| Jimy Williams | |
|---|---|
 Williams in 2007 | |
| Second baseman /Shortstop /Manager | |
| Born:(1943-10-04)October 4, 1943 Santa Maria, California, U.S. | |
| Died: January 26, 2024(2024-01-26) (aged 80) Tarpon Springs, Florida, 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 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| As player As manager As coach | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
James Francis Williams (October 4, 1943 – January 26, 2024) was an American professionalbaseballinfielder,coach andmanager inMajor League Baseball (MLB). He played for theSt. Louis Cardinals in 1966 and 1967 and managed theToronto Blue Jays,Boston Red Sox, andHouston Astros.
Williams was born inSanta Maria, California, and briefly appeared in two MLB seasons as asecond baseman andshortstop for the Cardinals. After his playing career, he managed in theCalifornia Angels'minor league system before coaching at the MLB level and then managing for the Blue Jays (1986–1989), Red Sox (1997–2001) and Astros (2002–2004). Williams was theAmerican LeagueManager of the Year in1999. He also coached for Toronto, theAtlanta Braves andPhiladelphia Phillies. As a coach, Williams was a member of the1995 World Series and2008 World Series champions.
James Francis Williams was born on October 4, 1943, inSanta Maria, California.[1] He was one of seven children; his father was a cattle rancher and his mother was a teacher. Williams' father died when he was a teenager.[2]
Williams, a formerinfielder who threw and batted right-handed, graduated fromArroyo Grande High School inArroyo Grande, California, andCalifornia State University, Fresno, where he playedcollege baseball for theFresno State Bulldogs.[3] He first spelled his name "Jimy" as a prank in high school. At Fresno, Williams earned a bachelor's degree inagribusiness in 1964.[1]
During the 1965 season, he played for theAlaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks, along with teammatesGraig Nettles andTom Seaver.[1] Williams signed originally with theBoston Red Sox and was taken in the 1965Rule 5 draft by theSt. Louis Cardinals. He appeared in 14 games for the Cardinals over two seasons, 1966–67, but had only 13at bats, compiling abatting average of .231. Williams' first hit came offJuan Marichal.[2]
Before the 1968 season, the Cardinals traded Williams andPat Corrales to theCincinnati Reds forJohnny Edwards.[4] After the 1968 season, theMontreal Expos selected Williams in the1968 expansion draft; then he played the 1969 AAA season for theVancouver Mounties.[1] He spent the 1970 season playing in AAA for theBuffalo Bisons and theWinnipeg Whips, followed by the 1971 season with the Winnipeg Whips and theTidewater Tides.[5]
Williams's playing career ended due to a shoulder injury.[2] He began hisminor league managing career with the California Angels in 1974. Williams soon reached the Triple-A level and was appointed thethird base coach of theToronto Blue Jays in 1980.[3]
Williams remained as Toronto's third base coach for six seasons. After the 1985 season, Blue Jays' managerBobby Cox left the organization to rejoin theAtlanta Braves and the Blue Jays named Williams as their new manager.[6] He was the Blue Jays' manager until the 1989 season, when he was fired May 14 and replaced byCito Gaston after the team got off to a 12–24 start. Under Gaston, the Blue Jays went 77–49 for the rest of the season and won theAmerican League East title.[7] Williams finished with a record of 281 wins and 241 losses.[8]
Williams rejoined Cox as their third base coach for the Braves in 1991.[2] During the1992 National League Championship Series, he waved homeSid Bream after seeingBarry 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.[9] He was their third base coach through the 1996 season, including the Braves1995 World Series championship season. While with the Braves, Williams developed a reputation as an outstanding teaching coach, especially adept at working with infielders.[10]
On November 19, 1996, the Boston Red Sox hired Williams as their new manager; the team had firedKevin Kennedy immediately after the season ended, and Williams was hired by general managerDan Duquette after a lengthy search that saw many names considered (such asGrady Little andWhitey Herzog).[11] 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 theAmerican League and awild-card spot. They lost to theCleveland Indians in theDivision Series.[12]
In 1999, the Red Sox went 94–68 and clinched a wild card spot again. On August 14, Williams, having seen acePedro 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.[13] The Sox reached theAmerican League Championship Series after beating the Indians in an ALDS rematch, but lost to their arch-rivals, theNew York Yankees in five games. Williams won the 1999Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award for the American League.[14]
