Tom Paciorek

Infobox MLB retired
bgcolor1=#005c5c
bgcolor2=#0c2c56
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
name=Tom Paciorek
position=Outfielder/First baseman
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1946|11|2
debutdate=September 12
debutyear=by|1970
debutteam=Los Angeles Dodgers
finaldate=October 4
finalyear=by|1987
finalteam=Texas Rangers
stat1label=Batting Average
stat1value=.282
stat2label=Hits
stat2value=1,162
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=503
teams=
*Los Angeles Dodgers (by|1970-by|1975)
*Atlanta Braves (by|1976-by|1978)
*Seattle Mariners (by|1978-by|1981)
*Chicago White Sox (by|1982-by|1985)
*New York Mets (by|1985)
*Texas Rangers (by|1986-by|1987)
highlights=
*National League pennant: 1974
*All-Star (AL): 1981
*Major League Record, most hits in one game by a substitute for a starter (5), May 8-9, 1984.

Thomas Marian Paciorek (born November 2, 1946 in Detroit, Michigan) was a Major League outfielder and first baseman for 18 seasons between by|1970 and by|1987.

Major league career

Paciorek played baseball and football for the University of Houston from 1965-1968. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in by|1968, one of 14 players drafted by the Dodgers that year to reach the majors. A top prospect, he was The Sporting News' Minor League Player of the Year in by|1972. He spent the by|1973 through by|1975 seasons as a fourth outfielder and pinch hitter. After hitting under .200 in 1975, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves as part of a trade for Dusty Baker. He hit .290 in a platoon role for Atlanta in by|1976 but he struggled to duplicate those numbers the following year.

The Braves released him after spring training in by|1978, but signed him again just a week later. However, six weeks and only nine at bats later, the Braves gave him his release a second time. Paciorek then signed with the Seattle Mariners, where he finished the season hitting .299.

Following two solid years as a platoon player, Paciorek put together a career season with the Mariners in the by|1981 season. Playing full-time for the only time in his career, Paciorek batted .326, second in the American League, and was fourth in the AL in slugging percentage. He earned his only appearance to an All-Star team in by|1981 and was 10th in the AL MVP race.

In the offseason, the Mariners traded Paciorek to the Chicago White Sox for three players, none of whom would make an impact with Seattle. Paciorek hit over .300 his first two years with the Sox, and was part of Chicago's division championship team in by|1983.

With the White Sox in by|1984, he set an unusual MLB record. Paciorek replaced Ron Kittle in left field in the fourth inning of a May 8 game with the Milwaukee Brewers - a game which then proceeded to last 25 innings, becoming the longest game in Major League history (as measured in time on the field). By the time the game ended the following day, Paciorek had amassed five hits in nine at bats, a record for most hits in a game by a player that did not start the game which still stands (several players have had four hits in a game as a substitute, most recently Quinton McCracken of the Arizona Diamondbacks in by|2002). [http://www.baseball-reference.com/sotd/archives/585] , [http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHA/CHA198405080.shtml]

He was traded to the New York Mets in by|1985, then spent his final two years with the Texas Rangers.

Tom was one of three brothers to play in the Majors. His younger brother Jim played for the Milwaukee Brewers in by|1987, while older brother John played one game for the Houston Colt .45's (in which he went 3-3 and walked twice) in by|1963.

After baseball

Paciorek has served as a broadcaster for several years since retiring as a player, with his most notable stint as the color commentator for White Sox broadcaster Ken Harrelson. He served that role for Atlanta Braves games on FSN South from 2001 to 2005, and some Detroit Tigers games for FSN Detroit from 2001-2003. In 2006 he was the color commentator for the Washington Nationals, but his contract was not renewed for 2007 [http://www.callofthegame.com/news/index.php?itemid=2026] .

He is fondly remembered amongst Nationals fans for his distinct pronunciation of "Alfonso Soriano": "Eelfahnso Soriaahno".

In the spring of 2002, Paciorek told the Detroit Free Press in a report that priest Gerald Shirilla molested him and three of his four brothers while working as a teacher at St. Ladislaus in the 1960s. "I was molested by him for a period of four years," Paciorek is reported to have said. "I would refer to them as attacks. I would say there was at least a hundred of them." The former All-Star said he didn't tell anyone because no one would have believed him. "When you're a kid, and you're not able to articulate, who's going to believe you?" he asked. "The church back then was so powerful, there's nothing that a kid could do," [http://espn.go.com/gen/news/2002/0322/1356082.html] , one of many abuse cases reported among priests at the time.

ee also

*List of Washington Nationals broadcasters

External links