Paciorek Honored as One of Michigan Baseball Program's All-Time Greats
The future major leaguer from a legendary Detroit-area baseball family reflects on baseball, life and also playing QB for the Wolverines
Michigan 2020 Hall of Honor: Paciorek Was a Hitting Star, World Series Hero
A member of the 1980 College World Series All-Tournament team, the 1982 Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Medal of Honor winner, a four-year letterman and the owner of offensive statistics that still rank among the program's top 10 in five categories, Jim Paciorek was inducted into the Michigan Athletics Hall of Honor during a Friday, Oct. 22 ceremony as a member of the Class of 2020 along with Sarah Cain (women's gymnastics), Kelli Gannon (field hockey), Ty Law (football), Tripp Welborne (football) and Lexi Zimmerman (volleyball).
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Jim Paciorek won nearly every personal honor and award a University of Michigan baseball player could receive.
Paciorek (pah-CHOR-ik) hit for power and average as a slick-fielding outfielder, and in 1982 was a first team All-American as well as the Big Ten Player of the Year. He also won the Big Ten Medal of Honor -- going to the Michigan senior most proficient in athletics and academics -- and was the team's MVP and co-captain that year.
He made the College World Series All-Tournament team as a sophomore in 1980, when he went 7-for-7 with two walks in his first nine plate-appearances, batted .636 there that year and .556 in Omaha over two postseasons.
Paciorek's .375 career batting average and .443 mark in 1982 (when he had 17 homers and 65 RBI) both are second all-time at Michigan, and he also ranks high with 183 RBI, 32 homers, 14 triples and 162 runs for his career. He never batted lower than .366 in one season.
So, he is more than deserving of being only the fifth Wolverine baseball player over the last half century chosen for Michigan's Hall of Honor, with inductions Friday (Oct. 22).
"It was totally unexpected," said Paciorek. "And when I looked it up, I was like, 'Holy cow. This is awesome.' There are people like Gerald Ford in there, and Coach Moby Benedict (his first baseball coach) and all the all-time greats like (basketball players) Bill Buntin and Rudy Tomjanovich, who is from Hamtramck (Michigan), where we all grew up. We were big fans of him. But it's just such a great honor.
"I looked through the whole list, and it was a lot of fun. I didn't realize there were so few baseball players in there who weren't old-timers."
Baseball Hall of Famer Barry Larkin, Jim Abbott, Rick Leach (also a football All-American) and Casey Close are the only other baseball players selected for the Hall of Honor who played over the last five decades.
But when asked which of his plethora of awards meant the most to him, Paciorek, who came to Michigan on a football scholarship and also played quarterback and tight end for two seasons for Bo Schembechler, went the team route.
"We went to the Rose Bowl my freshman year, and my sophomore year we went to the Gator Bowl," said Paciorek, 61, who now lives in Tucson, Ariz. "Then we went to two College World Series. I think that and just the whole experience at Michigan is something I'm really proud of, what means the most to me.
"Not many guys were able to experience all that in football and baseball. My whole time at Michigan was just fabulous."
Paciorek, the youngest of eight children, grew up mimicking the play of his older brothers and Detroit Tiger Hall of Famer Al Kaline. He recalled going to Tiger Stadium and watching the 1968 World Champion team led by catcher Bill Freehan, a member of the Michigan Hall of Honor's first induction class in 1978. Paciorek's .443 in 1982 is topped only by Freehan's .446 in 1961.
"I loved the '68 Tigers, and I remember them letting us watch the World Series on TV in school because they were all day games at that time," said Paciorek. "Bill Freehan was great. I used to love Bill Freehan."
Paciorek was one of the most feared hitters in college baseball in his era, and was at his best as a senior.
"Everything just seemed to click really well," said Paciorek. "I felt so good at the plate. Baseball's a weird game. You can go two weeks thinking you're the greatest thing since sliced bread, and then the next day, it's like you forgot everything you were doing. So, to maintain it through a whole season was unusual. I felt good all the time, and it was one of those years you don't have very often."
Paciorek never was hotter than when it mattered most -- in the College World Series. He went 3-for-3 and made a game-clinching running catch to beat Cal Berkeley in the 1980 opener before going 4-for-4 in a one-run loss to the Miami Hurricanes. However, Arizona eliminated the Wolverines by handing them a second defeat.
