There are a few things to
like about this action shot. Yes, it’s blurry. But it’s also the final card of
Paul Schaal’s career and I always like when Topps sends guys out with an action
shot. It also looks like Paul is adjusting mid-swing to a pitch in Comiskey,
and it’s always good to see a pro being resourceful. Lastly, I believe that’s Chicago manager Chuck
Tanner in the background on the step of the dugout. Chuck’s got his hands on
his head, as if he’s saying “Geez, you just threw him THAT pitch?” Makes me
wonder what the outcome of this at bat was. The outcome of a lot of at bats for
Paul in ’73 was pretty good as he raised his average 60 points from the prior
year. Unfortunately for Paul, the biggest event of his season career-wise may
have been when, after a couple weeks trying to play himself back in the line-up
after he hurt his ankle, the Royals put him on the disabled list in early
August and called up a kid from Omaha.
That kid turned out to be George Brett and though Paul hit over .300 on his
return, the stars were sort of aligned against him. But before and after then
he was a lot better than a trivia answer so let’s flesh him out.
Paul Schaal – yeah, it rhymes
– was born in Pittsburgh but played high school ball and hoops in Compton,
which means he either played with or against Roy White of the Yankees. His
senior year he hit .405 while leading his team to the state championship. Still,
he wasn’t signed until after a summer of American Legion ball put him on the
Angels’ radar and they gave him a $4,000 bonus. His first season of ’62 he had
a good year in D ball, hitting .278 with 73 RBI’s and a .400 OBA. Paul would
have a knack for getting on base that would follow him to the majors. In ’63 he
moved up to A ball, hit .328, and ironed out his fielding a bit. In ’64 he moved
all the way to Triple A, hit .271 with 53 RBI’s, and put more games in at
second base than at third. In his few late season looks in LA that season he
put in time at both positions as well.
In 1965 the Angels moved from
LA to Anaheim
and they took a new third baseman with them. Schaal got in the line-up on his
defense and stayed there on that and some timely hits. His rookie year he came
in third in assists and fielding percentage for AL third basemen and provided enough offense
to get named to the Topps Rookie team that year. In ’66 he upped his average 20
points and, in putting up a nice reversal in his BB to K ratio, his OBA by over
50 points. But with California
suffering a power drought – Bobby Knoop led the team in RBI’s – Paul’s RBI
numbers were pretty miniscule. In ’67 Paul’s offense tumbled hard and in an
attempt to fix things offensively at the position he returned to Double A where
he hit .311 with a .408 OBA in a bit over a month. In the meantime the Angels
tried a bunch of other guys at the position including Aurelio Rodriguez, Johnny
Werhas, and catcher Tom Satriano. But none of those guys added any real value
so when ’68 opened Paul was back at his spot. By June he was playing every day,
was having a great defensive year, and while hitting only .212 he seemed to be
recovering his stroke. But in a game against Boston he got nailed right above the ear by a
Jose Santiago fastball, collapsed, and was taken to the hospital. He had a skull
fracture and while damage wasn’t as bad as initially feared he lost some
hearing in his left ear and had some serious balance issues as a result. He
attempted to come back during the year but just getting to first base made him
dizzy. After the season he was left unprotected and he was selected by Kansas City in the
expansion draft.
When the Royals did their
draft they also grabbed Joe Foy of Boston
and with Foy's bigger stats to that point there was little doubt as to who the
starting third baseman would be. So Schaal spent ’69 shuttling between Kansas City and Triple A.
He had a bang-up season in the minors - .374 with a .468 OBA, 40 RBI’s, and
nine stolen bases in 222 at bats – and upstairs had a nice bounce in his
average. His power was a bit iffy because he was still feeling the effects of
the beaning which also continued into ’70. Prior to that season Foy was dealt
to the Mets for Amos Otis and Paul got the starting gig, giving some time away
to Bob Oliver and Billy Sorrell. In ’71 he had his biggest year, playing every
game and posting by far his biggest offensive season, including an OBA of .387.
‘72 was a big downer as his average tumbled and by the end of the year he was
giving away starts to Kurt Bevacqua. After his nice bounce in ’73 got interrupted
by his injury a slow start to the ’74 season got him traded back to California for former
Royal Richie Scheinblum. While Paul upped his average a bunch in Anaheim and put in more
time than anyone at third, he was released at the end of the season, ending his
time in baseball. He hit .244 for his career with a .341 OBA. In the minors he
hit .297 with a .392 OBA.
While Schaal left baseball
after playing he did not walk away from a physically active career. After
initially continuing working in real estate, which he did while he was playing,
he moved into chiropractic care. He returned to the KC area where he has run
his own wellness center for nearly thirty years.
’62 was a big year in the
minors for Paul. In ’66 he hit an inside-the-park home run. He was quite
skilled at pool and according to one report was considering it as a potential career choice after baseball.
It’s about time for another
easy one:
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