Drafted in the 20th round of the 1967 amateur draft out of the University of Arizona by the Indians, Paul had success in the minors and in less than two years was in a big league uniform. In 1967, he spent time with the Reno Silver Sox and Portland Beavers. With the Silver Sox, he went 3–2 with a 1.63 ERA. In 72 innings (nine games), he struck out 103 batters. He didn\'t do as well with the Beavers, going 2–4 with a 3.94 ERA with them. However, he did strikeout 37 batters in 32 innings of work. Overall, Paul went 5–6 with a 2.34 ERA. He struck out 140 batters in 104 innings of work (18 games).\n', '

Paul again pitched for Reno in 1968, going 2–1 with a 1.09 ERA and 49 strikeouts in four games (33 innings). He was called up to the major leagues and on May 27, he made his big league debut. He performed well in his first appearances, going 2​2⁄3 innings, striking out four (including the first batter he faced, Frank Kostro), allowing only one hit and earning the save. Overall, Paul went 5–8 with a 3.93 ERA in 91​2⁄3 innings of work in his rookie season. He allowed only 72 hits in 36 games (seven starts) and he walked 35 batters.\n', '

Despite posting a 3.61 ERA for the 62–99 Indians in 1969, his record was only 5–10. In 47 games (12 starts), he struck out 98 batters. He went only 2–8 with a 4.81 ERA in 30 games (15 starts) in 1970. His performance was so unimpressive in fact that he spent 10 games in the minors with the Wichita Aeros, with whom he went 6–1 with a 2.15 ERA in 71 innings of work. In 1971, he went only 2–7 with a 5.95 ERA in 17 games (12 starts), and he again spent time with Wichita, going 6–7 with a 4.37 ERA in 17 games (107 innings).\n', '

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