Paul Edward Popovich (born August 18, 1940) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

from 1964 through 1975 for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

, and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

Early years

Popovich attended

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

(where he was a teammate of

Jerry West Jerry Alan West (May 28, 1938 – June 12, 2024) was an American basketball player and executive. He played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and is widely regarded as one of the greatest ...

) for the

Mountaineers Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

in and . The

Flemington, West Virginia Flemington is a town in Taylor County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 311 at the 2020 census. Flemington was incorporated in 1922 by the West Virginia Circuit Court, and named for James Fleming, an early settler in the area ori ...

native also played independent baseball on the

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Monongahela River in North Central West Virginia and is the home of West Virginia University. The population was 30,347 at the 2 ...

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

team. He signed as an amateur free agent with the

for $40,000 in 1960. The

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

was a .244 hitter with seven

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 86

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

over three seasons in the Cubs'

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

when he had a breakthrough season with the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

's Amarillo Gold Sox in . He batted .313 with seventeen home runs and sixty RBIs.

Chicago Cubs

He made his major league debut in the fifth game of the season, and got a

pinch hit In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, Am ...

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in his only

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

. Nonetheless, he was optioned to the triple A

Salt Lake City Bees The Salt Lake City Bees was a primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams, based in Salt Lake City, Utah between 1911 and 1970 under various names. After minor league baseball first began in Salt Lake City in 1900, the Bees were long-time ...

, and would not return to the majors until a September call up in . In two games, he went 0-for-6. Following his brief stint with the Cubs in 1966, Popovich spent the winter with the

Arizona Instructional League The Arizona Instructional League (AIL), sometimes known informally as "instructs", is an American professional baseball league. Young major league prospects hone their skills in the AIL, while experienced players may go there to rehabilitate from ...

Cubs learning

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

and

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

. This experience earned him a bench role with the Cubs in . In 49 games, Popovich batted .214 with no home runs, two RBIs and eighteen runs scored. Following the season, he and minor leaguer Jim Williams were traded to the

for

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

Lou Johnson Louis Brown Johnson (September 22, 1934 – October 1, 2020), nicknamed "Sweet Lou," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. Johnson's professional baseball career lasted for 17 seasons, and included 8 years in the majors: parts of 196 ...

Los Angeles Dodgers

Popovich appeared in 134 games for the Dodgers in , mostly at second base. His first major league home run was a game tying ninth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

blast against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

on June 9. He also had a four hit game against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

on May 24. All told, Popovich batted .232 with two home runs and 25 RBIs. Shortly into the season, the Dodgers traded Popovich and Ron Fairly to the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

for Dodgers legend

Maury Wills Maurice Morning Wills (October 2, 1932 – September 19, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1959 to 1972, most prominently as an integral member of the Los Ange ...

and

Manny Mota Manuel Rafael Mota Geronimo, more commonly known as Manny Mota (born February 18, 1938), is a Dominican Republic, Dominican former Major League Baseball outfielder who played 20 seasons for the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates and Montr ...

. The Expos then flipped Popovich back to the Cubs for Jack Lamabe and Adolfo Phillips.

Chicago Cubs

He earned the nickname "Supersub" for his utility work for the Cubs in 1969. He also had a career high .312 batting average, as the Cubs battled the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

for the

National League East The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central, it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. After having internal, informal divisions for ...

crown. He remained a supersub for the Cubs through the season. His best season came in . While he batted a meager .217, he had a career high 28 RBIs, and tied his career high from the previous season with four home runs.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Just as the season was getting underway, Popovich was traded to the

for

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Tom Dettore. He reached the post season for the only time in his career against his former club, the Los Angeles Dodgers. While the Pirates lost to the Dodgers, three games to one, Popovich had an exceptional series. He went 3-for-5 with a run scored. He was released midway through the season.

Career statistics

The 1969 Dodgers yearbook shows Popovich surrounded by 21 fans who shared his surname.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popovich, Paul 1940 births American men's basketball players Arizona Instructional League Dodgers players Living people Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Chicago Cubs players Los Angeles Dodgers players Pittsburgh Pirates players Baseball players from West Virginia West Virginia Mountaineers baseball players West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball players American people of Serbian descent San Antonio Missions players Wenatchee Chiefs players Amarillo Gold Sox players Salt Lake City Bees players Arizona Instructional League Cubs players Tacoma Cubs players Sportspeople from Taylor County, West Virginia 20th-century American sportsmen