Jimy Williams
James Francis Williams (born October 4, 1943) is an American former professional baseball infielder, coach and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was born in Santa Maria, California, and briefly appeared in two MLB seasons as a second baseman and shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals. After his playing career, he managed in the California Angels' minor league system before managing at the MLB level for the Toronto Blue Jays (1986–89), Boston Red Sox (1997–2001) and Houston Astros (2002–04), and was the American League Manager of the Year in 1999. He has also coached for Toronto, the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies.
| Jimy Williams | |
|---|---|
| Second baseman / Shortstop / Manager | |
| Born: October 4, 1943 Santa Maria, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 26, 1966, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 21, 1967, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .231 |
| Hits | 3 |
| Runs batted in | 1 |
| Managerial record | 910–790 |
| Winning % | .535 |
| Teams | |
| As player As manager | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Playing career
Williams, a former infielder who threw and batted right-handed, graduated from Arroyo Grande, California, High School and Fresno State University. He signed originally with the Boston Red Sox and was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1965 Rule 5 draft. He appeared in 14 games for the Cards over two seasons 1966–67, but had only 13 at bats, compiling a batting average of .231. Although he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds after the 1967 season, then selected in the 1968 expansion draft by the Montreal Expos, he never appeared in an MLB game for either club. The first pitcher Williams ever faced was Sandy Koufax. He got his first hit off another Hall of Famer: Juan Marichal.[1]
Coaching and managerial career
Early career, Toronto Blue Jays, and Atlanta Braves
His playing days cut short by a shoulder injury, Williams began his minor league managing career with the California Angels in 1974. He soon reached the Triple-A level and was appointed the third base coach of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1980.
Williams remained as Toronto's third base coach for six seasons, until he was promoted to manager in 1986 when Bobby Cox left the organization to rejoin the Atlanta Braves. He was the Blue Jays' manager until the 1989 season, when he was fired May 14 and replaced by Cito Gaston after the team got off to a 12–24 start. Gaston went 77–49 for the rest of the season and won the American League East title. Williams finished with a record of 281 wins and 241 losses.[2]
He spent 1991–96 with the Atlanta Braves as their third-base coach, working again under Bobby Cox, including the Braves 1995 World Series championship season. While with the Braves, Williams developed a reputation as an outstanding teaching coach, especially adept at working with infielders.
During the 1992 National League Championship Series, he waved home Sid Bream after seeing Barry Bonds having to make a difficult throw on a single while the game was tied in the ninth inning. Bream made the slide that would win the pennant for the Braves in that game.
Boston Red Sox
On November 19, 1996, Williams was hired by the Boston Red Sox; the team had fired Kevin Kennedy immediately after the season ended, and Williams was hired by general manager Dan Duquette after a lengthy search that saw many names considered (such as Grady Little and Whitey Herzog).[3]
The 1997 team was hindered by injuries and went 78-84. The following year, they went 92-70, which was good enough for second best in the American League and a wild-card spot. They lost to the Cleveland Indians in the Division Series.
In 1999, the Red Sox went 94-68 and clinched a wild card spot again. On August 14, Williams, having seen ace Pedro Martinez arrive late for his scheduled start, elected to not let him pitch in the game despite the objections of Martinez. Nine innings later, Martinez had received the win after being called to pitch in the 6th inning and threw four innings in relief.[4] The Sox reached the American League Championship Series after beating the Indians in an ALDS rematch, but lost to their arch-rivals, the New York Yankees in five games. Williams received the 1999 Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award for the American League.[5]
Williams' relationship with general manager Dan Duquette soured, with players such as Carl Everett also having disagreements with Williams, who liked to constantly change the batting lineup for games. Williams developed a feud with Everett, which saw Duquette back Everett publicly in the late stages of the 2000 season, which saw them go 85-77 and miss the playoffs handily. The ensuing disagreement soured the already tense dynamic between Williams and Duquette, to the point where team CEO John Harrington had to call a meeting between Williams and Duquette to try and smooth things over.[6][7]
When the Red Sox — depleted by injuries — slumped in August 2001, Duquette fired Williams. The club then lost 27 of 43 games under Duquette's appointee, Joe Kerrigan. Williams finished his tenure as Red Sox manager with a record of 414 wins and 352 losses.[2]
Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies
