SLS 23RS-132 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 8
BY SENATOR BERNARD
COMMENDATIONS. Commends Paul Byrd on being inducted into the 2023 class of the
Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend Paul Byrd on being inducted into the 2023 class of the Louisiana Sports Hall
3 of Fame.
4 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches, Louisiana, each year
5 collaborates with the Louisiana Sports Writers Association in selecting a limited number of
6 sports figures who embody the character, skill, and talent worthy of being named to the Hall
7 of Fame; and
8 WHEREAS, the 2023 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Class includes Paul
9 Byrd; and
10 WHEREAS, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, and a graduate of Saint Xavier High
11 School, Paul Byrd is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, an Emmy
12 award-winning broadcaster, and a best-selling author; and
13 WHEREAS, Paul Byrd spent his collegiate baseball career at Louisiana State
14 University (LSU) from 1989 to 1991, and he helped lead the LSU baseball team to three
15 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Men's College World Series; and
16 WHEREAS, with an overall team season record of 55-18, Paul helped the LSU
17 baseball team win the 1991 NCAA Men's College World Series, assisting the LSU baseball
18 team to become the 1991 National Champions and capture LSU's first baseball national title;
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SLS 23RS-132 ORIGINAL
1 and
2 WHEREAS, a right-handed pitcher, Paul is a two-time Academic All-SEC Player,
3 a team GPA leader, holds the LSU school record for victories in a single season with 17 in
4 1990, going 17-6 with a 3.84 Earned Run Average (ERA) in 140.2 innings, including six
5 complete games, while striking out 130 batters to earn Baseball America Second Team
6 All-America honors, and remains in the top five in both career pitching with 31 wins and
7 career strikeouts with 319; and
8 WHEREAS, Paul Byrd was drafted in the 4th round of the 1991 Major League
9 Baseball draft by the Cleveland Indians and he went on to a 14-year MLB pitching career,
10 compiling a 109-96 record with a 4.41 ERA; and
11 WHEREAS, Paul was sought after by numerous teams for his leadership in the
12 locker room, and during his baseball career, he pitched for the New York Mets, the Atlanta
13 Braves, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Kansas City Royals, the Los Angeles Angels, the
14 Cleveland Indians, and the Boston Red Sox; and
15 WHEREAS, during the 14 years that Paul played in the MLB, he was 15-11 pitching
16 for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1999; he was 7-11 in 2002 pitching for a 100-game-loss
17 Kansas City Royals team; and in 2007, he was 15-8 pitching for the Cleveland Indians; and
18 WHEREAS, Paul was named the MLB National Player of the Week for the week of
19 August 22, 1998, and he was a member of the National League team in the 1999 MLB All-
20 Star Game; and
21 WHEREAS, after shoulder reconstruction in 2000 and thinking he would never play
22 baseball again, Paul began to swing his arms and brought back the double-pump wind-up
23 which became his signature delivery and brand in baseball; and
24 WHEREAS, on certain pitches, Paul also started stepping behind the pitching rubber
25 to change the effective velocity of a pitch, something MLB had never seen in the history of
26 the game and eventually requiring a new rule to be added to the handbook; and
27 WHEREAS, Paul was named the 2002 Kansas City Royals Pitcher of the Year and
28 was awarded the Frank Gibbons-Steve Olin Good Guy Award by members of the Cleveland
29 chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America in 2006; and
30 WHEREAS, Paul posted wins in the American League Division Series against the
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SLS 23RS-132 ORIGINAL
1 New York Yankees and in the American League Championship Series against the Boston
2 Red Sox to help Cleveland reach the 2007 MLB World Series and Paul becoming only one
3 of two pitchers to beat those storied clubs in the same post season; and
4 WHEREAS, Paul retired from major league baseball in 2009 and has gone on to
5 become a best-selling author, an Emmy award-winning broadcaster for Fox Sports, a highly
6 sought after professional speaker, and cofounder and Board President of Byrdhouse
7 Ministries.
8 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
9 does hereby commend Paul Byrd on being inducted into the 2023 class of the Louisiana
10 Sports Hall of Fame.
11 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
12 Paul Byrd.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Kathy Liberty.
DIGEST
SR 8 Original 2023 Regular Session Bernard
Commends Paul Byrd on being inducted into the 2023 class of the Louisiana Sports Hall of
Fame.
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