Phillips Steere Paine (June 8, 1930 – February 19, 1978) was an American

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 (A ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

who appeared in all or part of six

MLB 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), ...

seasons between 1951 and 1958. In 1953, while serving in the military, Paine pitched in nine games for the Nishitetsu Lions, becoming the first major leaguer to play in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

. He threw and batted right-handed, and was listed as tall and . Paine was born in

Chepachet, Rhode Island Chepachet is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Glocester in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It is centered at the intersection of U.S. Route 44 ( Putnam Pike) and Rhode Island Route 102 (also ...

, and upon graduation from high school in nearby Burrillville, he signed with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in 1948. After two years in the Phillies'

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

, he was drafted by the

Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

Career in Japan and MLB

Recalled by Boston from the Class A Hartford Chiefs in the middle of the , he worked in 21 games out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

. As a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

, Paine won his only two decisions; he allowed 36 hits and 20

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

in 35

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

, but only 12

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

s, for an

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

of 3.06. He then entered the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

for military service during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. When his unit was sent to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, Paine was allowed to pitch for the Nishitetsu Lions, making his NPB debut on August 23, 1953. Unlike in the major leagues, Paine was a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

for the Lions, making eight starts among his nine appearances, and posting five

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s and one

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

. Overall, his NPB record was 4–3, with a 1.77 earned run average in 61 innings pitched. In , Paine rejoined the Braves — now in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

— upon completion of his military service. He would continue his winning skein in a Brave uniform by posting a 3–0 record through . But his inconsistent performance resulted in assignments to the

minor leagues 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 No ...

for parts of four consecutive seasons. Finally, in April of , he was claimed off waivers by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. The 1958 campaign was Paine's only full year in the major leagues. He worked in a career-high 46 games, and won another four consecutive decisions (to go 9–0 for his career) before losing his first MLB game on July 29 against his original organization, the Phillies.

Retrosheet Retrosheet is a nonprofit organization whose website features box scores of Major League Baseball (MLB) games from 1906 to the present, and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest since the 1930s. It also includes scores from every major ...

1958 regular season pitching log for Phil Paine
/ref> As late as August 9, his earned run average was below the 2.00 mark. But two ineffective appearances over the season's final two months inflated Paine's ERA to 3.56. He was traded to 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 ...

during the off-season, played at the Triple-A level for three years, and never returned to the majors. All told, in 95 MLB career games pitched, all in relief, Paine posted a 10–1 win–loss record (for a

winning percentage 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 match ...

of .909) with one save. In 150 total innings pitched he surrendered 144 hits and 80 bases on balls, with 101

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

Personal life

Paine married Jeannette Orsini of

Hummelstown, Pennsylvania Hummelstown is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,535 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Harrisburg– Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Originally named Fredrickstown, the town was establ ...

, after meeting her while he was posted nearby during his U.S. Army basic training. They settled in Hummelstown to raise their family, with Paine helping to operate his in-laws' hotel and restaurant. On February 19, 1978, at age 47, he died from a

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

at the Veterans Hospital near

Lebanon, Pennsylvania Lebanon () is a city in and the county seat of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,814 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Lebanon is located in the central part of the Lebanon Valley, east of Harrisbu ...

, and was survived by his wife and three children.Greene, Chip, ''Phil Paine.''

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...

Biography Project

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paine, Phil 1930 births 1978 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Japan American military personnel of the Korean War Atlanta Crackers players Baseball players from Rhode Island Beaumont Exporters players Boston Braves players Bradford Blue Wings players Deaths from brain cancer in the United States Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania Hartford Chiefs players Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Braves players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Nishitetsu Lions players People from Glocester, Rhode Island People from Hummelstown, Pennsylvania St. Louis Cardinals players Spokane Indians players Toledo Sox players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Vancouver Mounties players Vandergrift Pioneers players Wichita Braves players

Career in Japan and MLB

Personal life

See also

References

External links