Paul Mitchell (baseball)

Paul Michael Mitchell Jr. (born August 19, 1949) is an American professional baseball pitcher who played in the Major League Baseball(MLB) from 1975 to 1980. He played for the Baltimore Orioles, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers.

Paul Mitchell
Pitcher
Born: (1949-08-19) August 19, 1949
Worcester, Massachusetts
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 1, 1975, for the Baltimore Orioles
Last MLB appearance
September 21, 1980, for the Milwaukee Brewers
MLB statistics
Win–loss record32–39
Earned run average4.45
Strikeouts277
Teams

Career

Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, Mitchell graduated from Worcester Academy in 1968 and was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 18th round of the 1968 MLB draft.[1] Rather than turn professional, he opted to attend Old Dominion University on a baseball scholarship.[2] From 1969-71 he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) for the Falmouth Commodores, 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 Baltimore Orioles in the 1st round (7th overall) of the secondary phase of the 1971 MLB draft.[3][4] He spent the 1972 season with the Double-A Asheville Orioles, and 1973-74 with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.

He made his MLB debut for Baltimore on July 1, 1975 at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox, and finished the season with a 3-0 record and a 3.63 earned run average 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 [Mike] Torrez's ability if it meant getting [Reggie] Jackson in return."[5] 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 was the third player sent over from Baltimore, and in addition to Jackson, the Orioles also acquired Ken Holtzman and minor-league right-handed pitcher Bill Van Bommel.[6] Mitchell posted a 9-7 record for Oakland in 1976, but struggled early in 1977 and was dealt mid-season to the Seattle Mariners, who had joined the American 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. Mitchell made his final appearance with Milwaukee on September 21, 1980 against Seattle and was released prior to the 1981 season.[7]

In all, Mitchell pitched in six major league seasons, recording a career win-loss record 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.[8] In 621.1 innings of work, Mitchell handled 114 chances, recording 32 putouts and 82 assists without a single error, for a perfect career fielding percentage of 1.000. In 2002, Mitchell was inducted into the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame,[9] and in 2011 he served as honorary captain of the West Division team at the CCBL All-Star Game at Fenway Park.[10]

References
  1. "1968 Baseball Draft". baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  2. "Mitchell recalls time in Major League Baseball". fiftyplusadvocate.com. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  3. "1971 Baseball Draft". baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  4. "1971 MLB June Secondary Delayed Draft Pick Transactions". prosportstransactions.com. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  5. Iber, Jorge (2016). Mike Torrez: A Baseball Biography. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-7864-9632-7.
  6. "Orioles obtain Reggie Jackson; Baylor, Torrez go to Oakland," The Associated Press (AP), Saturday, April 3, 1976. Retrieved March 20, 2016
  7. "Paul Mitchell Trades and Transactions". baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  8. "Career Leaders & Records for Fielding Percentage as a Pitcher". baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  9. "Twelve Legends to be inducted into CCBL Hall of Fame". capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  10. "Hall of Fame Pitchers Mitchell and Jabar are named Honorary Captains". capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
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