"Gave up the walk-off grand slam to George Bell in 1988 and the World Series walk-off to Joe Carter in 1993."
Well, 1988 was not a good year for Mitch Williams. For a while, 1993 was, but his last two appearances for the Philadelphia Phillies that year (And as it turns out, Mitch never again pitched for Philadelphia) is what stand out. That's where the Toronto Blue Jays did their thing. Especially Carter.
But in '88, Williams was a Ranger. And frankly, he looked pretty good in Texas. Having been drafted by the San Diego Padres in 1982, he became a rule five selections of the Texas Rangers in 1984. His time spent in the minors was nothing of note. The Wild Thing could not cut it as a starter.
So what Texas did in 1986 was to put him in the bullpen. I wonder if they expected him to lead the American League in appearances with 80. Of those, 72 appearances were where it really mattered, the seventh inning on.
Mitch was 7-1 by July 13th, and 8-3 by August 6th. However, he failed to pick up another win from that point on. I guess that's no harm, seeing as how he was pitching in relief. Still, did his arm go? Williams picked up four saves in August, finishing the year with eight. The 0-3 finish might have been bad, but Mitch picked up seven holds, as well. His ERA was 3.58. Not bad for a rookie.
Amazingly, his record was again 8-6 the next season, but Williams dropped his ERA to 3.23. He also upped his appearances to 85 games, although he did not lead the league this time around. However, for the first and only time in his career, The Wild Thing was over 100 innings pitched (108 2/3). Couldn't he build on this.
Oh, wait, now we come to 1988. His wildness perhaps got himself in trouble.
George Bell could relate to Mitch Williams. A rule five pick himself, he endured himself to Toronto much like Williams endured himself to Philadelphia some time later. Excellent he certainly had been in 1987, as he took home the MVP.
However, now we come to 1988.
The Jays wanted George to DH that year. See, Bell had some wildness in him. His fielding, depending on the stats you use, could tell you the good and the bad. He led the American League in errors by a left fielder in 1985, 1986, and would again in 1988. 1987 saw him finish second. However, he also lead the junior circuit in assist by left fielders in 1985, '86 and '87. He was also in the top five in range factor per game among left fielders in 1985 and 1986. So take that for what it's worth.
The Toronto Blue Jays decided to make Bell the full-time DH. Bell, however, was an MVP you know. Needless to say, he didn't like it. Even after smacking three home runs in Toronto's home opener in '88 against Kansas.
So Jimmy Williams, the Jays manager, and George Bell the star player were budding heads in the clubhouse. However, Bell was heading full speed towards another locomotive named Williams on September 4th.
It was back at old Exhibition Stadium. It wasn't the same old Mitch, however. He'd been given the closer role for a while, and looked good at times. On August 27th against the same Toronto Blue Jays, he'd gotten save #18 on the campaign. But it would be his last. And for very good reason. Williams ended that appearance with an ERA of 4.61. The very next day, he blew the save against Toronto. An omen.
However, Mitch's ERA was down to 4.48 as he entered the game on the fourth day of September. The Jays looked hopeless in this one. They trailed 6-0 after 7 1/2. They heroically put a "5" on the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth, only to see Texas tack on another run in the top of the ninth. 7-5, three outs to go.
Bobby Witt got Manny Lee to fan for strike three. But it was a wild pitch! Tony Fernandez followed with a single. Mitch Williams came in to a tough situation. Lloyd Moseby greeted him with a single to load 'em up. And then, Pat Borders stepped in to the situation. Williams took him out of that with a strikeout. Now, he needed a double play.
But George Bell, regaining (momentary?) the love of the Toronto faithful, took Williams out of the park to deep left. That blast won the game for the Blue Jays, 9-7. Bell really slammed the 1-0 offering. Williams took the loss. And another blown save.
By 1993, Williams was a Philly. Bell was a Sox. A Chicago White Sox. He left Toronto after 1990 to play one year with the Chicago Cubs. Now, he was back in the American League. But he did not play in the '93 ALCS, which he saw his old team advance.
That team, the Jays, faced Williams' Phillies. Mitch had 43 saves in the regular season. He added two more (along with two wins) in the NLCS vs. the Atlanta Braves. Given the call in game two of the World Series, Mitch came on with only one out in the bottom of the eighth at the Skydome and squared things up with a save.
So it was on to The City Of Brotherly Love for games three, four and five. Well, Toronto won game three, 10-3. Philadelphia appeared to have evened things up in game four, taking a 14-9 lead into the top of the eighth.
It wasn't all Mitch's fault. It was Larry Anderson gave up a run and left with one out, two on and Philly still up, 14-10. However, Mitch couldn't slam the door. Toronto somehow scored five more times to win it 15-14. Curt Schilling restored some pride back in Philadelphia with a 2-0 shutout of Toronto in game five.
So the Jays were a win away back home for game six. But going into the last of the ninth, it was the visitors with a lead, 6-5. They turned to Williams.
A wild inning ensued. Ricky Henderon coaxed a walk. Devon White flied out and Philadelphia was just two outs away from a game seven. But Paul Molitor kept the rally going with a single. Joe Carter was the next batter.
Mitch missed twice. 2-0. A fastball right down the middle and Carter took it. 2-1. Joe then swung at a pitch that was so low, it seemed to go under the plate. That evened the count at 2-2. Carter, however, did not miss the next pitch from Williams.
It was a fastball that was inside. Carter launched it to left. It was a lot closer to the foul line than where Bell hit it. But it did not go foul. The home run won the game for Toronto, 8-6.
References
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 3 Mar. 2016.
