William Harry Spilman (born July 18, 1954) is a retired

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 ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

for the

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

(1978–81),

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 ...

(1981–85, 1988–89),

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 ...

(1986), and

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

(1986–88). He was also known for his skill as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

. He currently coaches in the Kansas City Royals feeder system, as a scout. He previously worked for the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros.

Playing career

No one drafted Spilman in the

1974 Major League Baseball Draft The 1974 Major League Baseball draft took place prior to the 1974 MLB season. The draft saw the San Diego Padres select Bill Almon first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1974 Major League Baseball ...

, and he attended several tryouts with teams before Bill Jameson signed him to a contract with the Cincinnati Reds. In 1977 with the Trois-Rivières Aigles, he won the Eastern League batting title with a .373 average, accruing 184 hits in only 133 games. His average hovered over .400 most of the season and was the highest for a

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League B ...

team in 15 years. By 1978, he was considered one of the Reds' top-hitting prospects. With

Dan Driessen Daniel Driessen (born July 29, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1973 to 1987, most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won three National L ...

playing first base for the Reds, the team moved Spilman to third in spring training to compete for a backup infielder spot on the roster. Spilman ultimately didn't make the team and spent most of 1978 playing for the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

of the American Association, where he batted .295 with 144 hits, 13 home runs, and 79 RBI. The Reds called him up in September, and he made his major league debut September 11, pinch-hitting in a 9-8 victory over the

. Ultimately, Spilman appeared in four games in his first major league season. He helped the Reds win the NL Western Division in 1979 and 1981 and the Giants win the NL Western Division in 1987.

Career statistics

In 12 seasons, he played in 563 games, with 392 of those appearances as a pinch hitter. His career totals in 810 at bats consisted of a triple split of 237/306/348, with 96 runs, 192 hits, 18 home runs, and 117 RBI. Spillman was almost exclusively used versus right-handed pitching, as noted by 91% of his plate appearances occurring versus them compared to 9% against left-handed pitchers. While Spilman played first base and third base exclusively in the minor leagues, he had 23 appearances in the majors as an emergency/3rd catcher.

Coaching career

From 2007 to 2008, he served as hitting coach for the Triple-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

Personal life

His cousin is former White Sox first baseman, Greg Walker. Spilman is best friends with

Ray Knight Charles Ray Knight (born December 28, 1952) is an American former infielder best remembered for his time with the Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets in Major League Baseball (MLB). Originally drafted by the Reds in the tenth round of the 1970 M ...

, former teammate on the Reds. The two grew up 20 miles from each other and spent $700 on a

pitching machine A pitching machine is a machine that automatically pitches a baseball to a batter at different speeds and styles. Most machines are hand-fed, but there are some that automatically feed. There are multiple types of pitching machines; softball, ba ...

to work on their hitting while in the Reds' system.

References

External links

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Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spilman, Harry 1954 births Living people Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Billings Mustangs players Cincinnati Reds players Detroit Tigers players Houston Astros coaches Houston Astros players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball hitting coaches Minor league baseball managers Phoenix Firebirds players San Francisco Giants players Sportspeople from Albany, Georgia Tampa Tarpons (1957–1987) players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Trois-Rivières Aigles players Tucson Toros players 20th-century American sportsmen