Monday, June 2, 2014

#225 Matt Williams

About the Front:  The "Giants" wordmark across the front of the team's home jerseys as worn from 1983-1993 had a cartoonish sort of charm, with its big block letters traveling in an arc from left to right. The super-sized first and last letters were a different sort of look for the major leagues.
About the Back:  Matt Williams finished his career with 30 two-homer games and a single three-homer contest.

Triple Play:

1. Williams' grandfather, Bert Griffith, roamed the outfield for the Brooklyn Dodgers (then known as the Robins) in 1922 and 1923, batting .302/.327/.417 for a 93 OPS+. He also appeared in six games for the Senators in 1924.

2. He was the first (and to date, only) player to hit home runs for three different teams in World Series play, pulling off the feat with the 1989 Giants, 1997 Indians, and 2001 Diamondbacks.

3. Matt is currently the first-year manager of the Washington Nationals. At this writing the club is 27-28 while coping with injuries that have sidelined Ryan Zimmerman and Bryce Harper.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Williams' strike-aborted chase of 61 homers in 1994 was my first experience with the excitement of record pursuits in baseball. I had no idea that Roger Maris' mark would be obliterated in the coming decade by McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds.

Bill James Said: "Third player in history to hit 30 homers and 30 doubles with less than 30 walks. The others were Felipe Alou and Butch Hobson, so I guess we can count on Matt being a manager someday, huh?" Eerie.

On This Date in 1993: June 2. Ray Charles is presented with the Songwriters' Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award.

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