William Briley Greif (born April 25, 1950) is a retired

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 professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("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, who attempts to e ...

. He played all or part of six seasons 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 1971 to 1976, for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

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 (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

, 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 (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals h ...

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 The 1968 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft took place prior to the 1968 MLB season. The draft saw the New York Mets take shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, whi ...

by the Astros, making his major league debut with them three years later. He was traded along with Derrel Thomas and Mark Schaeffer from the

Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

to the

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 (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL pennan ...

for

Dave Roberts David or Dave Roberts may refer to: Arts and literature * David Roberts (painter) (1796–1864), Scottish painter * David Roberts (art collector), Scottish contemporary art collector * David Roberts (novelist), English editor and mystery writer ...

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 years ...

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 appeared in 47 games. After the 1976 season, he was traded from the Cardinals to the

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

after the 1976 season with Ángel Torres and Sam Mejías for

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as ''Top Gun'' (1986), ''Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''Day ...

, Steve Dunning and Pat Scanlon. 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 New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major leagu ...

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 Chesapea ...

that year, his final professional season.

References

External links

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 Texas 1950 births Living people People from Fort Stockton, Texas Arizona Instructional League Mesa players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1950s-stub