Paul Mitchell

Paul Michael Mitchell Jr.

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 195 lb.
• School Old Dominion University
• High School Worcester Academy
• Debut July 1, 1975
• Final Game September 21, 1980
• Born August 19, 1949 in Worcester, MA USA

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Biographical Information

Paul Mitchell was the Southern League wins leader in 1972, going 16-8 while pitching for Asheville in his first season as a pro. He then followed that with three more good seasons in AAA, with the Rochester Red Wings. In 1974, he was 14-6, 2.89, then in 1975, he went 10-1, 2.06 in 14 starts before the Baltimore Orioles finally gave him a shot at the big leagues.

Mitchell moved a lot during his brief major league career. He made his first major league appearance for the Orioles in 1975, was sent to the Oakland Athletics in the trade which brought future Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson to Baltimore before the 1976 season, then was sold to the expansion Seattle Mariners partway through the 1977 season. He finished his career with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1980 after being traded for Randy Stein in mid-1979.

Paul Mitchell had a bit of success as a starting pitcher in spite of the frequent changes of teams. He was 3-0 in his brief stay with the Orioles in 1975, then 9-7 with a 4.25 ERA in 26 starts his first full season with the A's in 1976. However, he started 1977 on the wrong foot (0-3, 10.54 in 5 games) and that earned him a trip to the minor leagues, followed by his sale to the Mariners. He did well in Seattle, though: 3-3 in 9 starts over the last weeks of 1977, and 8-14, 4.18 with 168 innings pitched in 1978. That was at a time when the Kingdome was a bandbox, and Mitchell was pitching on a very weak team. Ironically, hs best major league season was his final one with the Brewers in 1980: he put up a solid 3.53 ERA over 89 innings, with a 5-5 record, after going 5-3 in 8 starts for AAA Vancouver. He pitched for Columbus in the New York Yankees organization in 1981, but went only 1-4 and retired from baseball in mid-season at age 31.

He had won Silver with Team USA in the 1970 Amateur World Series.