On September 29th, 1963, John Paciorek made his major league debut with the Houston Colt 45s. He went 3-for-3 at the plate, batted in three runs, scored four, and walked twice. It was his one and only MLB appearance.
Courtesy Baseball Almanac
1963 was the Colt 45’s (now the Houston Astros) inaugural season, and by the end of September, the team had won only 64 games. It was minor league call-up time, and Manager Harry Craft called up the 18-year-old Paciorek, who was playing right field at Class A Modesto in the California League.
General Manager for Paul Richards wanted to see what the young Paciorek could do, saying, “This kid is a real pleasure to watch. He could become one of the great power hitters and all-around players in baseball.”
Potential never turned into reality for a player who ended up being the only player in MLB history to end his career with a 1.000 batting average. The reason was a back injury. Paciorek underwent back surgery in 1964 and never returned to the Bigs. Instead, he played six years in the minors, hitting for an average of .209. He retired from the game in 1969.
Commenting on his MLB experience, Paciorek said, “It’s a dubious honor, but I guess I’m immortalized. I did something no one else has ever done.”
He’s right.
