Mitch Williams

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There are people who work a hell of a lot harder than I do in this world. I’m not going to sit and whine and complain over the fact that I was in the World Series and I lost.

—Mitch Williams on his feelings about surrendering the home run to Joe Carter [5]

In 2011, 17 years after giving up the World Series home run, Williams said he regretted using the slide step when pitching to Carter. In a joint interview with Carter for the MLB Network's 20 Greatest Games series, Williams said he hadn't used the slide step before but was talked into doing so by pitching coach Johnny Podres after allowing a walk to base-stealing legend Rickey Henderson. [6]

Despite having the highest number of lefty saves in his career with the Phillies (102), the Carter blast was the end of the line for Williams in Philadelphia. The Phillies traded him to the Houston Astros prior to the start of the 1994 season.

Post-Phillies career

Williams' post-Phillies career was a comedown from his previous heights. He would register only two wins and six saves in his final three major league seasons, with an ERA of 6.75 or above in all three campaigns. After two months with Houston in 1994, Williams closed out his major league career with equally short stints with the California Angels in 1995 and the Kansas City Royals in 1997.

Retirement

After retiring from baseball, Williams began to operate a bowling establishment outside Philadelphia. Although Phillies fans continued to blame Williams for the 1993 World Series loss for several years afterward, the fact that he did not make excuses for the blown save, shift the blame to others, or hide from the media or the city of Philadelphia caused many fans to ultimately forgive him and embrace him once again as a local figure. [7]

The Atlantic City Surf of the independent Atlantic League lured Williams back into uniform to pitch in 2001. He went 4–3 for the Surf that season and then became the club's pitching coach for 2002 and 2003. His paperwork and people skills were not strengths, and he was not retained as coach after a year and a half. Williams has been out of professional baseball since then.

In July 2011, Williams participated in a House Crashers episode from the DIY Network, in which a local Phillies fan won a makeover of his home's sports den. [8]

Williams sued Deadspin and MLB Network, claiming defamation and breach of contract in 2014 for a report on him regarding his actions during a youth baseball tournament, including his alleged cursing of an umpire and calling children on other teams derogatory names. [9] [10] [11] Williams apologized for his behavior at the tournament. [9] In June 2016, Williams's suit against Deadspin was dismissed by summary judgment. [9] In June 2017, Williams prevailed in his lawsuit against MLB Network and was awarded $1.5 million by a jury. [12]

He and former teammate Lenny Dykstra were involved in a profane exchange, captured on camera, during a May 2015 sports roast in Philadelphia. [13]

Broadcasting

In March 2007, Williams joined Philadelphia radio station 610 WIP AM as a part-time cohost of the Angelo Cataldi and the Morning Team show heard from 5:30 to 10:00 am on weekdays. Williams generally appeared one day per week. In April 2007, Williams joined Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia as a post-game analyst for broadcasts of Philadelphia Phillies games. On January 3, 2009, Williams joined MLB Network as a studio analyst where he was a regular on the network's MLB Tonight program until 2014.

Williams served as a color commentator for Fox Sports occasionally commentating national games. Williams came under some criticism for stating that the correct way to catch a fly ball was with one hand rather than two, after Cincinnati Reds outfielder Fred Lewis made an error in a game vs. the Atlanta Braves on July 23, 2011.[ citation needed ]

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References

  1. ↑ Skoufalos, Matt (December 15, 2014). "Phillies Alum Mitch Williams 'Unleashed' on Wildfire Radio". Njpen.com. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  2. ↑ McLennan, Jim (August 19, 2011). "The Eight Oddest Saves In Baseball History". SB Nation AZ Snakepit. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  3. ↑ "San Diego Padres at Chicago Cubs Box Score, April 28, 1989". Baseball Reference . Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  4. ↑ Reaves, Joey (October 24, 1993). "From death threats to disaster for Williams". Chicago Tribune.
  5. ↑ "On the field for Joe Carter's World Series-winning home run".
  6. ↑ Narducci, Marc (February 5, 2011). "Phillies' Mitch Williams recalls fateful pitch". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on December 21, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Wild Thing Mitch Williams Embraced By Phillies Fans, Who Have Forgiven Joe Carter Home Run". CP24. October 26, 2008.
  8. ↑ Storm, Jonathan. "Jonathan Storm: Mitch Williams pitches in on a Phillie fan-cave makeover for 'House Crashers'," The Philadelphia Inquirer (July 7, 2011).
  9. 1 2 3 Calcaterra, Craig (September 24, 2014). "Mitch Williams sues MLB Network and Deadspin for wrongful termination and defamation". HardballTalk. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  10. ↑ "'Wild Thing' Mitch Williams Suing Deadspin, MLB Network". September 25, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  11. ↑ Is Mitch Williams Getting Screwed? Philadelphia Magazine, 2015-04-05. Interview with Williams and with witnesses who say the reports of Williams using foul language, insulting opposing players and telling his son to throw a beanball were fabricated.
  12. ↑ "Mitch Williams wins $1.5M in lawsuit against MLB Network". ESPN. June 27, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  13. ↑ Jimmy Traina @jimmytraina May 6, 2015 at 1:10p ET (May 6, 2015). "Lenny Dykstra, Mitch Williams get into nasty, expletive-filled war of words during roast". FOX Sports. Retrieved April 6, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Mitch Williams
WildThingWilliams.jpg
Pitcher
Born: (1964-11-17) November 17, 1964 (age 59)
Santa Ana, California, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 9, 1986, for the Texas Rangers
Last MLB appearance
May 10, 1997, for the Kansas City Royals
Current
personalities
Former
personalities
Programming
Miscellaneous
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