Walt Williams (baseball)

Infobox MLB retired
bgcolor1=silver
bgcolor2=black
textcolor1=black
textcolor2=white
name=Walt Williams


position=Outfielder
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1943|12|19
debutdate=April 21
debutyear=by|1964
debutteam=Houston Colt .45's
finaldate=September 22
finalyear=by|1975
finalteam=New York Yankees
stat1label=AVG
stat1value=.270
stat2label=Hits
stat2value=640
stat3label=RBI
stat3value=173
teams=
*Houston Colt .45's (by|1964)
*Chicago White Sox (by|1967–by|1972)
*Cleveland Indians (by|1973)
*New York Yankees (by|1974–by|1975)
highlights=
*Batted .304 in 1969

Walter Allen Williams (born on December 19, 1943 in Brownwood, Texas) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He was signed by the Houston Colt .45s before the 1963 season, and played for them in 1964, the Chicago White Sox from 1967 to 1972, the Cleveland Indians in 1973, and the New York Yankees from 1974 to 1975.

Williams was commonly known as "No Neck", due to his relatively short stature (5 feet 6 inches) combined with a muscular upper torso. He was a popular and fan-friendly player who admitted to liking that nickname. He seemed to embody the old saying, "a good little ballplayer".

Williams was a good defensive outfielder, committing just 19 errors in 565 games for a fielding percentage of .981. He was also used often as a pinch-hitter, and sometimes as a designated hitter late in his career.

In 1969, as a member of the Chisox, Williams started in a career-high 108 games and came to bat over 500 times. He hit a career-high .304 to finish sixth in the American League batting race. Williams was also the fifth-toughest to strike out in the league; he was fanned only once every 14.3 at bats.

He never made it to the post-season, but came close with the 1967 White Sox. Under manager Eddie Stanky, the Pale Hose finished just three games behind in an exciting race that came down to the final week. The Boston Red Sox ended up winning in an exciting race that baseball season.

Other career highlights include:
*Williams got connected for five hits in one game on May 31, 1970 against Boston. Williams had four singles and a double. In the game, he also scored five runs and drove in two more as the White Sox beat the Red Sox 22-13 at Fenway Park.
*Williams had five games in which he had four hits. In one of those games, on June 20, 1971, he had two singles, a double, and a home runs against the Minnesota Twins in an 18-8 Chicago victory. which he scored four runs with three Runs batted in in an 18-8 win at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota.
*Williams had 33 games in which he had three hits.
*Williams hit a combined .432 (32-for-74) against Al Downing, Ken Holtzman, Denny McLain, and Wilbur Wood during his career.
*Williams hit a combined .359 (14-for-39) against Hall of Famers Jim Palmer and Nolan Ryan during his career.

Williams's career totals include 842 games played, 640 hits, 33 home runs, 173 RBIs, 284 runs, and a lifetime batting average of .270.

In 1989, he played for the St. Lucie Legends of the Senior Professional Baseball Association.

The authors of "The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Book",Brendan C. Boyd & Fred C. Harris, Little Brown & Co, 1973, made this impish comment on p.126 next to a picture of Williams' baseball card: "Yes, Virginia, Walt Williams had no neck. And his legs weren't particularly long, either."

ee also

* Chicago White Sox all-time roster

External links

* [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/Pwillw103.htm Retrosheet]