Paul Zuvella

Paul Zuvella (Born October 31, 1958 in San Mateo, California) is a former Major League Baseball player and minor league baseball manager. Primarily a shortstop and second baseman, he stood 6'0" tall and weighed 178 pounds. Zuvella batted from the right side and threw with his right hand.

Amateur career

Zuvella attended Samuel Ayer High School in Milpitas, California, and after graduation, matriculated at Stanford University. The Milwaukee Brewers selected him with the 283rd overall pick of the 1979 June draft, part of the 11th round, but he elected not to sign and returned to school. The next year, the Atlanta Braves took him with the 367th overall pick, in the 15th round, and this time he decided to turn pro.

Major league career

Zuvella made his Major League debut with the Braves on September 4, 1982, appearing as a pinch runner in a 4-1 loss to the Montreal Expos. [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B09040MON1982.htm] He spent parts of the next four seasons on Atlanta's bench, appearing in a career-high 81 games in by|1985. In that season, his most successful, he batted .253 in 190 at bats.

On June 30, 1986, the Braves traded Zuvella and outfielder Claudell Washington to the New York Yankees, in exchange for Ken Griffey, Sr. and Andre Robertson. Zuvella got off to an extremely slow start with the Yankees, going hitless in his first 28 at-bats. [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/Izuvep0010051986.htm] The Yankees released him after the end of the by|1987 season, and he signed with the Cleveland Indians. He was reasonably productive in by|1988 and by|1989, but Cleveland released him during spring training in 1990. Zuvella ended his Major League career with two games with the Kansas City Royals in by|1991.

Post-playing career

After his retirement as a player, Zuvella worked in the Colorado Rockies organization as a manager and instructor. From by|1994 to by|1995, he was the manager of the Class AA New Haven Ravens. [http://www.yaledailynews.com/article.asp?AID=6715] He has also returned to Stanford on several occasions to play in the school's annual Alumni Game. [http://gostanford.collegesports.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/102405aab.html] [http://gostanford.collegesports.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/101903aaa.html] [http://www.pac-10.org/sports/m-basebl/recaps/101704aaa.html]

Zuvella now sells real estate in California.

Zuvella in film trivia

Game footage of Zuvella appears in the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

In the film, the character "Mr. Rooney" is watching a game between the Braves and the Chicago Cubs on a television in a bar. He sees batter Claudell Washington hit a foul ball, which is caught by the film's title character, who was supposedly sick at home from school. This footage was taken from a game played on June 5, 1985, [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B06050CHN1985.htm] and in the clip Zuvella is the runner on first base. [http://www.deadspin.com/sports/baseball/save-ferris-162123.php]

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