Gerald Williams (baseball)
This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (May 2010) |
Gerald Williams | |
---|---|
Outfielder | |
Born: New Orleans, Louisiana | August 10, 1966|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
September 15, 1992, for the New York Yankees | |
Last MLB appearance | |
October 2, 2005, for the New York Mets | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .255 |
Home runs | 85 |
Runs batted in | 365 |
Teams | |
|
Gerald Floyd Williams (born August 10, 1966) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder for the New York Yankees, Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and New York Mets.
Professional career[]
Draft and Minors[]
Gerald Williams was drafted out of Grambling State University in the 14th round (366th overall) of the 1987 amateur draft by the New York Yankees. In 1988, in the New York–Penn League for Oneonta, he batted .365/.447/.504 with 2 home runs in 115 at bats. He was then promoted to High-A ball where he hit .210 in the next two seasons. Playing in a league that is notoriously tough for hitters (Florida State League) he hit .289/.344/.461. Mid-season, he was sent up to AA and the Eastern League. There, he batted .250/.328/.435. Combined, he hit .265 with 140 hits, 20 home runs, 101 RBI, and 37 stolen bases to establish himself as a prospect. Entering the season just 22 years old, Williams hit .271, with 7 home runs, 59 RBI, and aa 52% stolen base rate.For 1992, he hit .285/.334/.452 with 16 home runs, 86 RBI, and 36 stolen bases. This earned him a call to the big leagues, where he would for the most part stay until 2002.
New York Yankees (1992–1996)[]
Gerald Williams, at the age of 25 years, made his MLB debut September 15, 1992. After a brief stint in the minor leagues in 1993, Williams returned to the big leagues in 1994. But he was injured and played infrequently. He batted only .239. He finally got a chance to truly play off the bench in 1995, when he had 182 at bats and batted .247 with 6 home runs.
Williams saw more action in 1996, hitting .270 with 5 home runs in 233 at bats. He started in seventy games for the Yankees in left field that season, more than any other player.[1] On May 1, he set a Yankees team record with 6 hits against Baltimore in a 15 inning game.
Milwaukee Brewers (1996–1997)[]
On August 23, 1996, Williams was dealt with Bob Wickman to the Milwaukee Brewers for Graeme Lloyd, Pat Listach, and Ricky Bones. After the trade in 1996, Williams batted .207. For the season Williams had 325 at bats, and batted .252 with 28 extra-base hits. Despite the trade, Gerald received his first World Series Championship ring when the New York Yankees later won the series that year.[2]
1997 was Williams first season as a regular. With the Milwaukee Brewers that seaon, he batted .253 with 10 home runs, 41 RBI, 23 stolen bases, and 44 extra-base hits, but he took few walks, and had an OPS of just .651, some 117 points lower than league average. After that season, he was dealt to the Atlanta Braves for reliever Chad Fox.
Atlanta Braves (1998–1999)[]
Williams then spent two years as a semi-regular player in Atlanta, batting .286 with 27 home runs. In 1999, he played against his old team, the Yankees during the 1999 World Series but lost the series in a 4-game sweep.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2000–2001)[]
In 2000, Williams set career highs in homers, walks, RBI, hits, runs, and doubles. For this effort, he was named Tampa Bay Devil Rays player of the year.{cn} On August 29, 2000, Williams was hit by a pitch thrown by Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martínez. Williams charged the mound and started a bench-clearing brawl. During the brawl, he was one of 8 members of the Rays ejected.[3]
He began the 2001, batting .207, and the Devil Rays released him.
Second stint with the New York Yankees (2001–2003)[]
Williams went back to the Yankees to finish the 2001 season and served as the backup outfielder.[4] He made the postseason roster until the team lost the 2001 World Series to the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2002, he spent most of the season in the minors, but played 33 games in the majors.
Florida Marlins (2003)[]
Williams signed a one-year deal for the Florida Marlins in 2003. He played 27 games and batted .129 overall. Williams got his second career World Series ring after the Marlins won the 2003 World Series over his former team, the New York Yankees.
New York Mets (2004–2005)[]
He signed a two-year deal for the Mets in 2004. During his two years with the Mets, he batted .233 with 5 home runs and 14 RBI. He was released after the 2005 season and announced his retirement shortly thereafter.
Personal life[]
Williams resides in Tampa, Florida, is one of the best friends of Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter and who Jeter says "always looked out for me" [5]
He has 12 brothers and sisters.
Williams was one of three Atlanta Braves to appear on Saturday Night Live when he made a cameo appearance alongside teammates Mark Wohlers and Pedro Borbón, Jr. on the December 19, 1997, episode hosted by Helen Hunt.[6]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "1996 New York Yankees Roster". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- ^ "Yankees Single Game Records".
- ^ "Devils Rays, Red Sox trade accusations of cheap shots and cowardice". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
- ^ Olney, Buster (29 June 2001). "Yankees Add Gerald Williams, Paving Way for Knoblauch Deal". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-03-11. Retrieved 2014-03-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "Mark Wohlers". IMDb.
External links[]
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
- Baseball Almanac
- 1966 births
- Living people
- Baseball players from St. Petersburg, Florida
- Baseball players from Tampa, Florida
- Baseball players from New Orleans
- Major League Baseball outfielders
- New York Yankees players
- Milwaukee Brewers players
- Atlanta Braves players
- Tampa Bay Devil Rays players
- Florida Marlins players
- New York Mets players
- African-American baseball players
- Columbus Clippers players
- Louisville Bats players
- Memphis Redbirds players
- Albuquerque Isotopes players
- Norfolk Tides players
- Prince William Yankees players
- Albany-Colonie Yankees players
- Fort Lauderdale Yankees players
- Grambling State Tigers baseball players
- Oneonta Yankees players
- Prince William Cannons players
- 21st-century African-American people
- 20th-century African-American people