William Briley Greif (born April 25, 1950) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played all or part of six seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

, from 1971 to 1976, for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

, and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

Astros

Greif graduated from John H. Reagan High School (Austin, Texas). He was drafted in the 3rd round of the 1968 Major League Baseball Draft by the Astros, making his major league debut with them three years later. He was traded along with

Derrel Thomas Derrel Osbon Thomas (born January 14, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman and utility player from to . Thomas was a member of the 1981 World Series winning ...

and Mark Schaeffer from the

Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

to the

Padres {{About, the Roman Catholic priests' organization, other uses, Padres (disambiguation) ''Padres Asociados para Derechos Religiosos, Educativos, y Sociales'' ( Spanish for "Priests Associated for Religious, Education, and Social Rights") is a Chica ...

for Dave Roberts on December 3, 1971.

Padres

Greif pitched four full seasons and part of a fifth with the Padres. A knuckle-curve specialist, he was the team's

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

starter in 1974, then in 1975 he was moved full-time to the bullpen. After moving back to the starting rotation to start the 1976 season, he made five starts for the

before being dealt to the Cardinals for Luis Meléndez on May 19.

Remaining career

The Cardinals moved Greif back to the bullpen once again, and he had a 1–5 record in 47 appearances. He was sent along with Sam Mejías and Ángel Torres from the Cardinals to the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

for

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was a British film director and producer. He made his theatrical film debut with ''The Hunger (1983 film), The Hunger'' (1983) and went on to direct highly successful action and t ...

, Steve Dunning and Pat Scanlon on November 8, 1976. The Expos did not re-sign him for the 1977 season, and he was released on March 30. After sitting out the 1977 season, Greif signed with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

organization in 1978. He appeared in three games for the

Tidewater Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesape ...

that year, his final professional season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greif, Bill Major League Baseball pitchers St. Louis Cardinals players San Diego Padres players Houston Astros players Covington Astros players Peninsula Astros players Columbus Astros players Oklahoma City 89ers players Tidewater Tides players Baseball players from Austin, Texas 1950 births Living people People from Fort Stockton, Texas Arizona Instructional League Mesa players 20th-century American sportsmen