William Harry Laxton (born January 5, 1948) is an American former

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 ...

pitcher. Laxton pitched in all or part of five seasons in the majors between 1970 and 1977.

Early career

Laxton grew up in

Audubon, New Jersey Audubon is a borough in Camden County, in the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 8,707, a decrease of 112 (−1.3%) from the 2010 census count of 8,819, which i ...

and attended

Audubon High School Audubon High School is a comprehensive six-year community public high school that serves students in seventh through twelfth grades from Audubon, in Camden County, in the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lo ...

, graduating in 1966. He was originally drafted by the

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

in the 7th round of the 1966 Major League Baseball Draft. He was traded to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

in December 1967 along with Harold Clem,

Woodie Fryman Woodrow Thompson Fryman (April 12, 1940 – February 4, 2011) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for six teams, across 18 seasons (–). A two-time National League (NL) All-Star, he helped the ...

, and

Don Money Donald Wayne Money (born June 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball infielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Kintetsu ...

in exchange for future-Hall of Famer

Jim Bunning James Paul David Bunning (October 23, 1931 – May 26, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher and politician from Kentucky who served in both chambers of the United States Congress, a member of the United States House of Representati ...

. He made his major league debut for the Phillies on September 15, 1970, when he pitched an inning in relief against the

, ending the season with a total of two relief appearances. He was selected by the

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. ...

in the

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the next offseason, then pitched in parts of two seasons for them before being released, finishing with an 0–2 record in 18 relief appearances in the 1971 season and an 0–1 record in 1974 in 30 appearances, all but one in relief. He 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 ...

, who subsequently traded him to the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

along with

Rusty Staub Daniel Joseph "Rusty" Staub (April 1, 1944 – March 29, 2018) was an American professional baseball player and television color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball for 23 seasons as a right fielder, designated hitter, and first base ...

in exchange for

Mickey Lolich Michael Stephen Lolich (born September 12, 1940) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1963 until 1979, almost entirely for the Detroit Tigers. A three-time All-Star, ...

and Billy Baldwin on December 12, 1975. He pitched in 26 games for the Tigers in the 1976 season, three of them as a starter, ending the season with an 0–5 record.Bill Laxton
BaseballReference.com. Retrieved June 8, 2014.

Expansion

In 1976, Laxton was drafted from the Tigers by the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

in the

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...

. On April 8, 1977, Laxton earned his first career win as the winning pitcher in the Mariners' first ever win (which was their third game overall). Laxton pitched the top of the ninth, and the Mariners scored two in the bottom of the inning for a come-from-behind, 7–6 win over the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

.Seattle Mariners 7, California Angels 6

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. Accessed September 26, 2008.

Career's end

Before season's end, Laxton had been traded to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

, and after the 1977 season would never pitch in the majors again. He started the 1978 season in the minor leagues with the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams h ...

. The Indians traded him in midseason, sending him back to the Padres for

Dave Freisleben David James Freisleben (born October 31, 1951) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, and Toronto Blue Jays. Texas League Pitcher of the Year Fre ...

. He finished the year with the

Hawaii Islanders The Hawaii Islanders were a minor league baseball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 27 seasons from 1961 through 1987. Originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics, the Islanders played ...

, then retired. Laxton's son,

Brett Brett is an Irish and English surname of Breton origin. It arrived in both countries via the Norman Invasion of England and Norman Invasion of Ireland respectively. Irish Bretts are most commonly found in the counties of Tipperary, Waterford and ...

, pitched in the major leagues in 1999–2000 for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laxton, Bill 1948 births Living people Alexandria Aces players Audubon High School (New Jersey) alumni Baseball players from Camden, New Jersey Cleveland Indians players Clinton Pilots players Detroit Tigers players Eugene Emeralds players Florida Instructional League Phillies players Florida Instructional League Pirates players Hawaii Islanders players Major League Baseball pitchers People from Audubon, New Jersey Baseball players from Camden County, New Jersey Philadelphia Phillies players Portland Beavers players Reading Phillies players Salem Rebels (baseball) players San Diego Padres players Seattle Mariners players Tidewater Tides players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela 20th-century American sportsmen