Paul Hoover

Paul Hoover is a graduate of Steubenville High School where he was a three-year starter.  He was first drafted out of high school by the Houston Astros but decided to go to Kent State University.  As a shortstop, Paul was a three-year starter for the Flashes.  Following his junior year he was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1997).  Tampa Bay converted Hoover to a catcher and that catapulted his career. He spent five seasons catching in Tampa Bay’s minor league system until his first big league action in 2001.  Paul spent 2002 as a catcher with The Tampa Bay Rays and was with AAA clubs from 2003-05.  He was a catcher in the big leagues with the Florida Marlins 2006-08.  Hoover played with the Philadelphia Phillies 2009-10 where he caught three Cy Young award winners, Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and Pedro Martinez.  One of his career highlights was being a catcher for the 2009 World Series Philadelphia Phillies against the New York Yankees.  Hoover signed with the Boston Red Sox in 2011, but due to an injury, his 15-year professional career came to an end. 2012 began a new chapter in Paul's career as he managed the Tampa Bay Ray's minor league team The Gulf Coast Rays.

In 2013, Paul was promoted to Roving Catching Coordinator.  He is responsible for the development of all catchers in the Tampa Bay Ray's minor league system and he spends time with each team as part of his responsibilities.  

Click here to learn about Paul's catching instruction.