Pat Borders

Borders was born in Columbus, Ohio, but spent the majority of his childhood in Lake Wales, Florida, where he currently resides.^[1] He attended Lake Wales High School and was a standout in both football and baseball. He batted .440 as a junior, and as a senior he batted .510 with a school single season record 10 home runs and 36 RBI. Although he was offered a football/baseball scholarship to Mississippi State University, he turned it down to sign with the Blue Jays, who had drafted him in the sixth round of the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft.^{[citation needed]}

Borders was brought up in the Toronto Blue Jays system and made his major league debut in 1988, playing in 56 games. Initially playing first and third base, he was converted to a catcher as his defense was deemed not strong enough to keep him in the majors. Over the next few seasons, he earned the full-time position behind the plate, and he was a cornerpiece of the 1992 and 1993 World Series champion teams. In the 1992 Series, he hit .450 with one home run and three runs batted in; his batting average led the team among regular hitters and second overall to Deion Sanders (who batted in only four games).^[2] When the Jays won the series, Borders was named the World Series MVP, becoming the sixth catcher (and the first since 1983) to win the award along with the last catcher to win it until 2015.^[3] On September 2, 1990, while with the Blue Jays, Borders caught Dave Stieb's no-hitter—the only one in franchise history to date.^[4]

Borders left the Jays as a free agent after the 1994 season, but never found a permanent home like Toronto had been for him in his seven years there. Over the following decade he played for the Kansas City Royals (1995), Houston Astros (1995), St. Louis Cardinals (1996), California Angels (1996), Chicago White Sox (1996), Cleveland Indians (1997-1999), returned to Toronto in 1999, Seattle Mariners (2001-2004), Minnesota Twins (2004), and again with the Mariners (2005), never playing in more than 55 games for any one team during a season.

Borders was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers to a minor league contract after the 2004 season. On May 19, 2005, he was acquired by Seattle from the Brewers for cash considerations and was assigned to Triple-A Tacoma of the Pacific Coast League. With Seattle's primary catcher Miguel Olivo struggling, and losing backup catcher Dan Wilson to an injury, Borders became Seattle's primary catcher for most of the first half of the 2005 season. Seattle designated him for assignment shortly after the All-Star Break to make room for some younger prospects. During his time in Triple-A Tacoma for the Mariners, Borders stated that he would rather remain in Triple-A, because he was closer to his family, enjoyed the lifestyle, and had enough money.

On January 25, 2006, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Borders to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training. On May 27, he announced his retirement.^[5] Borders finished his career with a .253 batting average, 69 home runs, and 346 runs batted in in 1,099 games.

Borders is one of only six players to have won both a World Series championship and an Olympic gold medal, along with Sydney teammate Doug Mientkiewicz, Cuban players Orlando Hernandez, Jose Contreras and Yuli Gurriel, and Japanese player Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

On August 7, 2009, the Blue Jays held a pre-game ceremony at the Rogers Centre recognizing members of the 1992 and 1993 World Series teams, including Borders. As part of the event, Borders caught the ceremonial first pitch from Cito Gaston, then in his second stint as Blue Jays manager after leading the team to both Series titles.^[6]

In June 2015, Borders began his first season as manager of the Williamsport Crosscutters, the Philadelphia Phillies’ short-season single A affiliate.^[7]

• List of baseball players who are Olympic gold medalists and World Series champions

• Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
• Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
• Pat Borders at databaseOlympics.com (archived)
• Pat Borders at Olympedia  
• Pat Borders at Olympics.com