Pro Ball Punk -- Ryan Paul

Our first minor league pro ball punk is found all the way in the single A South Atlantic League. Ryan Paul is a relief pitcher for the Augusta Green Jackets, an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, located in Augusta, Ga. The south paw was the Giants 10th pick in the 2006 draft. He spent some time in high A ball with the San Jose Giants this year but was demoted to make room for another pitcher.
He pitched collegiately for the Cal State Fullerton Titans. His college bio is the only clue I have that he is into punk. Under favorite musical artists he lists Kid Dynamite, None More Black, and Strung Out. The dude is "Orgcore." I wonder if he knows about the band that never was, LaGrecia. Their new and only album On Parallels is awesome, by the way.

So if anybody lives near Augusta and goes to a Green Jackets game, let me know what song they play when he enters a game. If you are feeling industrious, try to interview the guy.

Pro Ball Punk -- C.J. Wilson

One of the new crop of punk ball players, C.J. Wilson lives his ideals. The current Texas Rangers closer connects with his fans via his MySpace and holds regular Guitar Hero tournaments to raise money for charity. While his musical taste seems a little too screamy metal/whiny for my liking (Killswitch Engage, etc.), the dude's charisma is undeniable. He drives speedy rocket cars through the streets of European cities and will, undoubtedly, steal your girlfriend.

As of June 6, he has a 4.32 ERA with a 1.16 WHIP and 11 saves. To be fair, however, his ERA is that high mostly from one bad outing versus Seattle (a 54.00 ERA in .2 IP, yuck).

He used to keep an MLBlog, which I linked to on the left. The last entry was earlier this year, so he may get back to that.

Oh yeah. He's straight-edge, too.