Paul Zuvella (born October 31, 1958) is a 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), ...

player and minor league baseball manager. Primarily a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

and second baseman, he stood 6'0" tall, weighed 178 pounds, and batted and threw right-handed.

Atlanta Braves

Following his graduation from

Samuel Ayer High School Created in 1956, Samuel Ayer High School was the first high school in the City of Milpitas, California. It was located at 1395 E. Calaveras Blvd. Previous to its opening, Milpitas high school students attended James Lick High School in San Jose. ...

Milpitas, California Milpitas (Spanish for "little milpas") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in Silicon Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 80,273. The city's origins lie in Rancho Milpitas, granted to Californio ranchero José Mar� ...

, Zuvella matriculated at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. The

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

selected him in the eleventh round of the June 1979 Major League Baseball Draft, but he elected not to sign and returned to school for his senior year. After which, the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

selected him in the fifteenth round of the

1980 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1980 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players *Tim Teufel, 2nd round, 38th overall Minnesota Twins *Dan Plesac, 2nd round, 41st overall S ...

. Zuvella batted .315 his first professional season with the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in ...

. In 1981, Zuvella batted .299 with eleven

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s for the

Savannah Braves The Savannah Braves were a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1971 to 1983. They were located in Savannah, Georgia, and played their home games at Grayson Stadium. The franchis ...

, however, his .947

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

was less than acceptable for a shortstop. His fielding improved considerably in 1982, and at the end of the season, he received a September call-up to the Atlanta Braves. Zuvella made his major league debut with the Braves on September 4, 1982, appearing as a

pinch runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...

in a 4–1 loss to the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

. With All-Star Rafael Ramírez firmly entrenched at short, Zuvella spent parts of the next four seasons on Atlanta's bench, appearing in a career-high 81 games in 1985. In that season, his most successful, he batted .253 in 190

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

New York Yankees

Following

Bucky Dent Russell Earl "Bucky" Dent (born Russell Earl O'Dey; November 25, 1951) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager. He earned two World Series rings as the starting shortstop for the New York Yankees in 1977 and 1978 and ...

's August 8, 1982 trade to the Texas Rangers, the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

had difficulty replacing him at short (with Roy Smalley,

Bobby Meacham Robert Andrew Meacham (born August 25, 1960) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, who spent his entire six-year big league playing career with the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). Since retiring from active play ...

Dale Berra Dale Anthony Berra (born December 13, 1956) is an American former Major League Baseball player who primarily played as an infielder from to . He is the son of Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra and brother of former Baltimore Colts return specialist ...

Tim Foli Timothy John Foli (born December 6, 1950), is an American former professional baseball player, coach and minor league manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop for the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, San Francisco Giants, Pi ...

and

Andre Robertson Andre Levett Robertson (born October 2, 1957) is an American retired baseball second baseman and shortstop. He played five seasons for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 4th round of ...

, among others, having been given a shot at the position). When the Yankees acquired Zuvella on June 30, 1986 along with

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Claudell Washington Claudell Washington (August 31, 1954June 10, 2020) was an American baseball outfielder who played seventeen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, Atlanta B ...

for

Ken Griffey George Kenneth Griffey Jr. (born November 21, 1969), nicknamed "Junior" and "the Kid", is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 22 years in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent most of his career with the Seattle Marin ...

and Andre Robertson, they believed that they finally found the man who would be able to hold down the position. As it turned out, Zuvella got off to an extremely slow start with the Yankees, going hitless in his first 28 at bats. By the end of the season, he was reassigned to the Yankees' triple-A affiliate, the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

, and

Wayne Tolleson Jimmy Wayne Tolleson (born November 22, 1955) is an American former professional baseball infielder who played for the Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). Western Carolina University A star hig ...

was given the starting shortstop job. Zuvella split 1987 between the Yankees and Columbus as well, but his hitting did not improve any, and he was released at the end of the season. In two seasons with the Yankees, Zuvella batted .122 with two

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

, four

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

and no home runs.

Cleveland Indians

Prior to the start of the 1988 season, Zuvella signed with 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 ...

. He was reasonably productive serving as

Jay Bell Jay Stuart Bell (born December 11, 1965) is an American former Major League Baseball shortstop and former manager of the Rocket City Trash Pandas of the Southern League. He played for the Cleveland Indians (1986–88), Pittsburgh Pirates (1989� ...

's and

Félix Fermín Félix José Fermín Minaya (born October 9, 1963) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (–), Cleveland Indians (–), Seattle Mariners (–) and Chicago Cubs ...

's back-up in 1988 and 1989, respectively, but Cleveland released him during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in 1990. Zuvella signed with the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

immediately afterwards, spending the next two seasons with their triple-A affiliate, the

Omaha Royals Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

before retiring. He appeared in two games with Kansas City in the beginning of the 1991 season.

Post-playing career

After his retirement as a player, Zuvella worked in the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

organization as a manager and instructor. From 1994 to 1995, he was the manager of the Class AA

New Haven Ravens New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. He has also returned to Stanford on several occasions to play in the school's annual Alumni Game. Zuvella now sells real estate in California.

''Ferris Bueller's Day Off''

Game footage of Zuvella appears in the 1986 movie ''

Ferris Bueller's Day Off ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' is a 1986 American teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes and co-produced by Tom Jacobson. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck with supporting roles by Jennifer Grey ...

''. In the film, the character Mr. Rooney is watching a game between the Braves and the

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 ...

on a television in a bar. He sees batter

hit a foul ball, which is caught by the film's title character, who was supposedly sick at home from school. This footage was taken from a game played on June 5, 1985, and in the clip Zuvella is the runner on first base.Chandler, Rick. (2006-03-22
Baseball: Save Ferris!
Deadspin.com. Retrieved on 2009-01-16.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zuvella, Paul Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball second basemen Atlanta Braves players New York Yankees players Cleveland Indians players Kansas City Royals players Gulf Coast Braves players Durham Bulls players Richmond Braves players Savannah Braves players Columbus Clippers players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Omaha Royals players Colorado Rockies (baseball) coaches Colorado Springs Sky Sox managers Baseball players from California 1958 births Living people People from San Mateo, California People from Milpitas, California Stanford Cardinal baseball players Mat-Su Miners players