Boris spent April and most of May in the minors before making his MLB debut on 5/21/82. The New Jersey native pitched in Yankee Stadium against his former organization and nerves may have contributed to his poor outing as he allowed four runs in two-thirds of an inning against the Bronx Bombers.
He rebounded by pitching fairly well in long relief the rest of the year, usually logging two to four frames per outing. He finished the year with a 3.99 ERA, 1.309 WHIP, and a 19/30 walk to strikeout ratio in 49.2 innings.
Boris didn't make the team in '83, treading on with a 6.75 ERA in 89 innings at AAA Toledo. He again pitched at the AAA level in '84 but this time in Richmond for the Braves with a 3.95 ERA but allowed almost two runners per inning. Boris seems to disappear and it is a mystery to me if he continued playing in Mexico, Japan, bought a car wash, sold insurance... who knows?
Oddball: Although it may seem obvious now, it's never a good idea to sell beer for 10 cents or even 25 cents at a sporting event. On May 24, 1983 the Toledo Mud Hens held one of their Concession Nights. One of the bargains was beer for a quarter and many of the 1,775 fans enjoyed a dollar or two worth of frothy brew. Boris was the starting pitcher for the Mud Hens against the Tidewater Tides but took the loss in the 11-1 lopsided affair. The game was marred by fights in the stands and 12 paying customers were ejected. After the game the Tides dodged flying cups of ale and several had their hats stolen.
History: Boris had just five months of major league action but he seemed to perform the job asked of him as a long man. His card is one of the few I have no memory of seeing when the set came out almost 30 years ago.
Well at least he is not in the baseball hall of fame for the most brushbacks considering all of his "good cheese" pitches. He needed to work on his whiff technique opposed to enabling too many taters. Anytime he had a circus catch, he really summed it up and prevented many dang dang plays however one might say Boris showed his leather like a champ! Boris is probably happy to watch other pitchers on TV throwing meatballs that turn into cans of corn!!!! Although the punchouts and Uncle Charlie's he threw always made him smile...These days Paul Boris does however find Cooperstown NY to be his vacation place of choice visiting the Natioanl Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum daily.
ReplyDeletePaul Boris is bigger than Cooperstown.
ReplyDeleteI went to Rutgers at the same time as Paul. My brother who was also attending Rutgers was a good friend of his. Met him many times at lunch. He pitched very well in the minors at every level. Just did not have enough to make it in the big leagues.
ReplyDeleteI recall facing Paul in a NJ summer league, mid-1970s. I think he was the only future major leaguer I ever faced, so I remember it fondly. Didn't know he played at Rutgers (as did I some years before).
ReplyDeleteHard card to get for my set
ReplyDelete