John Paul Poloni (born February 28, 1954) is a left-handed former Major League Baseball pitcher who appeared in two games for the Texas Rangers in 1977.

Career

Poloni was originally drafted out of

Lutheran West High School Lutheran High School West, also known as Lutheran West, is a private college-prep Christian co-ed high school in Rocky River, Ohio, United States, serving Cleveland and Northeast Ohio families since 1958. History In 1946, sixteen Lutheran cong ...

in Detroit, Michigan by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

in the third round of the 1972 amateur draft; however he opted not to sign. He was then drafted by the Rangers in the sixth round of the 1975 amateur draft out of

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

, signing. Poloni spent three seasons in the minor leagues until making his big league debut on September 16, 1977. Pitching against the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

in his first match, Poloni pitched two innings, allowing one earned run while allowing two hits and striking out two batters. The first batter he faced was

Butch Wynegar Harold Delano "Butch" Wynegar Jr. (born March 14, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player and the current hitting coach for the Bradenton Marauders Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played in Major League ...

. He started his second game on October 2 against the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. He pitched five innings, allowing six hits and four earned runs, while striking out three batters and walking one, earning the win. He was relieved by Roger Moret, who earned the save.Game log
/ref> In total, Poloni went 1-0 with a 6.43 ERA in seven innings. He allowed eight hits and one walk while striking out five batters. He then pitched in the minor leagues in 1978, 1980, 1983 and from 1985 to 1986. In eight seasons on the farm, he went 45-44 with a 4.24 ERA in 120 games (95 starts).

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poloni, John Living people 1957 births Cincinnati Reds scouts Gulf Coast Rangers players Knoxville Blue Jays players Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers scouts New York Mets scouts Oakland Athletics scouts Pawtucket Red Sox players Sportspeople from Dearborn, Michigan Baseball players from Wayne County, Michigan Pittsfield Rangers players Salinas Spurs players San Antonio Brewers players Texas Rangers players Texas Rangers scouts Tucson Toros players Wausau Timbers players