<\/a>In 2014, Baseball Roundtable launched the John Paciorek Award (JPA). The JPA recognizes players who have had short, often very short, major league careers, but whose accomplishments, nonetheless, deserve recognition.\u00a0 (Note: Information on John Paciorek\u2019s career \u2013 the inspiration for the JPA \u2013 can be found at the end of this post. Paciorek\u2019s day in the sun constitutes arguably the best one-game MLB career ever.)<\/em><\/p>\n

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________________ 2018 JPA Winner \u2013 Keith McDonald<\/span> _______________<\/strong><\/p>\n

The fans are going to expect it every time, but it may be a long time before I hit another one.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0St. Louis Cardinals catcher Keith McDonald<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0July 6, 2000<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/a>Keith McDonald speculated on the timing of his next MLB home run shortly after the Cardinals\/Reds contest during which he had become just the second player in history to homer in his first two major league at bats. \u00a0As it worked out, neither he nor the Redbirds\u2019 fans, had to wait that long. His next MLB long ball came just nine days (July 15) and three plate appearances later \u2013 giving him three home runs in his first six MLB at bats (eight plateappearances, he also drew a pair of walks)<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Just as McDonald had no idea of how short the span of time between career home runs number-two and number-three would be, he probably was equally in the dark as to how few at bats would fall between home run number-three and his final major league plate appearance \u2013 or \u00a0that his MLB career stat line would include just eight games, 11 plate appearances (two walks),\u00a0 three hits in nine at bats (.333 average), three home runs, three runs scored and five RBI. \u00a0(That, for those more deep<\/em>ly into stats, is an MLB career on base percentage of .455 and a slugging percentage of 1.333.<\/p>\n

Keith McDonald is the only MLB player with more than one career hit, who can look back on major league tenure when his every<\/em> hit was a home run.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019m getting a little ahead of myself. Let\u2019s look back on how Keith McDonald found his way into the MLB record book.<\/p>\n

McDonald was a star athlete for Esperanza High School (Anaheim, California).\u00a0 He was a three-year starter at quarterback \u2013 throwing for 31 touchdowns in his junior and senior seasons.\u00a0 He also was a three-year player on the school baseball squad: a catcher as a sophomore; third baseman and relief pitcher as a junior; and first baseman and pitcher as a senior.\u00a0 How good was he? In his senior season, McDonald hit .406 and put up a 1.90 ERA (4-0, with three saves).<\/p>\n

Selected in the 18^{th<\/sup> round of the 1993 MLB Draft, McDonald chose instead to accept a scholarship to the University of Utah; where he would be able to play both football and baseball. Things didn\u2019t work out at Utah, however, and \u2013 after a difficult period of adjustment, a \u201cred shirt\u201d season in football and a challenging year on the diamond \u2013 McDonald chose to return to California.\u00a0 He transferred to Cypress College (Cypress, CA), where he combined his studies with a .353-8-37 line in 55 games (and threw out 34 of 62 base runners attempting to steal).\u00a0 In 1994, it was on to Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA), where he hit .266, with seven home runs and 24 RBI in 48 games.<\/p>\n}

The St. Louis Cardinals selected the 6\u20192\u201d, 215-pound, 21-year-old in the 24^{th<\/sup> round of the 1994 draft \u2013 and McDonald\u2019s pro career was underway.\u00a0 From 1994 to 1999, McDonald worked his way up through Rookie ball, A, High A, Double A and Triple A (Memphis Redbirds). His best seasons were 1998 (.318-7-22 in 58 games at Triple A) and 1999 (.304-7-41 in 88 games at Double A and Triple A combined).<\/p>\n}

As he started the 2000 season at Memphis, McDonald had little idea he was on the brink of MLB history. He was hitting .246, with one home run and 17 RBI for the Memphis squad as the season moved into July \u2013 and, more important, precisely when Cardinals\u2019 backup catcher Eli Marrero injured his hand attempting to steal a base. On July 2, McDonald was called up to the big club to replace Marrero \u2013 a move McDonald has said even surprised him.<\/p>\n

He got his first taste of MLB action on July 4, before an Independence Day crowd of 46,022 (in St, Louis). McDonald came to the plate as a pinch hitter (for SS Edgar Renteria) in the bottom of the eighth inning \u2013 with the Cardinals ahead by a 13-3 score.\u00a0 It was a good opportunity to provide a rookie with a low-pressure first MLB at bat.\u00a0 After hitting just one home run in 177 at bats at Triple A that season, McDonald sent a 2-2 pitch out of the park to left-center. \u00a0The blast made him the 79^{th<\/sup> players to homer in their first MLB at bat.<\/p>\n}