Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League

Alma Mater: Mt. Pleasant, 1970 | Sports: Baseball, Football

Sports were a multiple-choice proposition for Gorinski. The 1970 Mt. Pleasant graduate was a two-sport star for the Vikings, winning a WPIAL baseball title on the diamond and setting a school rushing record in football as a 6-foot-3, 215-pound running back. As a senior, Gorinski signed with Penn State to play football for coach Joe Paterno, but those plans changed when the Minnesota Twins called his name early in the 1970 MLB Draft. The Twins selected him with the 22nd overall pick, making him the first WPIAL baseball player ever chosen in the first round. Gorinski was drafted just days after winning a WPIAL baseball title. With his father as the team’s coach, Mt. Pleasant defeated Bethel Park, 4-2, in the finals at Forbes Field. Gorinski went 3-for-4 with a double off the scoreboard in left field. As a senior, he’d batted .528 with seven home runs. The shortstop batted .625 (10-for-16) in the playoffs alone that year, but football was almost his future sport. Gorinski had committed to Penn State after considering offers from a list of schools that included Ohio State, along with Pitt, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, North Carolina State, and Notre Dame. Gorinski earned all-state honors and rushed for 3,350 career yards at Mt. Pleasant, a school record that stood for more than 40 years. He played 10 seasons of professional baseball as an outfielder, and hit 20 or more home runs in six of his first eight seasons. After seven seasons in the minors, he made his major league debut with the Twins in 1977. He finished his career having played in 1,085 professional games including 54 in the majors.