as his career unravels. It’s when he runs into Ronnie, his fifth-grade crush and now-owner of McGuire’s Irish Pub, that his life takes a wild turn several years later.

“He’s a strong guy, he’s reckless, he’s drinking too much. But he has standards and scruples,” Rawley said. “He doesn’t like to see people getting taken advantage of… you’ve got that fight or flight, and he’s always in the fight.”

Along with themes of adventure and mystery, Rawley is unafraid to dive into dark subjects. His characters deal with a litany of struggles throughout the first book and in the month-by-month “A Peter Cobb Adventure” series.

There’s self-destructive behavior, crippling sickness and death, to name a few. He still hears from readers disappointed with the ending of his first book — over two years after its publication.

“It can’t be just cut and dry, at least to me. You want the reader to be involved,” Rawley said. “You want them to think back in their own life about things that have happened to them. Maybe they’re struggling with something.”

Photo by Jack Nelson

He, too, has his own battles. Rawley has kept his faithful readers waiting for the fourth book because of personal health issues.

Back in February, he suffered a detached retina, and after surgery, couldn’t sit down with his computer for two months. Doctors also diagnosed him with prostate cancer over the summer, and he had to undergo 28 rounds of treatment, and he experienced a mini-stroke in November.

It caused interruptions in his writing process more than once, but he pushed onward. Just like his readers are eager for what happens next, he's eager to expand Cobb's story even further.

"They like a hero, but a vulnerable hero," Rawley said.

Plenty more adventures are ahead, but you won't find Indiana Jones in any chapter.