Stan Williams (baseball)

Stan Williams
Pitcher
Born: (1936-09-14) September 14, 1936 Enfield, New Hampshire
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 17, 1958 for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Last MLB appearance
August 1, 1972 for the Boston Red Sox
Career statistics
Win–loss record	109-94 (.537)
Earned run average	3.48
Strikeouts	1305
Teams
Los Angeles Dodgers (1958–62) New York Yankees (1963–64) Cleveland Indians (1965, 1967–69) Minnesota Twins (1970) St. Louis Cardinals (1971) Boston Red Sox (1972)
Career highlights and awards
1959 World Series Championship Participated in the 1963 World Series

Stanley Wilson Williams (born September 14, 1936 in Enfield, New Hampshire), nicknamed "Big Daddy" and "The Big Hurt", is a former Major League Baseball starting and relief pitcher who threw and batted right-handed. He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1958-1962), New York Yankees (1963-1964), Cleveland Indians (1965-1969), Minnesota Twins (1970-1971), St. Louis Cardinals (1971), and lastly the Boston Red Sox very briefly in 1972 where he had no decisions.

Dodger Playoff Impact

Williams had a significant impact in 2 Dodgers playoff series. After finishing in a tie for first place with the Milwaukee Braves in 1959, the two teams met in a best of 3 playoff. After winning the first game, the Dodgers rallied with 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th to tie game 2 at 5-5. Williams came on in the 10th inning and tossed 3 scoreless innings without allowing a hit; he was the winning pitcher as the Dodgers scored in the bottom of the 12th to win the pennant.

However, in the 1962 best of 3 playoff with the Giants, Williams was not as successful. In game 2, he blew the save as the Giants tied the game with 2 runs in the 8th inning, but did earn the win when the Dodgers scored in the bottom of the 9th to win 8-7. In the decisive third game, the Dodgers were leading in the top of the 9th 4-2. Williams entered the game with the score 4-3, bases loaded, and one out. Williams gave up a sacrifice fly to Orlando Cepeda that tied the game, then threw wild pitch and issued an intentional walk that re-loaded the bases. He then walked Jim Davenport to force in what turned out to be the series winning run before he gave way to Ron Perranoski.

Williams, a 1960 All-Star, built a career record of 109–94 in 482 games and 208 starts. He got the majority of his wins with the Dodgers in the early stages of his 14-year career. After the 1962 season he was traded from the Dodgers to the New York Yankees for Bill 'Moose' Skowron. He compiled a career ERA of 3.48 and had 42 career complete games with 11 shutouts. He gave up 682 earned runs in 1764 and 1/3 innings pitched. He had 1305 career strikeouts. Williams won a World Series with the Dodgers in 1959, his second year in the big leagues.

Although his control often kept him from being a top pitcher, Williams' presence on the mound was huge, and many batters around the league feared the 225-pound, 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) right-hander, who had a blistering fastball and wasn't afraid to pitch inside. In 1961, Williams finished 2nd in the league in strikeouts with 205, behind teammate Sandy Koufax (269). Interestingly, yet another Dodger pitcher, Don Drysdale, finished 3rd that year (182).

In 1970, he went 10–1 on the season in relief, with a 1.99 ERA, one of the best seasons a relief pitcher has ever had.

Notable home runs

Billy Williams hit his first major league home run off Stan Williams on October 1, 1960. Williams gave up pitcher Frank Bertaina's only major league home run, a three-run shot at Cleveland Stadium.

Career as pitching coach

After retiring, Williams served as a pitching coach for 14 MLB seasons, with the Red Sox, Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds. More recently he was an advance scout for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays until being let go at the end of the 2006 season. As of 2010, Williams is an advance scout for the Washington Nationals.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube

Preceded by Lee Stange	Boston Red Sox pitching coach 1975–1976	Succeeded by Al Jackson
Preceded by Ken Silvestri	Chicago White Sox pitching coach 1977–1978	Succeeded by Fred Martin
Preceded by Art Fowler	New York Yankees pitching coach 1980–1981	Succeeded by Clyde King
Preceded by Bill Fischer Scott Breeden	Cincinnati Reds pitching coach 1984 1990–1991	Succeeded by Jim Kaat Larry Rothschild
Preceded by Nardi Contreras	Seattle Mariners pitching coach 1998–1999	Succeeded by Bryan Price