| Ronny Paulino | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Baltimore Orioles | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: April 21, 1981 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
|
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| September 16, 2005 for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| Career statistics (through 2012 season) |
|
| Batting average | .272 |
| Home runs | 33 |
| Runs batted in | 216 |
| Teams | |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Competitor for  Dominican Republic |
||
| Men's Baseball | ||
| Central American and Caribbean Games | ||
| Bronze | 2002 San Salvador | Team |
Ronny Leonel Paulino (born April 21, 1981) is a Dominican professional baseball catcher. As of 2011, Paulino held a .338 batting average against left handed pitchers.[1]
Contents |
Career [edit]
Pittsburgh Pirates: 1997–2008 [edit]
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 in the Rule 5 Draft, but he was returned to the Pirates in spring training 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 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 for 2 with a double, 3 walks, and 1 run scored in the Dominican's triumph over Cuba. On April 16, 2006, Paulino was recalled to the Major Leagues and quickly became the Pirate's every day catcher. Eventually he was again demoted to Triple-A Indianapolis, 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 ERA is markedly better when Paulino is behind the plate.[2]
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.[3]
Florida Marlins: 2009-10 [edit]
On December 10, 2008, Paulino was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for minor league catcher Jason Jaramillo.[4] He was then traded to the San Francisco Giants on March 27, 2009 for pitcher Jack Taschner. Two hours later he was traded to the Florida Marlins for pitcher Hector Correa.[5]
With the Marlins, Pauline platooned with left-handed hitting catcher John Baker. 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.[6]
New York Mets: 2011 [edit]
In December 2010, the New York Mets signed Paulino to a one year contract.[7] On May 1, 2011, in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Paulino went 5 for 7 and hit the game-winning RBI in the 14th inning in his first game as a Met.[8] With the news of the death of Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader who was the mastermind of the September 11 attacks circulating during the game against their rivals, Mets' manager Terry Collins said that Paulino delivered "a good win for us, and obviously a huge win for America tonight."[9]
On June 8, Paulino hit his first home run with the Mets, a 3-run home run off of the Brewers' Kameron Loe.
Paulino became a free agent after the Mets decided not to tender his contract.[10]
Baltimore Orioles: 2012 [edit]
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.[11] 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.[12] In game 2 of the 2012 season, Paulino made his first start of the year as the DH and went 4-4.[13] On July 15, 2012, Paulino was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk to make room for Taylor Teagarden, who was coming off from the 60-day disabled list.
Seattle Mariners [edit]
Paulino signed with the Seattle Mariners after the 2012 season but was released in March 2013.
Return to Orioles [edit]
On May 20th 2013 Paulino signed a minor league deal.
References [edit]
- ^ DiComo, Anthony (04/29/11). "At last, Paulino makes long-awaited arrival". mlb.com.
- ^ Kovacevic, Dejan (2006-06-10). "Pirates Notebook: Paulino still catching on behind plate". Post Gazette. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- ^ Meyer, Paul (2006-09-27). "Pirates Notebook: McClatchy is keeping his decision a mystery". Post Gazette. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- ^ "Phillies acquire Paulino". Philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com. 1997-12-29. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- ^ By Chris Haft / MLB.com (2009-03-27). "Giants acquire, then trade Paulino". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- ^ By Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com. "Paulino suspended for positive PED test | MLB.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- ^ DiComo, Anthony (12/09/10). "Mets complete Paulino, Carrasco deals". Mlb.com. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
- ^ Associated Press (May 2, 2011). "Paulino leads Mets past Phillies in 14". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
- ^ Rubin, Adam (May 2, 2011). "Phillies crowd erupts in 'U-S-A' cheers". ESPNNewYork.com. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
- ^ "Non-Tender News: New York Mets Cut Ronny Paulino and Mike Baxter".
- ^ http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120314&content_id=27270218¬ebook_id=27270220&vkey=notebook_bal&c_id=bal
- ^ http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120330&content_id=27758876&vkey=news_bal&fext=.jsp&c_id=bal
- ^ http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=20439993&c_id=mlb
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ronny Paulino |
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- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
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- 1981 births
- Living people
- Major League Baseball catchers
- Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic
- Indianapolis Indians players
- Altoona Curve players
- Lynchburg Hillcats players
- Hickory Crawdads players
- Gulf Coast Pirates players
- St. Lucie Mets players
- Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
- Pittsburgh Pirates players
- Florida Marlins players
- New York Mets players
- Baltimore Orioles players
- Norfolk Tides players
- 2006 World Baseball Classic players
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