Paul Ratliff

Paul Hawthorne Ratliff was born on January 23, 1944 in San Diego, California.

The Minnesota Twins signed him as an amateur free agent in 1962. He made their Opening Day roster in 1963 at the age of 19, but was sent back to the minors after appearing in just ten games. Ratliff was 4-for-24 (.190) with one home run three RBI while up in the big leagues that year. 

He spent the next several seasons exclusively in the minor leagues, not resurfacing again at the Major League level until 1970. Ratliff hit .268 with five home runs and 22 RBI, appearing in 69 games as the backup catcher to George Mitterwald. He started at catcher in game three of the 1970 ALCS, going 1-for-4 in a loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

Minnesota traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers early on in the 1971 season. He had appeared in just 21 games for the Twins, and played 23 more for the Brewers that year. Ratliff spent 1972 with the Brewers, which concluded his time in the Majors.

• Only player in Twins history to homer as a teenager
• Can be seen as a background character in several episodes of the NBC sitcom Cheers