"But it was just a thrill to make it to the College World Series -- especially as a sophomore," said Paciorek, who returned to Omaha as a junior. "But my senior year was disappointing in that we came in third in the Big Ten Tournament and didn't even make the NCAA Regionals that year. I thought it was one of the best teams we had in my years, but we had one of those bad weekends.
"We had hosted the Regionals and packed the house -- won the Regionals and went to those World Series. Those were so much fun."
Paciorek, an eighth-round pick by the Milwaukee Brewers, made it to the majors to play against one of his two brothers (Tom and John) who also made it to the top, and played at Michigan with four first-round picks: Leach, Steve Howe, Steve Perry and Chris Sabo.
He was coached by both Benedict and Bud Middaugh.
"Moby was a great coach and had Leach and Howe on the team my freshman year," said Paciorek. "Bud came in and was much stricter. He had some great teams and was a great recruiter. He had a great assistant in Danny Hall that I really liked, and he went on to coach Georgia Tech for nearly the last 30 years."
Schembechler recruited Paciorek as a quarterback out of Orchard Lake St. Mary's -- where he was All-State in three sports, earning 12 letters in baseball, basketball and football.
"I can still remember Bo and (defensive coordinator) Bill McCartney, who recruited me, coming to our house in Detroit to talk," said Paciorek.
Schembechler had plenty of talent at quarterback, and moved Paciorek to tight end for his sophomore year after watching him run receiver routes while warming up. Paciorek returned to quarterback prior to that Gator Bowl because of injuries, and when John Wangler suffered a serious knee injury in the game, Paciorek became the backup to B.J. Dickey, but did not get called into action.
"If I have one regret, it's that I wished I'd stayed with football and been a tight end," said Paciorek. "And then maybe I'd have become a big ol' 250-pound home-run hitter (laughter). But it worked out all right."
He decided to focus completely on baseball because it offered his best opportunity to play professionally, and it was their family's main game.
Jim learned much from his brothers. Tom hit .282 over 18 seasons in the majors, made the 1981 All-Star team with the Seattle Mariners, and had a successful TV broadcasting career doing Chicago White Sox games. John went 3-for-3 with two walks, three RBI and four runs in his only game in the big leagues in 1963 for the Houston Colt .45s, who later became the Astros.
"They called it the 'Perfect Game' and John remains the answer to trivia questions," said Jim.
On April 12, 1987, in a game at Arlington, Texas, Jim played against Tom, then with the Texas Rangers. Both came off the bench and played first base.
"For me," said Jim, "I was just happy to be in there. After it was over, I said, 'Wow, that's the first game I ever played against Tom (who is 14 years older) or any of my brothers other than Little League with the brother who was closest to me."
John Paciorek, his father, "was a real good athlete" but had to work at an early age after both his parents passed away, and toiled in the Chrysler automobile factory for some 40 years. He put "sports first" for his children.
Jim batted .228 with five doubles, two homers and 10 RBI in his only season in the majors, and got his first homer off Curt Young of the Oakland A's, while also hitting a double off Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley in that game at Milwaukee's County Stadium.
"Hitting your first home run," Paciorek said, "you always remember that. My first hit was against (1979 Cy Young Award winner) Mike Flanagan in Baltimore (on April 15, 1987). Then I made a diving catch to save Juan Nieves' no-hitter, and that was probably my claim to fame. Then Robin Yount made a diving catch to end the game to overshadow my diving catch."
Paciorek chuckled while recalling that memorable game. He was playing left field with Yount in center, and had a pair of Hall of Fame teammates who both surpassed 3,000 hits in Yount and Paul Molitor.
"I learned so much from those guys and others, too," said Paciorek, who added that playing in Tiger Stadium was another special thrill.
The Brewers drafted his son, Joey Paciorek, straight out of high school in 2007, exactly 25 years after that same organization selected him.
"He played seven or eight years in the minors and was a good utility guy," said Jim. "So, he enjoyed that."
Jim also played for the Yokohoma Taiyo Whales and Hanshin Tigers in the Japanese Central League, earning two All-Star selections and one Gold Glove. He threw out the first pitch at a game there in 2004.
"It was a great experience going to Japan and playing there, too," said Paciorek, who hit .315 in Japan and .311 in the minors.
He coached Joey "from T-ball on up" and owned and operated a fast food restaurant, Polish Express, in Tucson, with his wife, Linda, serving pierogis and foods special to his heritage. They have four children and five grandkids from previous marriages.
Paciorek still follows the Detroit pro teams and his Wolverines, taking great pride in the school and teams that were part of a "fabulous" experience.