Nick Williams (baseball)

Billy Nicholas Williams (born September 8, 1993), is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO League. He was drafted by the Texas Rangers, in the second round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox.

Nick Williams
Williams in September 2018
Hanwha Eagles – No. 98
Outfielder
Born: (1993-09-08) September 8, 1993
Galveston, Texas, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Professional debut
MLB: June 30, 2017, for the Philadelphia Phillies
KBO: June 27, 2023, for the Hanwha Eagles
MLB statistics
(through 2021)
Batting average.251
Home runs31
Runs batted in110
KBO statistics
(through August 30, 2023)
Batting average.222
Home runs4
Runs batted in18
Teams

Early life

Williams was born and raised in Galveston, Texas.[1] He went to Ball High School in Galveston, graduating in 2012.[2]

Baseball career

Texas Rangers

Williams was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the second round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft out of high school.[3] He had committed to Texas A&M University, but signed with the Rangers for a $500,000 signing bonus.[4][5]

He made his professional debut in 2012 with the Arizona League Rangers, hitting .313/.375/.448 with two home runs in 201 at bats over 48 games. He played the 2013 season with the Hickory Crawdads.[6] He played in 95 games during the season, hitting .293/.337/.543 with 17 home runs, 15 walks, and 110 strikeouts over 376 at bats.

Prior to the 2014 season, Williams was ranked by Baseball America as the Rangers fourth-best prospect, and the 97th-best overall in baseball.[7][8] Playing for three minor league teams in 2014, he hit .283 with 22 walks and 140 strikeouts in 452 at bats.[9] After the season he played for the Surprise Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League, and hit .277 with 1 walk and 32 strikeouts in 112 at bats.[9]

Philadelphia Phillies

On July 31, 2015, Williams was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies along with Matt Harrison, Jorge Alfaro, Jake Thompson, Alec Asher, and Jerad Eickhoff in exchange for Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman.[10][11]

In 2016, in 125 games for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in the International League in Triple A, Williams batted .258 with 13 home runs and 64 RBIs along with a .287 on-base percentage.[12] He walked 19 times, and struck out 136 times in 497 at bats.[12] That season, Manager Dave Brundage benched him a number of times, for disciplinary reasons ranging from him failing to hustle to him showing up opponents.[13] Williams reacted to his benching by his manager, saying: "That’s his decision. I can’t do anything about it."[14] Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said he was concerned about Williams "because we’re trying to establish a culture of playing the game the right way and we want players who grind it out, we want players who show energy."[15] The Phillies added him to their 40-man roster after the 2016 season.[16]

In 2017, he batted .280/.328/.511 with 15 home runs and 44 RBIs for Lehigh Valley, and walked 16 times while striking out 90 times in 282 at bats.[17]

In 2019 he batted .316/.381/.574 with 10 home runs and 25 RBIs for Lehigh Valley, and walked 14 times while striking out 52 times in 190 at bats.[18]

Major Leagues

The Phillies promoted Williams to the major leagues on June 30, 2017,[19] and Williams made his MLB debut that night. On July 9, Williams hit his first MLB home run off of Trevor Cahill of the Padres.[20] Nine days later, on July 18 Williams hit his first career grand slam against the Brewers.[21] As to his defense in the outfield and baserunning, beat writer Matt Gelb wrote in The Philadelphia Inquirer: "Progress is needed on defense and the bases. Williams has overcome bad reads in the outfield with his speed. But he’s shown cracks there. And, as a baserunner, Williams has committed mental mistakes. His instincts are not the sharpest. Sometimes, raw talent can rise above that."[22] He batted .288/.338/.473 for the 2017 season with the Phillies with 12 home runs, one stolen base, and 55 RBIs, and walked 20 times while striking out 97 times in 313 at bats.[9] On defense, he had a -9 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) rating, the worst in the National League among right fielders.[23]

In 2018 he batted .256/.330/.434, with 16 home runs, 3 stolen bases, 58 RBIs, and 111 strikeouts in 407 at bats.[24] On defense, he had a -15 Defensive Runs Saved rating, the 2nd-worst in the National League among right fielders, behind Bryce Harper.[25][26]

In 2019 he batted .151/.196/.245, with 2 home runs, 5 RBIs, and 43 strikeouts in 106 at bats (striking out 38.4% of the time).[27][28] His batting average, on base percentage, and OPS (.442) were the lowest of all 219 NL batters who had 100 or more plate appearances, and his strikeout percentage was the highest.[29]

On August 11, 2020, Williams was designated for assignment by the Phillies.

