Paul Michael Mitchell Jr. (born August 19, 1949) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB)

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who played from 1975 to 1980 for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, Oakland Athletics,

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

and Milwaukee Brewers.

Amateur career

Born in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, Mitchell graduated from

Worcester Academy Worcester Academy is a private school in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is the oldest educational institution founded in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, and one of the oldest day-boarding schools in the United States. A coeducational prepara ...

in 1968 and was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 18th round of the

1968 MLB draft The 1968 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft took place prior to the 1968 MLB season. The draft saw the New York Mets take shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, whi ...

. Rather than turn professional, he opted to attend

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia w ...

on a baseball scholarship. From 1969-71 he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) for the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie Alle ...

, leading Falmouth to the league championship in all three years and being named the league's outstanding pitcher in 1969 and 1970. Mitchell was selected by the

in the 1st round (7th overall) of the secondary phase of the 1971 MLB draft.

Professional career

Mitchell spent the 1972 season with the Double-A

Asheville Orioles The Asheville Tourists are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville teams have played under the Tourists moniker in differ ...

, and 1973-74 with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings. He made his MLB debut for Baltimore on July 1, 1975 at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

, and finished the season with a 3-0 record and a 3.63

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 11 games. In January of 1976, Jim Henneman of ''The Sporting News'' wrote that due to young pitchers "like Paul Mitchell and Mike Flanagan...the Orioles would no doubt be willing to sacrifice a pitcher with ikeTorrez's ability if it meant getting eggieJackson in return." Sure enough, the Orioles did trade Torrez to the Oakland Athletics for Jackson on April 2, but they included Mitchell in the deal.

Don Baylor Don Edward Baylor (June 28, 1949 – August 7, 2017) was an American professional baseball player and manager. During his 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), Baylor was a power hitter known for standing very close to home plate (" crowding ...

was the third player sent over from Baltimore, and in addition to Jackson, the Orioles also acquired

Ken Holtzman Kenneth Dale Holtzman (born November 3, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Chicago Cubs for whom he pitch ...

and minor-league right-handed pitcher Bill Van Bommel. Paul Mitchell Oakland Athletics

Mitchell posted a 9-7 record for Oakland in 1976, but struggled early in 1977 and was dealt mid-season to the

, who had joined the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

as an expansion team for the 1977 season. In 1978, Mitchell led Seattle pitchers in wins, posting an 8-14 record for a Mariners team that lost 104 games. In 1979, Seattle traded Mitchell to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for

Randy Stein William "Randy" Randolph Stein (March 7, 1953 – December 12, 2011) was an American baseball player in Major League Baseball. He was a pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs. Career Stein was born in Pomona, Califor ...

. Mitchell made his final appearance with Milwaukee on September 21, 1980 against Seattle and was released prior to the 1981 season. In all, Mitchell pitched in six major league seasons, recording a career

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

of 32–39 in 162 appearances. He is tied with four others for the all-time major league career record for fielding percentage among pitchers who have at least 500 innings pitched. In 621.1 innings of work, Mitchell handled 114 chances, recording 32

putouts In baseball statistics, a putout (denoted by ''PO'' or '' fly out'' when appropriate) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner wit ...

and 82 assists without a single

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

, for a perfect career fielding percentage of 1.000. In 2002, Mitchell was inducted into the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame, and in 2011 he served as honorary captain of the West Division team at the CCBL

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

at Fenway Park.

References

External links

Baltimore Orioles 1971 scouting report of Paul Mitchell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Paul 1949 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Asheville Orioles players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Worcester, Massachusetts Chattanooga Lookouts players Columbus Clippers players Falmouth Commodores players Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players Oakland Athletics players Old Dominion Monarchs baseball players Old Dominion University alumni Rochester Red Wings players San Jose Missions players Seattle Mariners players Tucson Toros players Vancouver Canadians players Worcester Academy alumni