Paul Blair
Born: 2/1/1944 in Cushing, OK, USA
Died: 12/26/2013 in Baltimore, MD, USA
MLB Debut: 1964-09-09 | Final Game: 1980-06-20
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 168 lbs
Full name: Paul L. D. Blair
Biography
Paul Blair, born in 1944, was a prominent American baseball player who made significant contributions to the game during his career, which spanned from 1964 to 1980. A dynamic position player, Blair played a total of 1,947 games, accumulating 1,513 hits and showcasing his power with 134 home runs. His offensive prowess was complemented by his ability to drive in runs, as he finished his career with 620 RBIs. Blair also demonstrated speed on the basepaths, recording 171 stolen bases and maintaining a batting average of .250.
Blair was recognized as an All-Star on two occasions, highlighting his status as one of the top players in the league during his era. He played during a time of transition in Major League Baseball, and his skills both at the plate and in the field contributed to his teams' successes. Renowned for his defensive abilities, Blair was a key player in the outfield, known for his range and athleticism. His legacy remains significant in the annals of baseball history, as he exemplified the talent and determination of players during the late 1960s and 1970s.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | 6042 | 776 | 1513 | 282 | 55 | 134 | 620 | 171 | 449 | 877 | 0.250 | 0.302 | 0.382 | 0.684 | -1514.6 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | BAL | AL | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1965 | BAL | AL | 119 | 364 | 49 | 85 | 19 | 2 | 5 | 25 | 8 | 32 | 52 | 0.234 | -398.0 |
| 1966 | BAL | AL | 133 | 303 | 35 | 84 | 20 | 2 | 6 | 33 | 5 | 15 | 36 | 0.277 | 228.3 |
| 1967 | BAL | AL | 151 | 552 | 72 | 162 | 27 | 12 | 11 | 64 | 8 | 50 | 68 | 0.293 | 2037.2 |
| 1968 | BAL | AL | 141 | 421 | 48 | 89 | 22 | 1 | 7 | 38 | 4 | 37 | 60 | 0.211 | -532.9 |
| 1969 | BAL | AL | 150 | 625 | 102 | 178 | 32 | 5 | 26 | 76 | 20 | 40 | 72 | 0.285 | 1729.8 |
| 1970 | BAL | AL | 133 | 480 | 79 | 128 | 24 | 2 | 18 | 65 | 24 | 56 | 93 | 0.267 | 939.9 |
| 1971 | BAL | AL | 141 | 516 | 75 | 135 | 24 | 8 | 10 | 44 | 14 | 32 | 94 | 0.262 | 145.8 |
| 1972 | BAL | AL | 142 | 477 | 47 | 111 | 20 | 8 | 8 | 49 | 7 | 25 | 78 | 0.233 | -790.0 |
| 1973 | BAL | AL | 146 | 500 | 73 | 140 | 25 | 3 | 10 | 64 | 18 | 43 | 72 | 0.280 | 380.4 |
| 1974 | BAL | AL | 151 | 552 | 77 | 144 | 27 | 4 | 17 | 62 | 27 | 43 | 59 | 0.261 | 371.0 |
| 1975 | BAL | AL | 140 | 440 | 51 | 96 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 31 | 17 | 25 | 82 | 0.218 | -1906.8 |
| 1976 | BAL | AL | 145 | 375 | 29 | 74 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 15 | 22 | 49 | 0.197 | -1850.2 |
| 1977 | NYY | AL | 83 | 164 | 20 | 43 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 25 | 3 | 9 | 16 | 0.262 | -177.6 |
| 1978 | NYY | AL | 75 | 125 | 10 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 9 | 17 | 0.176 | -659.8 |
| 1979 | CIN | NL | 75 | 140 | 7 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 27 | 0.150 | -1031.5 |
| 1979 | NYY | AL | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.200 | -1031.5 |
| 1980 | NYY | AL | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | 146 | 21 | 38 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 12 | 31 | 0.260 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | ALCS | NYA | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| 1978 | WS | NYA | 6 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0.375 |
| 1977 | ALCS | NYA | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.400 |
| 1977 | WS | NYA | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.250 |
| 1974 | ALCS | BAL | 4 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0.286 |
| 1973 | ALCS | BAL | 5 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0.167 |
| 1971 | ALCS | BAL | 2 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0.333 |
| 1971 | WS | BAL | 4 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.333 |
| 1970 | ALCS | BAL | 3 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0.077 |
| 1970 | WS | BAL | 5 | 19 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0.474 |
| 1969 | ALCS | BAL | 3 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0.400 |
| 1969 | WS | BAL | 5 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0.100 |
| 1966 | WS | BAL | 4 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.167 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 3B | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| OF | 1878 | 1461 | 4343 | 111 | 54 | 26 |
| SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | BAL | OF | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965 | BAL | OF | 116 | 97 | 241 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 1966 | BAL | OF | 127 | 79 | 204 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 1967 | BAL | OF | 146 | 139 | 369 | 13 | 6 | 3 |
| 1968 | BAL | 3B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1968 | BAL | OF | 132 | 100 | 271 | 10 | 2 | 2 |
| 1969 | BAL | OF | 150 | 149 | 407 | 14 | 5 | 5 |
| 1970 | BAL | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1970 | BAL | OF | 128 | 117 | 368 | 10 | 4 | 3 |
| 1971 | BAL | OF | 138 | 121 | 331 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 1972 | BAL | OF | 139 | 113 | 337 | 10 | 3 | 1 |
| 1973 | BAL | OF | 144 | 123 | 369 | 14 | 4 | 4 |
| 1974 | BAL | OF | 151 | 136 | 447 | 7 | 7 | 2 |
| 1975 | BAL | 1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975 | BAL | OF | 138 | 103 | 327 | 8 | 3 | 1 |
| 1976 | BAL | OF | 139 | 89 | 327 | 6 | 7 | 1 |
| 1977 | NYA | OF | 79 | 37 | 125 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 1978 | NYA | 2B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1978 | NYA | 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1978 | NYA | SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1978 | NYA | OF | 64 | 20 | 87 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 1979 | CIN | OF | 67 | 37 | 117 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1979 | NYA | OF | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1980 | NYA | OF | 12 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Second Base | 5 |
| Third Base | 5 |
| Shortstop | 4 |
| Left Field | 31 |
| Center Field | 1802 |
| Right Field | 62 |
| Designated Hitter | 5 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Gold Glove | OF |
| 1974 | Gold Glove | OF |
| 1974 | TSN All-Star | OF |
| 1973 | Gold Glove | OF |
| 1972 | Gold Glove | OF |
| 1971 | Gold Glove | OF |
| 1970 | Gold Glove | OF |
| 1969 | Gold Glove | OF |
| 1969 | TSN All-Star | OF |
| 1967 | Gold Glove | OF |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 13th | 27.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1973 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 33th | 2.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1969 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 11th | 28.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1967 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 16th | 9.0 | 280 | 0 |