He's dodged electric fences, barbed wire and jagged briar patches. He's crawled under an electrified barbed wire fence to plot global positioning system points of underground gas lines for Energy Corporation of America.
A 2006 South Western High graduate, Bingham is currently on an internship with the private company gaining experience in his major -- geographic information systems. He will graduate from Indiana University of Pennsylvania this fall.
But by that time, he may already have found work in another field: professional baseball.
Not only is Bingham a talented scholar with a knack for maps, the outdoors and woodland navigation, but he's also a speedy shortstop with a cannon for a right arm on the baseball diamond. His 3.75 grade-point average at IUP is rivaled by his 98 career stolen bases, 204 runs, 268 hits and .417 batting average -- all school records -- in his four-year career.
Bingham's accomplishments on the field have generated much interest among major league scouts. Bingham and those close to him expect to hear his name called at some point this week after the MLB First-Year Player Draft begins Monday in Secaucus, N.J.
IUP head baseball coach Jeff Ditch estimates he's coached close to 110 players that have been drafted by major league teams, among them Boston Red Sox slugger Kevin Youkilis. Ditch thinks his star player of the past four years has a good shot at a big-league career.
"I will say that Paul is as athletic and as hardworking as any of those guys," Ditch said. "And he has the tools and he has the makeup and he has the things at this point in your career that you need to get the chance to play professional baseball."
Those would be the speed necessary to cover center field and a powerful arm to make throws from deep in the outfield and across his body from shortstop. At least a few MLB teams think he has those tools.
The San Diego Padres worked Bingham out on May 23 in Mason, Ohio. Bingham joined 11 other players -- six pitchers and five position players -- for fielding drills and multiple rounds of batting practice.
"They had me throw from the outfield and take grounders at short and throw across the infield," Bingham said of the Padres. "They told me I could be playing short and center."
While Bingham and his coach acknowledge he is likely being considered for his arm strength and speed, he surprised himself during the hitting portion of the tryout. In five rounds of hitting, Bingham hit five home runs.
"I think I exceeded my expectations at that point because I'm not much of a power hitter," Bingham said. "They know my speed. That's why I'm getting recruited. They know my arm strength, but they didn't really know I had power.
"I didn't even know I had that much power. It was really cool. I was shocked at how well I did."
The Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs invited him to workouts earlier this spring as well, according to Mark Bingham, Paul's father. He said Paul couldn't attend because of monetary concerns as teams are not allowed to cover prospects' travel costs. While Bingham couldn't attend the Cubs or Blue Jays tryout, he has filed prospect sheets with each team.
Mark Bingham said the Padres told his son he would play within the team's farm system -- for the Eugene Emeralds in Oregon or the Arizona League Padres -- as a newly drafted player.
"It's a tough stretch, I'll tell you," said Keno Beezer, a scout for MLB and director of the Moshannon Valley YMCA in Philipsburg. "Once you start out and work your way through, the percentage isn't good (for) the guys that make it, but I'd love to see him get a chance because he's a really super person." It was one of Beezer's tryouts in 2006 that led to Bingham's recruitment by Ditch to IUP.
Bingham should have no difficulty impressing teams with his personality, Beezer said.
"Paul Bingham is a class
kid," Beezer said. "I always liked him. He has a great
personality and, the moment I met him, I really liked him as
a person. And as a player, he ran well. And like I said, he
always had that major-league arm."