In 2002, Williams became manager of the Houston Astros over candidates Jim Fregosi and Tony Pena. The Astros fell short by one game for the NL Central title to the Chicago Cubs, losing six of their last nine games. However, expectations were raised in the offseason when ownership signed pitchers Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. The 2004 season did not get off to a great start for Williams, and they went into the All-Star break at 44-44 after losing five of seven games in their last road trip before returning to Houston for the break. Williams was assigned to serve as a National League coach at the 2004 All-Star Game, held in Houston. When he was announced to the crowd at Houston's Minute Maid Park, he was greeted with jeers; the next morning, general manager Gerry Hunsicker fired him, citing the past week as a turning point. He was replaced by Phil Garner, who Hunsicker had contacted about taking the job earlier.[8]
Garner would lead the Astros to the 2004 National League Championship Series, but they fell one game short of going to Houston's first ever World Series (the following year, Garner led the Astros to the World Series). Williams finished with a record of 215 wins and 197 losses.[2]
On October 16, 2006, Williams was named the Philadelphia Phillies bench coach[9] and continued with that role through the Phillies 2008 World Series championship season. Williams decided not to return to his position for the 2009 season. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said, "As far as I know, it's not like that he left on a bad note."[10]
Managerial record
- As of February 13, 2014
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| TOR | 1986 | 162 | 86 | 76 | .531 | 4th in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| TOR | 1987 | 162 | 96 | 66 | .593 | 2nd in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| TOR | 1988 | 162 | 87 | 75 | .537 | 3rd in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| TOR | 1989 | 36 | 12 | 24 | .333 | fired | – | – | – | – |
| TOR total | 522 | 281 | 241 | .538 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| BOS | 1997 | 162 | 78 | 84 | .481 | 4th in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| BOS | 1998 | 162 | 92 | 70 | .568 | 2nd in AL East | 1 | 3 | .250 | Lost ALDS (CLE) |
| BOS | 1999 | 162 | 94 | 68 | .580 | 2nd in AL East | 4 | 6 | .400 | Lost ALCS (NYY) |
| BOS | 2000 | 162 | 85 | 77 | .525 | 2nd in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| BOS | 2001 | 118 | 65 | 53 | .551 | fired | – | – | – | – |
| BOS total | 766 | 414 | 352 | .540 | 5 | 9 | .357 | |||
| HOU | 2002 | 162 | 84 | 78 | .519 | 2nd in NL Central | – | – | – | – |
| HOU | 2003 | 162 | 87 | 75 | .537 | 2nd in NL Central | – | – | – | – |
| HOU | 2004 | 88 | 44 | 44 | .500 | fired | – | – | – | – |
| HOU total | 412 | 215 | 197 | .522 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| Total[2] | 1700 | 910 | 790 | .535 | 5 | 9 | .357 | |||
Relatives in baseball
Jimy Williams is not to be confused with James Bernard Williams (1926–2016), no relation, a Canadian former minor league outfielder and manager and MLB coach with the Astros and Baltimore Orioles. He is, however, a distant relative of Red Sox great Ted Williams, who was his staunch advocate when he managed in Boston.
Two of Jimy Williams' sons are former professional baseball players who have fashioned successful minor-league managing careers. Brady was chosen by the Red Sox in the 45th round of the 1999 Major League Baseball draft and had a seven-year playing career as an infielder in minor league and independent league baseball. He managed in the Tampa Bay Rays' system from 2009 to 2022,[11] and in 2023 was named third-base coach of the MLB Rays. Shawn Williams also had a seven-year playing career (2006–12), including four years in the Tampa Bay organization; primarily an infielder, he played every position but center fielder. He has been a skipper in the Phillies' farm system since 2014.[12]
References
- ^ "Jimy Williams Batting 1966 Gamelogs". Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
- ^ a b c d "Jimy Williams". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
- ^ https://apnews.com/article/77a38652e3b70d5406563cbfb6a75a5f
- ^ https://www.masslive.com/sports/2015/01/here_are_5_moments_pedro_marti.html
- ^ https://www.southcoasttoday.com/story/sports/2001/08/17/boston-red-sox-manager-fired/50427334007/
- ^ http://www.espn.com/mlb/news/2001/0816/1240279.html
- ^ https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/2001/06/30/harrington-should-now-resolve-duke/50993075007/
- ^ Ortiz, Jose de Jesus (2006). Houston Astros: Armed and Dangerous. Sports Publishing. pp. 45–48. ISBN 1-59670-071-8.
- ^ "Jimy Williams Phillies profile". Retrieved November 10, 2008.
- ^ "Jimy Williams Leaves". Retrieved November 10, 2008.
- ^ Durham Bulls (19 January 2019)
- ^ Reading Fightin Phils (8 February 2019)
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Jimy Williams managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | El Paso Diablos manager 1975 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Salt Lake City Gulls manager 1976–1977 1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Franchise established | Springfield Redbirds manager 1978 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Toronto Blue Jays third base coach 1980–1985 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Atlanta Braves third base coach 1991–1996 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Philadelphia Phillies bench coach 2007–2008 | Succeeded by |