Paul Bako

Born: 6/20/1972 in Lafayette, LA, USA

MLB Debut: 1998-04-30 | Final Game: 2009-10-04

Bats: L | Throws: R | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 205 lbs

Full name: Gabor Paul Bako

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Biography

Paul Bako, born in 1972, was a professional baseball player who enjoyed a career spanning from 1998 to 2009. Primarily known as a catcher, Bako played in a total of 789 games across his time in Major League Baseball. He was recognized for his solid defensive skills behind the plate and his ability to handle pitching staffs, making him a valued contributor to the teams he played for. Throughout his career, Bako compiled 508 hits, 24 home runs, and 195 RBIs, finishing with a batting average of .231. Though he was not primarily known for his offensive production, his versatility and experience allowed him to play an important role on various rosters in the league. Bako’s career unfolded during an era of considerable change in baseball, marked by the rise of power hitters and evolving strategies, yet he remained a reliable presence in the dugout and on the field. With a total of 4 stolen bases, he showcased an element of speed, albeit modest, adding to his overall contributions to the game.

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
789	2202	195	508	98	11	24	195	4	233	589	0.231	0.305	0.318	0.623	-7179.9

Career AVG .231 vs. league average .266 across their career seasons — 13.3% below league average.

Career OBP .305 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — 9.2% below league average.

Career SLG .318 vs. league average .424 across their career seasons — 25.1% below league average.

Career OPS 0.623 vs. league average 0.760 across their career seasons — 18.1% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1998	DET	AL	96	305	23	83	12	1	3	30	1	23	82	0.272	.266 (+2%)	.335 (-5%)	.420 (-17%)	.755 (-12%)	-700.6
1999	HOU	NL	73	215	16	55	14	1	2	17	1	26	57	0.256	.271 (-6%)	.344 (-4%)	.433 (-17%)	.778 (-11%)	-470.6
2000	HOU	NL	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2000	MIA	NL	56	161	10	39	6	1	0	14	0	22	48	0.242	.270 (-10%)	.344 (-3%)	.437 (-33%)	.782 (-20%)	0.0
2000	ATL	NL	24	58	8	11	4	0	2	6	0	5	15	0.190	.270 (-30%)	.344 (-26%)	.437 (-17%)	.782 (-21%)	0.0
2001	ATL	NL	61	137	19	29	10	1	2	15	1	20	34	0.212	.263 (-20%)	.332 (-6%)	.426 (-20%)	.758 (-14%)	-326.5
2002	MIL	NL	87	234	24	55	8	1	4	20	0	20	46	0.235	.261 (-10%)	.331 (-11%)	.416 (-21%)	.747 (-17%)	-716.7
2003	CHC	NL	70	188	19	43	13	3	0	17	0	22	47	0.229	.264 (-13%)	.332 (-6%)	.422 (-22%)	.754 (-15%)	-524.2
2004	CHC	NL	49	138	13	28	8	0	1	10	1	15	29	0.203	.266 (-24%)	.335 (-14%)	.427 (-34%)	.762 (-25%)	-617.7
2005	LAD	NL	13	40	1	10	2	0	0	4	0	7	12	0.250	—	—	—	—	0.0
2006	KCR	AL	56	153	7	32	3	0	0	10	0	11	46	0.209	.269 (-22%)	.336 (-23%)	.431 (-47%)	.768 (-36%)	-1011.1
2007	BAL	AL	60	156	13	32	3	1	1	8	0	15	50	0.205	.268 (-23%)	.335 (-17%)	.422 (-39%)	.758 (-30%)	-833.2
2008	CIN	NL	99	299	30	65	11	2	6	35	0	34	90	0.217	.263 (-18%)	.333 (-10%)	.416 (-21%)	.749 (-16%)	-928.0
2009	PHI	NL	44	116	12	26	4	0	3	9	0	13	32	0.224	.262 (-15%)	.332 (-8%)	.417 (-20%)	.750 (-14%)	-269.5

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
17	31	5	6	2	0	1	5	4	10	0.194

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
2003	NLCS	CHN	6	16	4	4	1	0	1	1	7	0.250
2003	NLDS2	CHN	3	4	0	0	0	0	1	2	2	0.000
2001	NLCS	ATL	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000
2001	NLDS1	ATL	3	7	1	2	1	1	3	1	0	0.286
2000	NLDS1	ATL	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1B	1	0	2	0	0	1
C	758	646	4477	334	50	41

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1998	DET	C	94	83	493	45	6	5
1999	HOU	C	71	63	461	35	6	10
2000	HOU	C	1	0	2	1	0	0
2000	FLO	C	56	48	318	21	3	2
2000	ATL	1B	1	0	2	0	0	1
2000	ATL	C	23	17	116	9	1	1
2001	ATL	C	60	45	319	29	3	1
2002	MIL	C	76	65	420	33	4	2
2003	CHN	C	69	57	440	33	6	2
2004	CHN	C	47	43	332	30	4	2
2005	LAN	C	13	13	61	6	1	0
2006	KCA	C	53	44	258	20	2	3
2007	BAL	C	57	47	324	24	4	5
2008	CIN	C	96	88	679	39	5	7
2009	PHI	C	42	33	254	9	5	1

Career Games by Position

Position	Games
Catcher	758
First Base	1
Designated Hitter	1

Salary History

Year	Team	League	Salary
2008	CIN	NL	$750,000
2007	BAL	AL	$900,000
2006	KCA	AL	$700,000
2005	LAN	NL	$650,000
2004	CHN	NL	$865,000
2003	CHN	NL	$750,000
2002	MIL	NL	$750,000
2001	ATL	NL	$450,000
2000	HOU	NL	$275,000
1999	HOU	NL	$230,000
1998	DET	AL	$170,000
Total Career Earnings			$6,490,000