Jim Popoff

James A. Popoff

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 210 lb.
• School California State University, Fullerton
• High School California High School (Whittier)

• Born August 24, 1970 in Whittier, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Jim Popoff was a 27th-round pick in the 1992 amateur draft by the New York Mets, out of Cal State-Fullerton. He only pitched that one season in the minor leagues, split between the Pittsfield Mets of the New York-Penn League and the Columbia Mets of the South Atlantic League. Between the two stops, he went 6-5, 3.41 in 15 games, 10 of them starts, pitching 74 innings and striking out 72 batters against 22 walks. When he was drafted, he was coming off playing in the 1992 College World Series, where Cal State-Fullerton lost in the finals to Pepperdine University; he was named one of two pitchers on the All-Tournament Team, alongside future major leaguer Pat Ahearne. He went 13-3 as a senior, and 12-5 as a sophomore in 1990, when his scool also reached the College World Series. In college, he was a teammate of Phil Nevin.

His most memorable game as a pro came on June 29, 1992, for Pittsfield against the Batavia Clippers. He earned his first professional win in his third career start that day, 5-3, and collected 19 strikeouts, setting a club record and the highest total in the circuit that year.

In spite of having a promising career ahead of him, he informed the Mets in February of 1993 that he was retiring from the game. He said that he wanted to finish his degree and forget about baseball for a while. Had he continued, he would likely have required shoulder surgery, after complaining of a sore arm at the end of the previous season.

Further Reading

• Scott Miller: "Former Titan Pitcher Popoff Retires From Professional Baseball", Los Angeles Times, February 12, 1993. [1]