Matt Williams
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Grandson of Bert Griffith
[edit] BiographyMatthew Derrick "Matt" Williams (born November 28, 1965 in Bishop, California) is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and right-handed batter who played for the San Francisco Giants (1987-96), Cleveland Indians (1997) and Arizona Diamondbacks (1998-2003). Williams was originally selected by the New York Mets out of high school but he did not sign. The Giants later drafted him out of college in the first round (3rd pick) of the 1986 amateur draft. Despite his several leg injuries and lower-back ailments, Williams was a dangerous hitter when he got the pitch he was looking for. As a third baseman, he had good reactions and excellent hands, then a quick release with an accurate and strong arm. He was one of the premier fielders at third base as he earned four gold gloves from 1991-1997. A hitter with exceptional power, six times he hit over 30 home runs with over 90 runs batted in, including his outstanding 1994 season when he hit a league-best 43 HRs with 96 RBI in a season shortened by nearly a full third due to a strike. He finished second in the league MVP vote behind Jeff Bagwell. Over a 162-game period in 1994-95, he hit 62 home runs - one more than Roger Maris had hit in his 162-game season in 1961. Matt was an original member of the Arizona Diamondbacks and holds the Diamondback record for the most runs batted in for a season with 142 in 1999 (since tied by Luis Gonzalez in 2001). Williams played in three World Series for three different teams (1989 with the Giants, 1997 with the Indians, and 2001 with the Diamondbacks) and was a member of the World Champion Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001. For his career, Williams batted .268 with 378 home runs, 1218 runs batted in, 997 runs scored, 1878 hits, 338 doubles, and 35 triples in 1866 games. Williams is now a part owner in the Diamondbacks franchise with the title of special assistant to the general partner. He occasionally serves as color commentator on Diamondbacks radio and television broadcasts, and has even assisted in coaching and player personnel matters. Williams has been married three times. His second wife (1999-2002) was actress Michelle Johnson. He is currently married to Erika Monroe a former TV weather anchor from KTVK-TV NewsChannel 3. They have a child together. Williams was also one of the players named in baseball's Mitchell Report. His name appeared under the "Alleged Internet Purchase" section of the report. According to the same report that implicated Ismael Valdez and Jose Guillen, the San Francisco Chronicle alleges that Williams ordered HGH, syringes, steroids, and other drugs from the Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center in 2002. The article also states that the prescriptions that Williams was given were written by a dentist, the same dentist that provided prescriptions for Paul Byrd and Jose Guillen. According to the article, Williams admitted talking to a doctor about using HGH to recover from a 2002 ankle injury, and that he wasn't aware that a dentist had written his prescriptions. [edit] Statistics<stats> Player=Matt Williams Type=Batting </stats> [edit] Batting
Year Ag Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG *OPS+ TB SH SF IBB HBP GDP
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
1987 21 SFG NL 84 245 28 46 9 2 8 21 4 3 16 68 .188 .240 .339 55 83 3 1 4 1 5
1988 22 SFG NL 52 156 17 32 6 1 8 19 0 1 8 41 .205 .251 .410 91 64 3 1 0 2 7
1989 23 SFG NL 84 292 31 59 18 1 18 50 1 2 14 72 .202 .242 .455 98 133 1 2 1 2 5
1990 24 SFG NL 159 617 87 171 27 2 33 122 7 4 33 138 .277 .319 .488 123 301 2 5 9 7 13 SS,MVP-6,AS
1991 25 SFG NL 157 589 72 158 24 5 34 98 5 5 33 128 .268 .310 .499 128 294 0 7 6 6 11
1992 26 SFG NL 146 529 58 120 13 5 20 66 7 7 39 109 .227 .286 .384 94 203 0 2 11 6 15
1993 27 SFG NL 145 579 105 170 33 4 38 110 1 3 27 80 .294 .325 .561 137 325 0 9 4 4 12 SS,MVP-6
1994 28 SFG NL 112 445 74 119 16 3 43 96 1 0 33 87 .267 .319 .607 140 270 0 3 7 2 11 SS,MVP-2,AS
1995 29 SFG NL 76 283 53 95 17 1 23 65 2 0 30 58 .336 .399 .647 176 183 0 3 8 2 8 AS
1996 30 SFG NL 105 404 69 122 16 1 22 85 1 2 39 91 .302 .367 .510 133 206 0 6 9 6 10 AS
1997 31 CLE AL 151 596 86 157 32 3 32 105 12 4 34 108 .263 .307 .488 100 291 0 2 4 4 14 SS
1998 32 ARI NL 135 510 72 136 26 1 20 71 5 1 43 102 .267 .327 .439 99 224 0 1 8 3 19
1999 33 ARI NL 154 627 98 190 37 2 35 142 2 0 41 93 .303 .344 .536 121 336 0 8 9 2 17 MVP-3,AS
2000 34 ARI NL 96 371 43 102 18 2 12 47 1 2 20 51 .275 .315 .431 85 160 0 3 1 3 11
2001 35 ARI NL 106 408 58 112 30 0 16 65 1 0 22 70 .275 .314 .466 94 190 0 3 3 3 15
2002 36 ARI NL 60 215 29 56 7 2 12 40 3 1 21 41 .260 .324 .479 102 103 0 2 1 0 8
2003 37 ARI NL 44 134 17 33 9 0 4 16 0 0 16 26 .246 .327 .403 81 54 0 4 1 2 1
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
17 Seasons 7000 1878 35 1218 35 1363 .268 .317 .489 113 9 62 86 55 182
1866 997 338 378 53 469 3420
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
162 Game Avg 608 87 163 29 3 33 106 5 3 41 118 .268 .317 .489 113 297 1 5 7 5 16
Career High 159 627 105 190 37 5 43 142 12 7 43 138 .336 .399 .647 176 336 3 9 11 7 19
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
Year Ag Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG *OPS+ TB SH SF IBB HBP GDP
[edit] References[edit] Related Articles[edit] Recent Matt Williams ArmchairGM Stories
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