Gerald Williams (baseball)

Gerald Williams was drafted out of Grambling State University in the 14th round (366th overall) of the 1987 amateur draft by the New York Yankees. In 1988, in the New York–Penn League for Oneonta, he batted .365/.447/.504 with 2 home runs in 115 at bats. For this success, he was rewarded with a promotion to High-A ball. Injured and playing poorly, he hit just .210 in the next two seasons. Playing in a league that is notoriously tough for hitters (Florida State League) he hit .289/.344/.461 to establish legitimate prospect status. Mid-season, he was sent up to AA and the Eastern League. There, he batted .250/.328/.435. Combined, he hit .265 with 140 hits, 20 home runs, 101 RBI, and 37 stolen bases to establish himself as a top prospect. Entering the season just 22 years old, Williams flopped, hitting .271, but with only 7 home runs, 59 RBI, and an abysmal 52% stolen base rate. But he rebounded in AAA in 1992. He hit .285/.334/.452 with 16 home runs, 86 RBI, and 36 stolen bases. This earned him a call to the big leagues, where he would for the most part stay until 2002.

Gerald Williams, at the age of 25 years, made his professional debut September 15, 1992. After a brief stint in the minor leagues in 1993, where he practically duplicated his 1992 stats, he was back in the big leagues in 1994. But he was injured and played infrequently. He had also been batting only .239. He finally got a chance to truly play off the bench in 1995, where he had 182 at bats and batted .247 with 6 home runs.

Williams saw more action in 1996, hitting .270 with 5 home runs in 233 at bats. He started in more for the Yankees in left field that season than any other player, with 70 starts.[1]

On May 1, he set a Yankees team record with 6 hits against Baltimore in a 15 inning game. At the end of the season, Gerald received his first World Series Championship ring.[2]

On August 23, 1996, Williams was dealt with Bob Wickman to the Milwaukee Brewers for Graeme Lloyd, Pat Listach, and Ricky Bones. Only Lloyd had any success after being dealt to the Yankees, while both Wickman and Williams became solid major league players. After the trade in 1996, Williams only batted .207. Still, the year was a success to Williams, who got 325 at bats, and batted .252 with 28 extra-base hits. The next season was Williams first as a regular. He batted .253 with 10 home runs, 41 RBI, 23 stolen bases, and 44 extra-base hits, but he took few walks, and had an OPS of just .651, some 117 points lower than league average. After that miserable season, he was dealt to the Atlanta Braves for reliever Chad Fox.

Williams then spent two years thriving as a semi-regular player in Atlanta, batting .286 with 27 home runs. In 1999, he played against his old team, the Yankees during the 1999 World Series but lost the series in a 4-game sweep.

Perhaps Williams' finest season was 2000. He set career highs in homers, walks, RBI, hits, runs, and doubles. For this effort, he was named Tampa Bay Devil Rays player of the year. On August 29, 2000, Williams was hit by a pitch thrown by Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martínez. Williams charged the mound and started a bench-clearing brawl. During the brawl, he was one of 8 members of the Rays ejected.[3]

He got off to a slow start in 2001, batting just .207, and the Devil Rays released him.

Williams went back to the Yankees to finish the 2001 season and served as the backup outfielder.[4] He made the postseason roster until the team lost the 2001 World Series to the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2002, he spent most of the season in the minors, but played 33 games in the majors.

Williams signed a one-year deal for the Florida Marlins in 2003. He played 27 games and batted .129 overall. Williams got his second career World Series ring after the Marlins won the 2003 World Series over his former team, the New York Yankees.

He signed a two-year deal for the Mets in 2004. During his two years with the Mets, he batted .233 with 5 home runs and 14 RBI. He was released after the 2005 season and announced his retirement shortly thereafter.