Williams' relationship with general manager Dan Duquette soured, with players such asCarl 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.[15][16]
When the Red Sox—depleted by injuries—slumped in August 2001, Duquette fired Williams.[17][18] 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.[8]
On November 1, 2001, Williams was hired to become manager of theHouston Astros.[19] The other reported candidates wereJim Fregosi andTony Pena. The Astros went 84–78 in 2002 and were not a particularly serious threat that season. At one point in his tenure, he apparently came up with a suggestion to name the foul poles atMinute Maid Park "fowl poles" and do branding with chicken restaurants.[20] As it turned out, the Astros would do a partnership withChick-fil-A to brand the poles as such in 2006, which as of 2025 is still present on the poles at the park. He made it clear to ownerDrayton McLane that he was not particularly interested in playing ball with the media, which in turn led to a perception of him being distant, although it was said that Williams was quite friendly when talking about baseball rather than off-the-field issues. The Astros fell short by one game for the NL Central title to theChicago Cubs in 2003, losing six of their last nine games. However, expectations were raised in the offseason when ownership signed pitchersRoger Clemens andAndy 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 aNational League coach at the2004 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 managerGerry Hunsicker fired him, citing the past week as a turning point. Hunsicker was quoted as saying, "The message we wanted to send is that we needed a dramatic change. The more newfaces, the more new energy that we can bring in here, the greater impact we might make. My biggest regret was the fact that this week couldn't havebeen any more awkward for all of us. "The unfortunate reaction he got from the fans, and the speculation that became rampant in the last day or so was very unfortunate. He deserved better."[21]
Williams was replaced byPhil Garner, who Hunsicker had contacted about taking the job earlier.[22] Garner would lead the Astros to the2004 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 theWorld Series). Williams finished with a record of 215 wins and 197 losses.[8] Williams described his tenure as one where he felt bad about not making the playoffs while stating, "We just couldn't hit a lick that season. Remember? We couldn't have hit if we'd gone up there with a banjo. We just couldn't get anything going. And it was about three weeks after I left that they finally started playing well. Those things happen."[20]
On October 16, 2006, Williams was named thePhiladelphia Phillies bench coach[23] and continued with that role through the Phillies2008 World Series championship season.[20] Williams decided not to return to his position for the 2009 season. Phillies managerCharlie Manuel said, "As far as I know, it's not like that he left on a bad note."[24]
| 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 | LostALDS (CLE) |
| BOS | 1999 | 162 | 94 | 68 | .580 | 2nd in AL East | 4 | 6 | .400 | LostALCS (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 | 1700 | 910 | 790 | .535 | 5 | 9 | .357 | |||
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Williams and his wife, Peggy, had four children.[25] Two of his sons are former professional baseball players who have managed teams in the minor leagues.Brady was chosen by the Red Sox in the 45th round of the1999 Major League Baseball draft and had a seven-year playing career as an infielder in minor league andindependent league baseball. He managed in theTampa Bay Rays' system from 2009 to 2022,[26] and in2023 was named third-base coach of the MLB Rays. Shawn Williams also had a seven-year playing career (2006–2012), including four years in the Tampa Bay organization; primarily an infielder, he played every position butcenter fielder. He has been a manager in the Phillies' farm system since 2014.[27]
Williams was a distant relative of Red Sox greatTed Williams.[28]
Williams lived inPalm Harbor, Florida. He died after a short illness at age 80, on January 26, 2024, atAdventHealth North Pinellas inTarpon Springs, Florida.[1]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | El Paso Diablosmanager 1975 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Salt Lake City Gullsmanager 1976–1977 1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Franchise established | Springfield Redbirdsmanager 1978 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Toronto Blue Jaysthird base coach 1980–1985 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Atlanta Bravesthird base coach 1991–1996 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Philadelphia Philliesbench coach 2007–2008 | Succeeded by |
