September 29, 1963: John Paciorek becomes the greatest hitter in the history of baseball.
What's that? You've never heard of John Paciorek? Do you know of any other hitter with a 1.000 lifetime batting average?
John Francis Paciorek was born on February 11, 1945 in Detroit. His brother Tom, 1 year younger, would be a major league outfielder, playing from 1970 to 1987, appearing in the 1974 World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the 1983 American League Championship Series with the Chicago White Sox, and even making the 1981 All-Star Game with the Seattle Mariners.
His brother Jim, 15 years younger, would be a major league 1st baseman and outfielder, playing 48 games for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1987, and then playing in Japan until 1993.
John did not play in even 48 games in the major leagues. He played in one.
It was the last game of the 1963 season, with the Houston Colt .45s, at Colt Stadium, against the team that entered the National League with the Colts the year before, the New York Mets. Two days earlier, Colt manager Harry Craft, with nothing left to lose but 3 games, started the only all-rookie lineup in the history of Major League Baseball, but lost to the Mets, 10-3. The next day, starting only about half of the rookies, including future major league stars Joe Morgan, Rusty Staub and Jimmy Wynn, the Colts won, 9-1.
In this season finale, Craft again started Morgan at 2nd base, batting 2nd; Wynn in left field, batting 3rd; and Staub at 1st base, batting 4th. Batting 7th, playing right field, wearing uniform Number 22, and making his major league debut, was John Paciorek, 18 years and 230 days old.
There seemed little reason to call him up: He played most of the season for the Modesto Colts of the Class A California League, and batted only .219, although he showed some power, with 9 home runs and 49 RBIs. Still, there was no indication that he was going to become a historic figure in baseball, even briefly.
''It's funny, but I can't remember a whole lot about the game,'' he told The New York Times in 1983, in an article for the game's 20th Anniversary. ''It was around 120 degrees in Colt Stadium for a Sunday afternoon game, I remember that. Paul Richards was the general manager, and Harry Craft was the manager, but I don't remember who asked me to play."
In the bottom of the 2nd inning, batting against Met pitcher Larry Bearnarth, Paciorek drew a walk. So had Bob Aspromonte, who thus moved to 2nd base. John Bateman then tripled them home, giving the Colts a 2-0 lead.
But the Mets took a 4-2 lead. The Colts made them pay for that, beginning the bottom of the 4th with 6 straight singles: By Staub, Aspromonte, Ivan Murrell, Paciorek, Bateman and Al Spangler. This was followed by an RBI sacrifice fly by one of the few veterans on the team, although a Texas native, Pete Runnels; a strikeout by Morgan, and an RBI single by Wynn. The Colts led, 7-4.
There was more to come in the 5th. With Ed Bauta now pitching for the Mets, Aspromonte led off with a triple, and Paciorek singled him home. He would be singled home by Bob Lillis. Tracy Stallard, who had given up Roger Maris' 61st home run of the 1961 season, was brought in to pitch, but he walked the bases loaded, and then he walked Wynn and then Staub to force runs in. The Colts led, 11-4.
Paciorek came up again in the 6th, batting against Grover Powell. He drew a walk, and scored on another single by Lillis. Again against Powell, he led off the 8th with a single. The Colts won, 13-4.
Paciorek was 3-for-3, with 2 walks, 4 runs scored, and 3 RBIs. It was, arguably, the greatest debut in the history of Major League baseball.
But that debut would also be his finale. He had a bad back, and it plagued him through the 1964 season. In 49 minor-league games, he batted just .135. He had spinal fusion surgery, and, as a result, missed the rest of the season, and all of the next. In that 1965 season, the Colts moved into the Astrodome, and changed their name to the Houston Astros.
In 1966, he played 77 minor-league games in the Astro organization, and batted just .193. In 1967, he played only 32, batting .104, and the Astros released him.
He got a second chance in 1968, being signed by the Cleveland Indians. In 95 minor-league games, he hit 20 home runs. In 1969, he played for the Waterbury Indians of the Class AA Eastern League, but was only batting .214 through 29 games, when he tore his Achilles tendon. They released him, and, not yet 23 years old, he had played his last professional game.
While recovering from his back surgery, he had studied physical education at the University of Houston. Having been released, he was able to complete his degree. He married twice, had 4 sons and 4 daughters, became a phys ed teacher, and wrote 2 books about baseball instruction.
