William Charles Fischer (October 11, 1930 – October 30, 2018) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

from 1956 to 1964 for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

, Detroit Tigers, Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins and

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...

. He later was a longtime pitching coach at the major and minor league levels. Born in

Wausau, Wisconsin Wausau ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States. The Wisconsin River divides the city into east and west. The city's suburbs include Schofield, Weston, Mosinee, Maine, Rib Mountain, Kronenwetter, an ...

, Fischer stood 6' (183 cm) tall, weighed 190 pounds (86 kg), and threw and batted right-handed.

Pitching career

As a pitcher, Fischer won 45 games and lost 58 (.437), with a career

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

of 4.34. He appeared in 281 games, starting 78, and compiled 16 complete games and 13 saves. In 831 career innings pitched, Fischer surrendered 936 hits and 210 bases on balls, with 313

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s. Fischer made his debut on April 21, 1956, with the

. In the middle of the 1958 campaign, he was traded along with

Tito Francona John Patsy Francona (November 4, 1933 – February 13, 2018) was a Major League Baseball player. As a child, he was nicknamed "Tito" by his father. His son, Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona, is also sometimes referred to as "Tito." Bal ...

to the Detroit Tigers for Ray Boone and

Bob Shaw Robert Shaw (31 December 1931 – 11 February 1996) was a science fiction writer and fan from Northern Ireland, noted for his originality and wit. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 1979 and 1980. His short story "Light of Other Days" ...

. He was eventually claimed by the Washington Senators, who traded him back to Detroit in for Tom Morgan. Fischer was later traded to the

with Ozzie Virgil for

Gerry Staley Gerald Lee Staley (August 21, 1920 – January 2, 2008) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1942 Minor League draft. He pitched regularly from 1947 on, then was traded to ...

and Reno Bertoia. There, he set a major league record which still stands in pitching 84 consecutive innings without issuing a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

in . This didn't keep Fischer in Kansas City for long, however. After one more season with the A's, the Minnesota Twins drafted Fischer in the Rule 5 draft in 1963, and he concluded his big-league career with the club, spending a few months of the 1964 season on the inactive list as a Minnesota scout. The White Sox signed Fischer as an active player and free agent following his stint with the Twins, but he never returned to the majors and was released in 1968.

Coaching career

After the season, he joined the fledgling Kansas City Royals, an expansion team set to make its MLB debut in , as a scout, beginning his association with future Baseball Hall of Fame executive

John Schuerholz John Boland Schuerholz Jr. (; born October 1, 1940) is an American baseball front office executive. He was the general manager of Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves from 1990 to 2007, and then served as the Braves president for a decade from 2 ...

. He also served as a minor league pitching instructor in the Royals' organization. Although Fischer never was MLB pitching coach of the Kansas City club, he held that post with the Cincinnati Reds (1979–83),

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

(1985–91) and

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

(2000–01). At Boston, he was a favorite of star right-hander

Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...

. After his firing by the Red Sox, he rejoined Schuerholz with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

as the Braves' minor league pitching coordinator and pitching coach of Triple-A Richmond (1992–99; 2004–06). He entered the baseball season still active in the game. He rejoined the Royals in 2007 as minor league pitching coordinator and special assistant for player development, and in 2018, as Kansas City's senior pitching advisor, he marked his 69th season in professional baseball. Fischer died on October 30, 2018, at the age of 88.https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article220903370.html

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Bill 1930 births 2018 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Baseball coaches from Wisconsin Baseball players from Wisconsin Boston Red Sox coaches Chicago White Sox players Cincinnati Reds coaches Colorado Springs Sky Sox (WL) players Detroit Tigers players Hawaii Islanders players Hot Springs Bathers players Indianapolis Indians players Kansas City Athletics players Kansas City Royals scouts Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Memphis Chickasaws players Minnesota Twins players Minnesota Twins scouts Navegantes del Magallanes players Portland Beavers players Sportspeople from Wausau, Wisconsin Tampa Bay Devil Rays coaches Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Vancouver Mounties players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Waterloo White Hawks players Wisconsin Rapids White Sox players

Pitching career

Coaching career

See also

References

External links