Willard Lawrence Mueller Jr. (; born August 30, 1956) is an American baseball coach and former

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), ...

(MLB)

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 ...

. He spent his entire playing career with the Milwaukee Brewers organization (1978–1983), although in 1981, he was briefly loaned to the

Denver Bears Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

, who were an affiliate of the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

at the time.

Early years

Mueller was born in

West Bend, Wisconsin West Bend is the county seat of Washington County, Wisconsin, Washington County, Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,752. History Early history and settlement Northeastern Washington County's earliest known inhabitants wer ...

. Mueller attended

West Bend West High School The West Bend School District (officially West Bend Joint School District #1) is a school district in Wisconsin serving the city of West Bend, the villages of Jackson and Newburg, and parts of the towns of Polk, Trenton, Barton, West Bend, ...

where he starred as a prep pitcher.

Baseball career

Mueller was an undrafted free agent signed after the June 1974 Major League Baseball Draft. Mueller made his major league debut four years later, at twenty one years old against the

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 ...

. Mueller's final appearance was September 20, 1981 against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

Post-playing career

After Mueller's baseball career, he played the role of the Duke, in the 1989 blockbuster '' Major League''. Mueller's role as the Duke was as a menacing relief pitcher for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. Mueller is currently the pitching coach at

Concordia University Wisconsin Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) is a private Lutheran university in Mequon, Wisconsin. It is part of the eight-member Concordia University System operated by the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). The university is a coeducational in ...

Personal life

Mueller resides in his home town of West Bend,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. He has two children, Lindsey and Daniel. His daughter Lindsey was a volleyball player at Division 1 Binghamton University. His son Daniel is currently a pitcher and shortstop for

. Mueller is also the uncle of former

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

Ryan Rohlinger Ryan Lee Rohlinger (; born October 7, 1983) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the San Francisco Giants from 2008 through 2011. Amateur career High school Rohlinger graduated from West ...

and Adam Rohlinger who was a division 3 All American baseball player at

. Another nephew, Mike Mueller, pitched professionally in 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 ...

system. Mueller remains quite close to former teammates,

Jim Gantner James Elmer Gantner (born January 5, 1953) is a former Major League Baseball player who spent his entire career with the Milwaukee Brewers (1976–92). Background Gantner grew up in Eden, Wisconsin, and attended Campbellsport High School in nearb ...

Robin Yount Robin R. Yount (; born September 16, 1955), nicknamed "the Kid", and "Rockin' Robin", is an American former professional baseball player. He spent his entire 20-year career in Major League Baseball as a shortstop and center fielder for the Milwau ...

, and

Jerry Augustine Gerald Lee Augustine (born July 24, 1952) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, from 1975 to 1984. In 1976, he was named to the Topps All-Star Rookie Team. Augu ...

References

External links

Willard Mueller
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mueller, Willard 1956 births Living people Baseball players from Wisconsin Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players People from West Bend, Wisconsin Sportspeople from the Milwaukee metropolitan area American expatriate baseball players in Canada Burlington Bees players Clinton Pilots players Denver Bears players Holyoke Millers players Newark Co-Pilots players Vancouver Canadians players Wichita Aeros players