Michael George Paul (born April 18, 1945 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

) is a former left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1968 to 1974 for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

, Texas Rangers and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

Career

Drafted in the 20th round of the 1967 amateur draft out of the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

by the Indians, Paul had success in the minors and in less than two years was in a big league uniform. In 1967, he spent time with the

Reno Silver Sox The Reno Silver Sox were a minor league baseball team that existed on and off from 1947 to 1992. The team name is derived from the nickname of Nevada, the "Silver State". There was another baseball team known as the Reno Silver Sox who played i ...

and

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

. With the Silver Sox, he had 3 wins and 2 losses with a 1.63 earned run average. In 72 innings (nine games), he struck out 103 batters. He didn't do as well with the Beavers, going 2–4 with a 3.94 earned run average with them. However, he struck out 37 batters in 32 innings of work. Overall, Paul went 5–6 with a 2.34 earned run average. He struck out 140 batters in 104 innings of work (18 games). Paul again pitched for Reno in 1968, going 2–1 with a 1.09 earned run average and 49 strikeouts in four games (33 innings). He was called up to the major leagues and on May 27, he made his big league debut. He performed well in his first appearances, going 2 innings, striking out four (including the first batter he faced, Frank Kostro), allowing only one hit and earning the save. Overall, Paul went 5–8 with a 3.93 earned run average in 91 innings of work in his rookie season. He allowed only 72 hits in 36 games (seven starts) and he walked 35 batters. Despite posting a 3.61 earned run average for the 62–99 Indians in 1969, his record was 5–10. In 47 games (12 starts), he struck out 98 batters. He went only 2–8 with a 4.81 earned run average in 30 games (15 starts) in 1970. His performance was so unimpressive in fact that he spent 10 games in the minors with the

Wichita Aeros The Wichita Aeros were an American minor league baseball franchise based in Wichita, Kansas, that played in the Triple-A American Association from 1970 through 1984. The Aeros were established as an expansion franchise when the Association grew ...

, with whom he went 6–1 with a 2.15 earned run average in 71 innings of work. In 1971, he went 2–7 with a 5.95 earned run average in 17 games (12 starts), and he again spent time with Wichita, going 6–7 with a 4.37 earned run average in 17 games (107 innings). Paul was traded with Roy Foster,

Rich Hand Richard Allen Hand (born July 10, 1948) is an American retired professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he played for four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and California Angels. Bo ...

and

Ken Suarez Kenneth Raymond Suarez (Born April 12, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1966 to 1973. The , . right-handed hitter is best remembered for a suit he filed against t ...

from the Indians to the Rangers for

Del Unser Delbert Bernard Unser (born December 9, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder and utility player from to , most prominently with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he was a ...

Denny Riddleberger Dennis Michael Riddleberger (born November 22, 1945) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. Listed at , , Riddleberger threw left-handed and batted right-handed. Dennis attended Churchland High School and then Old Dominion Universit ...

Terry Ley Terrence Richard Ley (born 21 February 1947, Portland, Oregon) is a retired baseball pitcher who began his career in the season for the New York Yankees. He was a student of University of Oregon before he was drafted in the 3rd round of the Janu ...

and Gary Jones at the

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on December 2, 1971. Paul had the best year of his career with Texas in 1972, going 8–9 with a 2.17 earned run average in 49 games (20 starts). In 161 innings, he allowed only 149 hits, and he struck out 108 batters. His 2.17 earned run average was sixth best in the league, and his 139 Adjusted ERA+ was sixth best as well. He began the 1973 season with the Rangers, going 5–4 with a 4.95 earned run average in 36 games (10 starts). On August 31, he was sent to the Cubs for a player to be named later, which ended up being

Larry Gura Lawrence Cyril Gura (; born November 26, 1947) is a left-handed former pitcher in Major League Baseball from to . He won a national championship at Arizona State University and spent 16 years in the Major Leagues. He played for the Chicago Cub ...

. He made 11 appearances (one start) for the Cubs that year, going 0–1 with a 3.44 earned run average. Overall, Paul went 5–5 with a 4.68 earned run average in 1973. 1974 would end up being Paul's final season in the major leagues. He appeared in only two games, allowing four earned runs in 1 innings of work for a 27.00 earned run average. He played his final game on April 16, against 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 ...

. After being released by the Cubs, Paul played in the Mexican League until 1982. In his major league career, Paul went 27–48 with a 3.91 earned run average in 228 appearances (77 starts). In 627 innings, he walked 246 batters and struck out 452. As a batter, Paul had 148 at-bats, and hit .115 with 1 run batted in.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Mike 1945 births Living people Alijadores de Tampico players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Arizona Diamondbacks scouts Arizona Wildcats baseball players Baseball coaches from Michigan Baseball players from Detroit Chicago Cubs players Cleveland Indians players Colorado Rockies scouts Diablos Rojos del México players Indios de Ciudad Juárez (minor league) players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Oakland Athletics coaches Oakland Athletics scouts Portland Beavers players Reno Silver Sox players Seattle Mariners coaches Sportspeople from Detroit Texas Rangers players Texas Rangers scouts Toledo Mud Hens players Wichita Aeros players Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players