{{short description|American baseball player (born 1950)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Mike Pazik |position=Pitcher |image=Mike Pazik Charlotte.jpg |caption=Pazik as pitching coach with the Charlotte Knights in 1988 |bats=Left |throws=Left |birth_date={{Birth date and age|1950|1|26}} |birth_place=Lynn, Massachusetts, U.S. |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=May 11 |debutyear=1975 |debutteam=Minnesota Twins |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=April 22 |finalyear=1977 |finalteam=Minnesota Twins |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Win–loss record |stat1value=1–4 |stat2label=Earned run average |stat2value=5.79 |stat3label=Strikeouts |stat3value=20 |teams= *Minnesota Twins ({{mlby|1975}}–{{mlby|1977}}) }} '''Michael Joseph Pazik''' (born January 26, 1950) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched parts of three seasons in the majors, from {{mlby|1975}} until {{mlby|1977}}, for the Minnesota Twins.
==Amateur career== A native of Lynn, Massachusetts, Pazik graduated from Lynn English High School in 1968, and was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 4th round of the 1968 MLB draft. He opted to play college baseball at the College of the Holy Cross. In 1968 and 1969, Pazik played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and was named a league all-star in 1969. He returned to the CCBL in 1970 and 1971 to play for the Orleans Cardinals, tossing a no-hitter in 1971.<ref>{{cite news | last =Curran| first =Mike | title = Cape League All-Star Selections Made | pages = 24 | newspaper = The Cape Cod Chronicle | location = Chatham, MA | date = July 17, 1969 | url = https://eldredgelibrary.wssites.com/Document?db=ELDREDGELIBRARY&query=(select+0+(bytoc+(andf+(field+DOCUMENT+(phrase+selections+made))+(eq+YEAR+1969)))) }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last =Barillari | first =David | title = Orleans Hurler No-Hits Harwich | pages = 16 | newspaper = The Cape Cod Chronicle | location = Chatham, MA | date = June 24, 1971 | url = https://eldredgelibrary.wssites.com/Document?db=ELDREDGELIBRARY&query=(select+0+(byscore+(andf+(eq+YEAR+1971)+(field+WEEK_ISSUED+(anyof+June+%6024))+(field+PAGE_NO+(anyof+%6010))))) }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author= |url=http://capecodbaseball.org.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/2012website/archives/Current%20Year/All_Time_MLB_CCBL_Alumni.pdf |title=Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League |publisher=capecodbaseball.org |date= |accessdate=September 25, 2019}}</ref>
==Professional career== [[File:Mike Pazik Yankees.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Pazik was drafted by the New York Yankees in 1971.]] Pazik was selected by the New York Yankees in the first round of the 1971 MLB draft. He played for the Yankees' minor league affiliate Syracuse Chiefs for several seasons before being traded to the Minnesota Twins for Dick Woodson in 1974. He made his big league debut for Minnesota in 1975, appearing in 5 games (with an 0-4 record) in May and June of that year, before being sent back to the minors. He made the Twins opening day roster in 1976 but again was sent down after appearing in 5 games, all as a reliever (with no wins, no losses, and no saves).
Pazik again made the Twins opening day roster in 1977, and was placed in the starting rotation. He appeared in 3 games, including his first major league win on April 17, a 10-2 victory over the Oakland A's. On April 25, 1977, Pazik was a passenger in a van driven by Twins teammate Don Carrithers when, coming off Interstate 494 in Bloomington, MN, a young Ohio woman mistakenly got on the freeway via the exit ramp. Both men were seriously injured in the resulting crash, and while Carrithers was out of major league action until late July, Pazik suffered two broken legs and never pitched in the majors again. He pitched a total of 46.2 innings for the Twins over three seasons.
Pazik signed as a free agent with the Chicago White Sox in 1978, and played two seasons in Chicago's minor league system, but was not recalled to the majors.<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pazikmi01.shtml |title=Mike Pazik |publisher=baseball-reference.com |date= |accessdate=November 20, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author= |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=pazik-001mic |title=Mike Pazik (minors) |publisher=baseball-reference.com |date= |accessdate=November 20, 2021}}</ref>
==Coaching and scouting career== After his playing career, Pazik was a minor league coach and manager, including serving as the pitching coach for the Chicago White Sox from {{mlby|1995}} until {{mlby|1998}}. He also served as a scout for Kansas City Royals during their 2015 World Series winning season.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McCullough |first1=Andy |title=Royals are World Series champs |url=https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article42181098.html |website=Kansas City Star |access-date=8 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=McManes |first1=Chris |title=Mike Toomey retires with World Series ring, now coaching at DeMatha |url=https://hyattsvillelife.com/mike-toomey-retires-with-world-series-ring-now-coaching-at-dematha/ |website=Hyattsville Community Newspaper |access-date=8 March 2021}}</ref>
==Personal life== Mike's daughter, Kristen Pazik, is a model who is married to Ukrainian former soccer player turned manager Andriy Shevchenko.<ref>[http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/haydons-soccer-pitch/2012/jun/13/soccer/ Andriy Shevchenko: Still has the right stuff] The Washington Times, 14 June 2012</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Baseballstats|br=p/pazikmi01 |fangraphs= |brm=pazik-001mic}}, or [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/P/Ppazim101.htm Retrosheet]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pazik, Mike}} Category:1950 births Category:Living people Category:American people of Polish descent Category:Baseball players from Lynn, Massachusetts Category:Chicago White Sox coaches Category:Chicago White Sox scouts Category:Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Category:Harwich Mariners players Category:Holy Cross Crusaders baseball players Category:Iowa Oaks players Category:Kansas City Royals scouts Category:Knoxville Sox players Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Major League Baseball pitching coaches Category:Minnesota Twins players Category:Minor league baseball coaches Category:Minor league baseball managers Category:Orleans Firebirds players Category:Petroleros de Zulia players Category:Portland Beavers players Category:Syracuse Chiefs players Category:Tacoma Twins players Category:Tigres de Aragua players Category:American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Category:20th-century American sportsmen