Youtube. Web. 3 Mar. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/>.
Well, 1988 was not a good year for Mitch Williams. For a while, 1993 was, but his last two appearances for the Philadelphia Phillies that year (And as it turns out, Mitch never again pitched for Philadelphia) is what stand out. That's where the Toronto Blue Jays did their thing. Especially Carter.
But in '88, Williams was a Ranger. And frankly, he looked pretty good in Texas. Having been drafted by the San Diego Padres in 1982, he became a rule five selections of the Texas Rangers in 1984. His time spent in the minors was nothing of note. The Wild Thing could not cut it as a starter.
So what Texas did in 1986 was to put him in the bullpen. I wonder if they expected him to lead the American League in appearances with 80. Of those, 72 appearances were where it really mattered, the seventh inning on.
Mitch was 7-1 by July 13th, and 8-3 by August 6th. However, he failed to pick up another win from that point on. I guess that's no harm, seeing as how he was pitching in relief. Still, did his arm go? Williams picked up four saves in August, finishing the year with eight. The 0-3 finish might have been bad, but Mitch picked up seven holds, as well. His ERA was 3.58. Not bad for a rookie.
Amazingly, his record was again 8-6 the next season, but Williams dropped his ERA to 3.23. He also upped his appearances to 85 games, although he did not lead the league this time around. However, for the first and only time in his career, The Wild Thing was over 100 innings pitched (108 2/3). Couldn't he build on this.
Oh, wait, now we come to 1988. His wildness perhaps got himself in trouble.
George Bell could relate to Mitch Williams. A rule five pick himself, he endured himself to Toronto much like Williams endured himself to Philadelphia some time later. Excellent he certainly had been in 1987, as he took home the MVP.
However, now we come to 1988.
The Jays wanted George to DH that year. See, Bell had some wildness in him. His fielding, depending on the stats you use, could tell you the good and the bad. He led the American League in errors by a left fielder in 1985, 1986, and would again in 1988. 1987 saw him finish second. However, he also lead the junior circuit in assist by left fielders in 1985, '86 and '87. He was also in the top five in range factor per game among left fielders in 1985 and 1986. So take that for what it's worth.
The Toronto Blue Jays decided to make Bell the full-time DH. Bell, however, was an MVP you know. Needless to say, he didn't like it. Even after smacking three home runs in Toronto's home opener in '88 against Kansas.
So Jimmy Williams, the Jays manager, and George Bell the star player were budding heads in the clubhouse. However, Bell was heading full speed towards another locomotive named Williams on September 4th.
It was back at old Exhibition Stadium. It wasn't the same old Mitch, however. He'd been given the closer role for a while, and looked good at times. On August 27th against the same Toronto Blue Jays, he'd gotten save #18 on the campaign. But it would be his last. And for very good reason. Williams ended that appearance with an ERA of 4.61. The very next day, he blew the save against Toronto. An omen.
However, Mitch's ERA was down to 4.48 as he entered the game on the fourth day of September. The Jays looked hopeless in this one. They trailed 6-0 after 7 1/2. They heroically put a "5" on the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth, only to see Texas tack on another run in the top of the ninth. 7-5, three outs to go.
Bobby Witt got Manny Lee to fan for strike three. But it was a wild pitch! Tony Fernandez followed with a single. Mitch Williams came in to a tough situation. Lloyd Moseby greeted him with a single to load 'em up. And then, Pat Borders stepped in to the situation. Williams took him out of that with a strikeout. Now, he needed a double play.
But George Bell, regaining (momentary?) the love of the Toronto faithful, took Williams out of the park to deep left. That blast won the game for the Blue Jays, 9-7. Bell really slammed the 1-0 offering. Williams took the loss. And another blown save.
By 1993, Williams was a Philly. Bell was a Sox. A Chicago White Sox. He left Toronto after 1990 to play one year with the Chicago Cubs. Now, he was back in the American League. But he did not play in the '93 ALCS, which he saw his old team advance.
That team, the Jays, faced Williams' Phillies. Mitch had 43 saves in the regular season. He added two more (along with two wins) in the NLCS vs. the Atlanta Braves. Given the call in game two of the World Series, Mitch came on with only one out in the bottom of the eighth at the Skydome and squared things up with a save.
So it was on to The City Of Brotherly Love for games three, four and five. Well, Toronto won game three, 10-3. Philadelphia appeared to have evened things up in game four, taking a 14-9 lead into the top of the eighth.
It wasn't all Mitch's fault. It was Larry Anderson gave up a run and left with one out, two on and Philly still up, 14-10. However, Mitch couldn't slam the door. Toronto somehow scored five more times to win it 15-14. Curt Schilling restored some pride back in Philadelphia with a 2-0 shutout of Toronto in game five.
So the Jays were a win away back home for game six. But going into the last of the ninth, it was the visitors with a lead, 6-5. They turned to Williams.
A wild inning ensued. Ricky Henderon coaxed a walk. Devon White flied out and Philadelphia was just two outs away from a game seven. But Paul Molitor kept the rally going with a single. Joe Carter was the next batter.
Mitch missed twice. 2-0. A fastball right down the middle and Carter took it. 2-1. Joe then swung at a pitch that was so low, it seemed to go under the plate. That evened the count at 2-2. Carter, however, did not miss the next pitch from Williams.
It was a fastball that was inside. Carter launched it to left. It was a lot closer to the foul line than where Bell hit it. But it did not go foul. The home run won the game for Toronto, 8-6.
References
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 3 Mar. 2016.
Youtube. Web. 3 Mar. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/>.
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