Ronny Leonel Paulino (born April 21, 1981) is a Dominican former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 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 ...

, Florida Marlins, New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles.

Career

Pittsburgh Pirates: 1997–2008

Paulino signed as a non-drafted free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization on December 29, 1997, at the age of 16. In 2002, he was selected by 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 ...

in the Rule 5 draft, but he was returned to the Pirates in

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 ...

of the following year. After making his major league debut in September 2005 with the Pirates, Paulino was selected to the Dominican Republic team for the

2006 World Baseball Classic The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums that are in and around Tokyo, Japan; San Juan, Puerto ...

as a backup catcher. The highlight of the World Baseball Classic for Paulino came on March 13, when Paulino started at catcher against the Cuban team. Paulino went 2–2 with a double, three walks, and a

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

scored in the Dominican's triumph over Cuba. On April 16, 2006, Paulino was recalled to the Major Leagues and quickly became the Pirates every day catcher. Eventually he was again demoted to Triple-A

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, as management would give Ryan Doumit the bulk of playing time behind the plate with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Paulino was praised by the Pirates pitching staff as an excellent catcher to work with. The staff earned run average (ERA) was markedly better when Paulino was behind the plate. His .310 batting average made him the first rookie catcher since Mike Piazza to play in at least 100 games and bat at least .310. He is only the second rookie catcher since 1969 to have those numbers.

Florida Marlins: 2009–10

On December 10, 2008, Paulino was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for minor league catcher

Jason Jaramillo Jason Cory Jaramillo (born October 9, 1982) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2009 to 2011. Amateur career Jaramillo attended Oklahoma State University, and in 2003 he played co ...

. He was then traded to the San Francisco Giants on March 27, 2009 for pitcher

Jack Taschner Jack Gerard Taschner (born April 21, 1978) is a former left-handed Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He played for the San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Los Angeles Dodgers. In his major league career (2005� ...

. Two hours later he was traded to the Florida Marlins for pitcher Hector Correa. With the Marlins, Pauline platooned with left-handed hitting catcher

John Baker John Baker or Jon Baker may refer to: Military figures *John Baker (American Revolutionary War) (1731–1787), American Revolutionary War hero, for whom Baker County, Georgia was named *John Baker (RAF officer) (1897–1978), British air marshal ...

. After Baker suffered a season-ending injury in May 2010, Paulino took over starting duties for the majority of the season. On August 20, 2010, Paulino received a 50-game suspension for violation of baseball's drug policy. Paulino claimed the positive test was a result of a dietary pill. Mets Catcher Ronny Paulino at bat

New York Mets: 2011

In December 2010, the New York Mets signed Paulino to a one-year contract. On May 1, 2011, in a game against 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 ...

, Paulino went 5–7 and hit the game-winning RBI in the 14th inning in his first game as with the Mets. With the news of the death of Osama bin Laden, the

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

leader who was the mastermind of the September 11 attacks circulating during the game against their rivals, Mets manager

Terry Collins Terry Lee Collins (born May 27, 1949) is an American former professional baseball manager. He managed the Houston Astros, the Anaheim Angels and New York Mets in Major League Baseball and the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball. He c ...

said that Paulino delivered "a good win for us, and obviously a huge win for America tonight." On June 8, Paulino hit his first home run with the Mets, a three-run home run off of 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 ...

Kameron Loe. Paulino became a free agent after the Mets decided not to tender his contract.

Baltimore Orioles: 2012

The Baltimore Orioles signed Paulino to a minor league contract on January 30, 2012. He also received an invitation to spring training, but arrived three weeks late to camp after having visa issues. Paulino made the Orioles 2012 Opening Day roster after Taylor Teagarden, newly signed by the team to be the backup catcher, went on the disabled list because of back problems. In the second game of the 2012 season, Paulino made his first start of the year as the DH and went 4–4. On July 15, 2012, Paulino was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk to make room for

Taylor Teagarden Taylor Hill Teagarden (born December 21, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers from 2008 to 2011, the Baltimore Orioles in 2012 and 2013, the New York Mets ...

, who was coming off from the 60-day disabled list.

Seattle Mariners

Paulino signed with the Seattle Mariners after the 2012 season but was released in March 2013.

Baltimore Orioles

Paulino signed with the Baltimore Orioles on May 15, 2013 to a minor league contract.

Detroit Tigers

In August 2013, the Orioles assigned Paulino to the Toledo Mud Hens, the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Triple-A affiliate. He re-signed with the Tigers in November 2013 to fill minor league organizational depth. On February 12, 2014, Paulino was suspended 100 games by Major League Baseball for a second PED-related offense. On July 19, 2014, Paulino was released.

Sultanes de Monterrey

On April 28, 2015, Paulino signed with the

Sultanes de Monterrey The Sultanes de Monterrey ( en, Monterrey Sultans) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Monterrey, Mexico. They compete in the Northern Division. The team also joined the Mexican Pacific League for the 2019–20 season f ...

of the Mexican Baseball League.

Vaqueros Laguna

On May 3, 2016, Paulino signed with the Vaqueros Laguna of the Mexican Baseball League. He was released on June 27, 2016.

Olmecas de Tabasco

On July 1, 2016, Paulino signed with the Olmecas de Tabasco of the Mexican Baseball League. He was released on February 27, 2017.

International career

He was selected Dominican Republic national baseball team at

2002 Central American and Caribbean Games The 19th Central American and Caribbean Games were held in San Salvador, El Salvador from November 22 to December 8, 2002 and included 4,301 competitors from 31 nations, competing in 32 sports. The main stadium for these championships was the Est ...

2019 Pan American Games Qualifier The 2019 Pan American Games Qualifier is a baseball tournament that was held between January 29 and February 3, 2019 in Ibiúna and São Paulo, Brazil. The tournament qualified the last four teams to the Baseball at the 2019 Pan American Games tour ...

and

2019 Pan American Games The 2019 Pan American Games ( es, Juegos Panamericanos de 2019, links=no), officially the XVIII Pan American Games and commonly known as the Lima 2019 Pan-Am Games or Lima 2019 ( qu, Limaq 2019), were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Spo ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paulino, Ronny 1981 births Living people Altoona Curve players Azucareros del Este players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players at the 2019 Pan American Games Bowie Baysox players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for the Dominican Republic Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in baseball Competitors at the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Florida Marlins players Gulf Coast Pirates players Hickory Crawdads players Indianapolis Indians players Leones del Escogido players Lynchburg Hillcats players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Mexican League baseball catchers New York Mets players Norfolk Tides players Piratas de Campeche players Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Lucie Mets players Sultanes de Monterrey players Tigres del Licey players Toledo Mud Hens players Vaqueros Laguna players World Baseball Classic players of the Dominican Republic 2006 World Baseball Classic players Pan American Games competitors for the Dominican Republic Sportspeople from Santo Domingo