1)  Paul Byrd was selected in the 13th round of the 1988 amateur draft by the Cincinnati Reds, but did not sign.  Instead he attended Louisiana State University and graduated in 1991 with a major in economics.

2) While at LSU, Byrd helped lead the LSU Tigers to the College World Series in three straight years.  Byrd pitched for the Tigers' 1991 NCAA Championship Team.

3)  The Cleveland Indians drafted Byrd in the 4th round of the 1991 amateur draft.  In 1994 he was traded to the Mets along with Jerry Dipoto and Dave Mlicki for Jeromy Burnitz.

4)   Byrd made his major league debut on July 28th, 1995 against Pittsburgh.  He allowed four earned runs in just 0.2 innings.

5)  His first career win came on August 21, 1995 against the San Francisco Giants in an 11-inning game in which he threw one scoreless inning, walking one and striking out two.

6)  In November of 1996, Byrd was traded from the New York Mets to the Atlanta Braves for Greg McMichael.

7)  After playing in 32 games over two seasons for the Braves, mostly as a reliever,  he was waived by the club on August 14th, 1998 and was claimed by the Philadelphia Phillies.

8)  In his first start with the Phillies (just three days after being claimed off waivers), he threw his first career complete game and shutout, defeating the Houston Astros and starter Randy Johnson 4-0.

9)  In his second start with Philadelphia, he threw a complete game against the Colorado Rockies and won the game 6-1.  He was named as the NL Player of the Week.  He finished the season 5-2 with a 2.29 ERA.

10)  In his first full season as a starter, Paul Byrd was named to the 1999 NL All-Star squad, but did not play in the game at Fenway Park.  He finished the season 15-11 with a 4.60 ERA.

11)  After a disappointing 2000 campaign in which he went 2-9 with a 6.51 ERA, he was traded after three appearances in the 2001 season to the Kansas City Royals for Jose Santiago.

12)  During the 2001 season, he became the first Royal since Kevin Appier in 1995 to win five consecutive starts and became the first Royal since 1980 to win three starts on one road trip.  He finished the season 6-6 with a 4.05 ERA.

13)  In 2002 he posted a career year going 17-11 with a 3.90 ERA.  He threw four consecutive complete games from July 23-29 and ended up leading the league in complete games (7).  His 17 wins were the most by a pitcher on a team that lost 100 games since 1951.  His 17 wins accounted for 27% of the Royals' total of 62 wins.

14)  Threw just one inning in spring training in 2003 before being shut with tendinitis in his right elbow.  He was later transferred to the 60-day disabled list after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

15)  The Atlanta Braves took a chance on Paul Byrd and signed him in December of 2002 while he was still recovering from Tommy John surgery.  Shutout the Cleveland Indians for seven innings in his season debut on June 19, 2004, winning the game 4-0.  Byrd finished the 2004 season 8-7 with a 3.94 ERA.