Paul Minner
From BR Bullpen
Paul Edison Minner (Lefty)
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 6' 5", Weight 210 lb.
- Debut September 12, 1946
- Final Game June 12, 1956
- Born July 30, 1923 in New Wilmington, PA USA
- Died March 28, 2006 in Lemoyne, PA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
17-year-old, 6' 5" left-hander Paul Minner was signed as an amateur free agent by the Brooklyn Dodgers before the 1941 season. He was 0-4 his first year out pitching for two teams, the Thomasville Lookouts of the Georgia-Florida League and the Knoxville Smokies of the Southern Association. He was in the two-team situation again in 1942, but this time around the results were a little different. "Lefty" went 19-2 for the year, with a 2.33 ERA, winning 18 for the Elizabethton Betsy Red Sox and one for the Knoxville Smokies. This exibition was the best winning percentage (.905) in all of professional baseball in 1942.
Minner was then inducted into the United States Army and would spend the next three seasons (1943-45) with the Military Services during World War II. Paul was back in time for the 1946 year and promptly went 16-11 for the Mobile Bears plus getting into 3 games for the Brooklyn Dodgers, losing his only decision in 3 games.
"Lefty" was back with the Dodgers in 1949, came up with a 3-1 record in 27 games and would never return to the minors again. He made one appearance in the 1949 World Series, with no decision, as the Yankees beat Brooklyn 4 games to 1 in the series. History was made in the ninth inning of Game 5, when the Ebbets Field lights were turned on, making it the first World Series game finished under artificial lights. The first scheduled Series night game would not be held until 1971.
Good things do happen, depending on your thinking, and on October 14, 1949 the Chicago Cubs forked over $100,000 to Brooklyn for the left-hander. Paul would spend the rest of his baseball career (1950-56) with the Chicago Cubs organization with his worst season coming in 1951 when he went 6-17 and led the National League in losses. He didn't waste time thinking about it and came right back in 1952 with a 14-9 record with a 3.74 ERA. Paul would become a fixture in the Cubs' starting rotation and was 69-84 lifetime with a 3.94 ERA, but was a Cardinal Killer, with a 21-8 mark against the St. Louis club.
Minner had spent ten seasons in pro baseball, with five of those coming in the minor leagues; during his stay in the minors, he built a record of 49 wins and 30 losses with a 2.93 ERA.
After baseball, Minner worked as a chief of field investigation for the State Insurance Department in Harrisburg, PA. Minner died on March 28, 2006 in Lemoyne, PA at the age of 83.
