Given the rules that were in place at the time, it took a lot of finagling for the Pittsburgh Pirates to sign high schooler Paul Pettit to a contract. On this day in 1950, the Pirates finally got their man.
In 1950, some of the rules in baseball were a little strange when it came to signing players. Scouts were unable to sign players prior to graduation, which makes sense, but was not always the case. Meanwhile, depending on the contract that the player signed, they needed to spend at least one full season in the Majors, and possibly a second, before being sent to the minors.
Those rules led to some issues with the Pittsburgh Pirates pursuit of high school pitcher Paul Pettit. As such, Pettit signed with a film producer to be an “actor/athlete” under an exclusive contract. On this day in 1950, as the Pirates looked to circumvent those rules, they purchased his contract, and signed him for $100,000.
Unfortunately, Pettit would not prove to be worth that time and effort. Sent to New Orleans of the Southern Association, Pettit struggled, posting a 2-7 record with a 5.27 ERA and a 1.585 WHiP. He only made five minor league appearances the following year, but was able to make his Pirates debut. In his two outings spanning 2.2 innings, he allowed a run on two hits and a walk, leading to the hope that he could start to live up to his contract.
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That would not be the case. Back in the minors in 1952, Pettit continued to show his promise, as he posted his best season on the mound as a professional. That year, he was 15-8 with a 3.70 ERA, although he had a high 1.548 WHiP. That earned him another look with the Pirates the following year.
This time, Pettit struggled. In ten games, including five starts, he posted a 1-2 record with a 7.71 ERA and a 1.893 WHiP. In 28 innings, Pettit issued 20 walks while striking out only 14 batters. He just was not ready for the Majors.
Back in the minors, Pettit actually started to show a lot of promise as a hitter. While he would still pitch, Pettit began seeing a lot more time at first and in the outfield. He had three seasons with 20 or more home runs, and even hit over .320 in 1954. However, he would never find his way back to the Majors.
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It took a lot of maneuvering for the Pittsburgh Pirates to sign Paul Pettit. However, he would not be worth that contract.