Ironically, while his minor-league career was little more than a disaster, his major league career was perfect. His 3 hits in 3 at-bats gave him a "lifetime" batting average of 1.000. Top that, Ty Cobb. Since all 3 hits were singles, that 3 total bases, so he had a slugging percentage of 1.000. Top that, Barry Bonds. His 2 walks meant that he reached base in 5 out of 5 plate appearances, so he had an on-base percentage of 1.000. Top that, Ted Williams. This means that he had an OPS of 2.000. Top that, Babe Ruth. And he had an OPS+ of 495. Top that, anybody.
Oh, yes, his fielding: He had 2 chances in the field, and had 2 putouts. So his fielding average in right field was 1.000. Top that, Roberto Clemente. His baserunning? He did not attempt to steal any bases, so I can't say, "Top that, Rickey Henderson." But he didn't get picked off or thrown out at any bases, either.
Oh, you want to know what his WAR was? Well, it was only 0.2. After all, it was just 5 plate appearances.
There have been 22 other players who picked up at least 3 hits without making an out in their MLB debut. But each of those 22 also played in more big league games, and watched their batting averages drop.
Through the 2021 season, 83 players had a major league "career" that saw them go 1-for-1, while 10 went 2-for-2. John Paciorek is the only one, so far, who has gone 3-for-3.
"It's kind of a dubious honor," Paciorek said. But I guess I’m immortalized. I did something no one else has ever done."
As of September 29, 2022, Paciorek is still alive, age 77.
*
September 29, 1963 was a Sunday. Hockey Hall-of-Famer Dave Andreychuk was born on this day. This was also the day the science-fiction sitcom My Favorite Martian premiered. I have a separate entry for that event.
These other baseball games were played:
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2 at Busch Stadium (formerly Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis. Dal Maxvill doubled home the winning run in the bottom of the 14th inning.
It was the last game for retiring Cardinal legend Stan Musial, and his Number 6 was retired. In the bottom of the 6th, the 42-year-old Stan the Man singled Curt Flood home. It was the 3,630th hit of his career, a National League record. In one of the neatest coincidences in sports history, he got exactly 1,815 hits in home games, and 1,815 hits in away games.
The single went between 1st and 2nd base, past the Reds' diving 2nd baseman, soon to be named the NL Rookie of the Year, and just 5 months old when Stan made his major league debut on September 17, 1941, 22 years and 12 days earlier. His name was Pete Rose. In 1981, Pete surpassed Stan as the NL's all-time hit leader. In 1985, he surpassed Ty Cobb as the major leagues' all-time hit leader. In 1989... um, let's move on.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-3 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Despite the game being played in his hometown, Al Kaline did not play. Brooks Robinson did, and went 1-for-3 with 2 walks and an RBI.
* The Washington Senators beat the Chicago White Sox, 9-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 2-0 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Warren Spahn, 42 years old, pitched a 4-hit shutout, for his 23rd win of the season, to outpitch former Brave Bob Buhl. Hank Aaron went 2-for-4 with a home run. Joe Torre went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Ernie Banks did not play for the Cubs.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Athletics, 2-1 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Willie Mays went 2-for-3 with a walk. Roberto Clemente went 3-for-4 with a solo home run. Willie Stargell appeared as a pinch-hitter, and struck out.
* The New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins were rained out at Yankee Stadium. And the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels were rained out at Fenway Park in Boston. Neither of these games was made up.
The entire NFL was in action:
* The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 37-14 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
* The Washington Redskins beat the Dallas Cowboys, 21-17 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. It was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.
* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the football version of the St. Louis Cardinals, 23-10 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.
* The Cleveland Browns beat the Los Angeles Rams, 20-6 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
* The Chicago Bears beat the Detroit Lions, 37-21 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.
* The Green Bay Packers beat the Baltimore Colts, 31-20 at the new Green Bay City Stadium. It was renamed Lambeau Field in 1965.
* The Minnesota Vikings beat the San Francisco 49ers, 45-14 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.
There were 2 games played in the American Football League. The Denver Broncos beat the Boston Patriots, 14-10 at Bears Stadium (later Mile High Stadium) in Denver. And the San Diego Chargers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 24-10 at Balboa Stadium in San Diego.
No comments:
Post a Comment