Paul Maholm
From BR Bullpen
Paul Gurner Maholm
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 6' 2", Weight 225 lb.
- School Mississippi State University
- High School Germantown High School
- Debut August 30, 2005
- Born June 25, 1982 in Greenwood, MS USA
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[edit] Biographical Information
Paul Maholm is a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
[edit] Amateur career
Maholm was drafted in the 17th round of the 2000 amateur draft but turned down their offer to go on to college. He went 8-4 with a 4.06 ERA as a freshman and allowed 106 hits in 95 innings, but still made the Baseball America Freshman All-America team. He improved to 10-3, 3.43 as a sophomore and 9-2, 2.76 as a junior, making the Southeastern Conference All-Conference team. The Pittsburgh Pirates took him in the first round of the 2003 amateur draft, 8th overall. The third pitcher taken (after Kyle Sleeth and Tim Stauffer), some Pirate fans argued for a power hitter, Michael Aubrey, given the poor performance by the slew of pitchers drafted by the Pirates in previous years, and for a high school pitcher with a high ceiling, Jeff Allison. Three years later, the decision seems like a reasonable one for Pittsburgh. Maholm signed for a $2.2 million bonus.
[edit] Minor league career
Paul debuted with the 2003 Williamsport Crosscutters, going 2-1 with a 1.83 ERA and .196 opponent batting average. Baseball America rated him the #14 prospecti n the New York-Penn League. He had a lower ERA than any of the qualifiers that year.
In 2004, Maholm started strong, going 1-3 but with a 4.84 ERA for the Lynchburg Hillcats. Then, in Mid-May, he was hit in the eye by a line drive from Casey Rogowski. He sustained fractures in the frontal orbital bones and needed surgery. He was out until August and was shaky on his rehab stints, posting a 2.25 ERA in one outing for the GCL Pirates and a 9.49 ERA and 0-2 record with the Hickory Crawdads.
A strained groin sidelined Paul briefly in 2005 but he bounced back well from his rough year and went 6-2 with a 3.20 ERA for the Altoona Curve. He allowed two runs in a third of an inning in the 2005 Futures Game on a double by Justin Huber. He was 1-1 with a 3.53 ERA in his AAA debut with the Indianapolis Indians, then was called up to Pittsburgh. The Pirates organization named him their Minor League Pitcher of the Year though Baseball America chose a fellow sinker-based southpaw, Zach Duke, instead.
[edit] Major league career
Paul came within an inning of being the first Pirate since Erv Kantlehner in 1914 to toss a shutout in his first start in the majors. Maholm went 3-1 with a 2.18 ERA for the 2005 Pirates and only allowed a .087 average to left-handers.
As with Duke, the new Pirates management tinkered with Paul's mechanics, which led to some criticism. Maholm started 2006 on a rocky note, going 3-8 with a 5.10 ERA in the first half. Like Duke, he improved as the year went on and he finished at 8-10 with a 4.76 ERA; his 95 ERA+ was about average for a starting pitcher, who tend to have worse ERAs than relievers. He was 7th in the 2006 NL in walks and tied for 8th in hit batters (12), uncharacteristic given his good control in the minor leagues. He then had a poor season in 2007, with his ERA rising to 5.02, although he cut his walks almost in half; he ended the season 10-15.
In spring training of 2008, Maholm faced Billy Crystal in an exhibition outing. Maholm became the first Pirate hurler in 51 years to hit higher than 9th in a game when he did so on June 30, 2008. He went 0 for 3 and struck out twice to drop his average to .161 (he finished at .123). Luis Arroyo had been the last Buc hurler to bat 8th. Maholm had a very good season overall, although this was not reflected in his 9-9 record: he pitched a career-high 206 ⅓ innings with a 3.71 ERA (good for an ERA+ of 114) and 139 strikeouts, another career-best. While his won-loss record looked unimpressive, it was quite something to be at .500 while starting regularly for a team that lost 95 games. Maholm led the Pirates in wins - no hurler had led a Pirates club in wins with a single-digit total in a non-strike season since 1890.
Maholm began 2011 with a 1-7 record but was not pitching badly - the problem was that the Bucs had only scored 14 runs in his first ten starts, with three shutouts, three one-run games, two two-run games, one three-run game and one four-run game.
Sources include 2001-2006 Baseball Almanacs, unofficial Pittsburgh Pirates e-mail list
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (2008)
