Paul Anthony Wilson (born March 28, 1973) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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 ...

. A

right-hander In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

, he played all or parts of seven seasons in

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), ...

Baseball career

Amateur career

Wilson played college

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

for the

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

Seminoles under head coach Mike Martin.

Professional career

Wilson was selected with the first overall pick in the

1994 MLB Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1994 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation picks Compensation Picks Other notable players *Troy Glaus, 2nd round, 37th overall by the San Diego Padres, but did not ...

by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. In his

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

career, he was billed alongside

Jason Isringhausen Jason Derik Isringhausen ( born September 7, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and coach. He pitched in Major League Baseball from 1995 through 2012 for the New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay ...

and

Bill Pulsipher William Thomas Pulsipher (born October 9, 1973) is an American former professional baseball player. Pulsipher, a left-handed pitcher, played in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and ...

as a future Mets star. The three were dubbed by sportswriters and fans as " Generation K". In 1995, Wilson went a combined 11-6 with a 2.41 ERA while playing for the AA

Binghamton Mets The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mira ...

and AAA

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

. He neared Baseball America 1st team minor league All-Star honors and was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Year. After spending just a season and a half in the minors, Wilson was called up in 1996 and made 26 starts for the Mets. He finished 5-12 with an ERA of 5.38. He spent the following two seasons in the minors, albeit limited due to injuries. He missed the entire 1999 season. On July 28, 2000, he was traded to the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home venu ...

. He made 11 appearances, 7 starts for the Devil Rays. In 2001, Wilson opened the season in the bullpen for Tampa Bay but was later shifted to the rotation. In 37 appearances, 24 starts, he went 8-9 with a 4.88 ERA and a career high 119 strikeouts. In 2002, he went 6-12 with a 4.83 ERA in a career high 30 starts. He also led the Devil Rays in innings pitched. He became a free agent after the season. He signed a contract with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. In 2003, Wilson went 8-10 in 28 starts. On July 10, 2003, Wilson faced eight

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

and failed to record an out. In 2004, he won a career high 11 games. On May 6, 2005, Wilson was the starting pitcher against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

, and was unable to get out any of the first eight Dodgers batters in the first inning. The inning went hit batsman-homer-single-homer-walk-hit batsman-double-double, before Wilson was pulled from the game. He is one of six starting pitchers in MLB history to fail to get out any of the first eight batters of the opposing team in a game, and the only one to do so twice. On March 21, 2007, Wilson was released by the Reds, after another setback as he tried to come back from shoulder surgery. Wilson played for 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 ...

of the

Golden Baseball League The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the western United States, western Canada and northwest Mexico. The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the orga ...

in 2008, before his release on June 8.

References

External links

Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Paul 1973 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers New York Mets players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Cincinnati Reds players St. Lucie Mets players Gulf Coast Mets players Binghamton Mets players Norfolk Tides players Dayton Dragons players Sarasota Reds players Louisville Bats players Florida State Seminoles baseball players Baseball players from Orlando, Florida All-American college baseball players William R. Boone High School alumni