Donald Ray "Spin" Williams, Jr. (born January 5, 1956, at

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

) is an American

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. As of the season, he is senior advisor for player development for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

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 ...

. Prior to joining Washington in 2006, Williams spent 27 years with 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 ...

— initially as a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

pitcher (1979–1981) and pitching instructor and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

(1981–1993), and then as a member of the Pirates' Major League coaching staff for 12 consecutive seasons, serving as

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

(1994–2000) and pitching coach (2001–2005). A left-handed pitcher who stood tall and weighed during his playing career, Williams attended

Winona State University Winona State University is a public university in Winona, Minnesota, United States. It was founded as First State Normal School of Minnesota in 1858 and is the oldest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. It was the fi ...

before signing with Pittsburgh. He compiled a won–lost mark of 7–9 with an

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 number ...

of 3.67 in 38 minor-league games, progressing as high as the Double-A level. He then became a coach with Pirate

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

s, and spent part of the 1993 season as manager of the Double-A

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games ...

of the Southern League. He was promoted to the staff of Pirate manager

Jim Leyland James Richard Leyland (born December 15, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He serves as a special assistant to the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Leyland led the Florida Marlins to t ...

in 1994 when Pittsburgh bullpen coach

Terry Collins Terry Lee Collins (born May 27, 1949) is an American former professional baseball manager. He managed the Houston Astros, the Anaheim Angels and New York Mets in Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball ...

departed to become skipper of 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 ...

. During his dozen years with the Pirates, Williams also worked for Gene Lamont,

Lloyd McClendon Lloyd Glenn McClendon (born January 11, 1959) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1987 to 1994 for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, and the Pitt ...

and

Pete Mackanin Peter Mackanin, Jr. (pronounced ; born August 1, 1951), is an American former professional baseball utility player, coach, scout, and manager, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Montreal Expos, Philadelphia Phillies ...

. When the Pirates turned over their coaching staff after the 2005 season, Williams was released; he joined the Nationals as a player development advisor the following spring. He was minor league pitching coordinator for the Nationals through 2014.Leventhal, Josh, ed., ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

2011 Directory,'' Durham, NC: Baseball America, 2011, page 75

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Spin 1956 births Living people Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Greenwood Pirates players Gulf Coast Pirates players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball pitching coaches Pittsburgh Pirates coaches Shelby Pirates players Winona State Warriors baseball players