Jimmy Williams, 1999 AL manager of the year, dies at 80

BOSTON — Jimmy Williams, the Boston Red Sox’s 1999 American League coach of the year who won 910 games in a dozen seasons, including with the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros, has died. He is 80 years old.

The Red Sox said Williams died Friday at AdventHealth North Pinellas Hospital in Tarpon Springs, Florida, after a brief illness. Williams lives in nearby Palm Harbor.

Williams was named the American League Manager of the Year after leading the Red Sox to their second consecutive postseason appearance. He said it was easier to stay calm in the clubhouse than at home.

“I’ve got a wife and four kids. You want chaos?” Williams said when he was hired to coach Boston in 1996. “You have to talk. You can’t pick sides and say, ‘Let’s see who wins this fight.'”

Williams was born James Francis Williams on October 4, 1943, in Santa Maria, California, as an infielder. He graduated from Arroyo Grande High School in 1961, where he first spelled his first name “Jimy” in high school.

Williams went to Fresno State and earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business in 1964. That year, he played summer ball with the Alaska Goldpanners, along with Tom Seaver and Graig Nettles. Williams signed with Boston, played in Class A Iowa, and was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1965 Rule 5 draft.

Williams made his major league debut on April 26, 1966, striking out Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers in his first at-bat. His first hit, released on May 7, was an RBI single featuring San Francisco Giants player Juan Marichal, as did future Hall of Famer Koufax.

“I still remember my first big-league hit, but when you only get three, you remember them,” he told the Houston Chronicle.

Williams appeared in 14 major league games, going 3-for-13 (.231) with one RBI.

He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds and spent 1968 with Triple-A Indianapolis before being drafted by the Montreal Expos in the expansion draft and playing for Triple-A Vancouver in 1969.

Williams’ career was cut short by a shoulder injury, and he became head coach of the California Angels, a Class A Quad-City team in the Midwest League in 1974. After six seasons in the minor leagues, he became Bobby Marty in 1980 Bobby Mattick is Toronto’s third base coach.

Bobby Cox took over as head coach of the Blue Jays in 1982, and when Cox left to become general manager of the Atlanta Braves in 1986, Williams replaced him in Toronto The team’s coaching bench.

The Toronto Raptors went 86-76 in his first season and led the AFC East by 3.5 games with seven games remaining in 1987, but finished 0-7 behind Detroit. Two games. The Blue Jays went 87-75 in 1988, and after a 12-24 start in 1989, Williams was replaced by Sito Gaston. Williams repeatedly clashed with star player George Bell, who did not want to be the designated hitter.

Williams returned to the Braves from 1991-96 as Cox’s third base coach and memorably gave Sid Bream the green light to play him in Francisco Francisco Cabrera’s single off Barry Bonds’ pitch to left field won Game 7 of the 1992 National League Championship Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Williams succeeded Kevin Kennedy as Boston’s head coach after the 1996 season. The Red Sox won 78 games in his first season and followed that up with 90 wins in consecutive seasons. They came back from 2-0 down to beat Cleveland in the 1999 Division Series.

“My outlook on life is probably a lot different than it was when I was in Toronto,” he said after winning Coach of the Year. “Maybe not as exciting from the perspective of having to say something all the time.”

Boston won 85 games in 2000, and Williams was fired in August 2001 when the team went 65-53.

Williams was hired by the Astros that fall, and after two winning seasons, he was released by the Astros in 2004 with a 44-44 record. A day later, fans at Minute Maid Park booed him when he was introduced as a coach around the league, and he was fired. -Star game.

Williams’ coaching record is 910 wins and 790 losses.

He served as Tampa Bay’s traveling coach in 2005 and ’06 and served as Charlie Manuel’s bench coach with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2007 and ’08, winning the World Series the following season. ring.

Sons Sean and Brady both play in the minor leagues, with Brady Williams being the Rays’ third base coach and Sean Williams a former minor league manager. In addition to his son, Williams is survived by his wife of 47 years, Peggy; daughters, Monica Farr and Jenna Williams; and eight grandchildren. Farr was an All-American swimmer at Texas A&M University and won two gold medals at the World University Games.