David Aaron Williams (born March 12, 1979) is an American former
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 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) ...
(MLB) for 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 (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...
,
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
, and
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 ...
, and in
Nippon Professional Baseball
or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''.
Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formatio ...
(NPB) for the
Yokohama BayStars
The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its curren ...
.
Career
Williams graduated in 1997 from
Caesar Rodney High School
Caesar Rodney High School is a public high school located in Camden, Delaware, just south of Dover. The school is in Caesar Rodney School District. Its enrollment is over 2,000. During 1983 to 1984, Caesar Rodney was recognized as a Blue Rib ...
in
Camden, Delaware
Camden is a town in Kent County, Delaware, United States. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,464 at the 2010 census.
History
Camden was established in 1783 as a community originally known as Mif ...
, and was 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 (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...
the following year. He made his major league debut on June 6, .
2001
Williams pitched in 22 games, 18 starts for the Pirates, going 3-7 despite having an earned run average of 3.71 in 114 innings.
2002
In 2002, Williams endured a hard season, only pitching for the Pirates in 9 starts.
2003
Williams wasn't called up to the majors, he spent half the season in AAA before going down for the season due to injury.
2004
Williams made his return to Pittsburgh, pitching in 10 games while also starting 6 games.
2005
Williams pitched the whole season in Pittsburgh, going 10-11 while also throwing a complete game shutout. Williams averaged less than 6 innings, pitching only 138.2 innings in 25 starts.
2006
Williams was traded from the Pirates to the
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
for
Sean Casey. On May 20, , the Cincinnati Reds designated Williams for assignment after he went 2-3 with a 7.20
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 numb ...
in eight starts. On May 25, he was traded to 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 ...
for pitcher
Robert Manuel.
On August 18, the Mets recalled Williams from the
Norfolk 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 ...
to make a start in place of
Pedro Martínez
Pedro Jaime Martínez (born October 25, 1971) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , for five teams—most notably the Boston Red Sox from to .
At the time o ...
. Williams held the
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 ...
to two runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out four over 6.1 innings to pick up the victory in the Mets' 6-2 win. He finished the season with a 3-1 record and 5.59 earned run average in six appearances—five starts—and 29 innings with the Mets.
2007
The Mets signed Williams to a one-year contract, worth $1.25 million, for the season, with incentives could have brought as much as $2 million.
In February, Williams had surgery to repair a herniated disc in his neck.
"Mets Lefty Out For 3 Months"
, ''New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'', February 6, 2007. Accessed July 6, 2007. He came off the disabled list
In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL).
General guidelines
...
on July 6, and made his only start of the year against 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 ...
on July 8, giving up 8 runs in only 3.1 innings. He was then designated for assignment on July 14 so Oliver Pérez
Oliver may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and literature
Books
* ''Oliver the Western Engine'', volume 24 in ''The Railway Series'' by Rev. W. Awdry
* ''Oliver Twist'', a novel by Charles Dickens
Fictional characters
* Ariadne Oliver ...
could return to the Mets rotation from the disabled list. He was called up again on September 1 when the roster expanded.
2008
Williams signed to pitch for the Yokohama BayStars
The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its curren ...
of Nippon Professional Baseball
or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''.
Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formatio ...
for the season on December 12, 2007. He was released on September 3, 2008.
2009
In February , Williams signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals with an option for the major leagues. He appeared in 21 games as a relief pitcher for Washington's Double-A affiliate, the Harrisburg Senators
The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League, and the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who play their home games at FNB Field on City Island, which opened in 1987 ...
with a record of 1-3 and an earned run average of 3.56, and 19 games for their Triple-A affiliate, the Syracuse Chiefs
Syracuse may refer to:
Places Italy
*Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa''
*Province of Syracuse
United States
* Syracuse, New York
** East Syracuse, New York
** North Syracuse, New York
* Syracuse, Indiana
*Syracuse, Kansas
*Syracuse, M ...
, with a record of 0-1 and an earned run average of 7.89.
He filed for free agency in November 2009. He did not play professionally in 2010. After retiring he played for a semiprofessional team in Long Island. After that he coached with the Toronto Blue Jays.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, David
Major League Baseball pitchers
Cincinnati Reds players
Pittsburgh Pirates players
New York Mets players
Yokohama BayStars players
Erie SeaWolves players
Hickory Crawdads players
Williamsport Crosscutters players
Lynchburg Hillcats players
Altoona Curve players
Norfolk Tides players
St. Lucie Mets players
New Orleans Zephyrs players
Nashville Sounds players
Syracuse Chiefs players
American expatriate baseball players in Japan
Baseball players from Alaska
Sportspeople from Anchorage, Alaska
People from Camden, Delaware
1979 births
Living people
Long Island Ducks players
People from Douglasville, Georgia
Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area