
Another baseball great to come out of St. X, Paul Byrd is known for being a solid and dependable pitcher on the mound.
The right handed slinger first came to national attention in 1991, during his college days pitching for Louisiana State University. A team Byrd helped win the college world series.
From there, a number of scouts from the pros wanted to give a second look to the young pitcher, and so it wasn’t long before the Cleveland Indians drafted the Louisvillian into their organization. Concerned about the experience issue though, the Indians sent Byrd to their triple-A affiliate to cut his teeth there so to speak.
Before Byrd would wear the Indians jersey in a major league game he was traded to the New York Mets where he made his big-league debut. The newly pro Byrd found marginal success with the Mets and the Braves after a trade, but it wasn’t until he got on the roster for the Philadelphia Phillies that things really started clicking for him.
So much so that he was recognized and selected for the All-Star game in 1999. Further shuffling around the league Byrd won seventeen games with the Kansas City Royals, despite the Royals having an overall abysmal season that year.
After the Royals, he went back to the Braves where he successfully pitched in his first post-season game. Following the Braves, came the Angels, back to the Indians, and finally the Boston Red Sox where he retired.
Today, Byrd’s an author having written his own personal memoir, Free Byrd, and also aids his wife in her life-coaching profession.
Image courtesy of MLB
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