Cincinnati Reds

On August 15, 2020, Williams was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds and optioned to their alternate training site.[30] On September 15, 2020, Williams was designated for assignment by the Reds without appearing in a game for the club.[31] He became a free agent on November 2, 2020.

Chicago White Sox

On January 15, 2021, Williams signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox organization.[32] He was selected to the major leagues on April 8, 2021, to fill in for the injured Billy Hamilton.[33] That night he was the starting left fielder for the White Sox, playing in his first MLB game since 2019. On April 15, 2021, Williams was designated for assignment after going hitless in 13 plate appearances for the team.[34] On April 17 he was outrighted to the alternate training site.[34] He was released on August 3, 2021, in 126 at bats in AAA he hit .262 with 4 HR and 13 RBIs.

Toros de Tijuana

On April 11, 2022, Williams signed with the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League.[35] In 84 games for Tijuana, he batted .370/.454/.718 with 29 home runs and 72 RBI.

In 2023, Williams made 44 appearances for the Toros, hitting .304/.389/.519 with 9 home runs and 28 RBI.[36]

Hanwha Eagles

On June 18, 2023, Williams signed with the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO League.[37]

Personal life

Williams began dating Brianna Goodfriend, whom he later married, while playing for the Frisco RoughRiders.[38][39] His father is African American and his mother is Mexican American.[40]

References
  1. "Rangers No. 8 Prospect Nick Williams"
  2. "Nick Williams Stats, Fantasy & News". mlb.com. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  3. FOX. "FOX 26 Houston News, Weather, Traffic, Sports". KRIV. Archived from the original on February 25, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  4. "Texas A&M baseball picks up 'surprise' signee". Dallas News. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  5. Nick Williams – The Baseball Cube
  6. "Texas-born Williams playing well despite early injury". observernewsonline.com. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  7. "2014 Texas Rangers Top 10 Prospects". BaseballAmerica.com. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  8. "2014 Baseball America Top 100 Prospects: The 25th Edition". Baseball America. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  9. "Nick Williams Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  10. Zolecki, Todd (July 31, 2015). "Hamels' trade to Texas is complete". MLB.com. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  11. Badler, Ben (July 31, 2015). "Trade Central: Phillies Get Impact Talent, Depth In Hamels Deal". Baseball America. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  12. Salisbury, Jim (June 30, 2017). "The improvements that led the Phillies to call up Nick Williams". NBC Sports Philadelphia. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  13. Hotz, Scooter (June 30, 2017). "The Call-Up: Nick Williams". Baseball Prospectus. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  14. ""Phillies prospect Nick Williams benched - again"". Philly. June 29, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  15. "Pete Mackanin 'Concerned' About Nick Williams' Benching". CBS Philly. June 30, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  16. "Phillies add 11 players in 40-man roster overhaul". Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  17. Ryan Lawrence (June 30, 2017). "Nick Williams set to make MLB debut with Phillies". PhillyVoice. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  18. "Nick Williams Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com".
  19. Gross, Stephen (June 30, 2017). "No. 4 prospect Nick Williams promoted to Phillies, starting in left field". mcall.com. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  20. "Phils hit 6 homers in 7-1 rout of Padres". ESPN. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  21. "Nick Williams' 1st career slam lifts Phils over Brewers 5-2". ESPN. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  22. "Nick Williams continues to pass tests as Phillies rookie". Philly. September 9, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  23. "National League Leaderboards » 2017 » Right Fielders » Fielding Statistics" | FanGraphs Baseball
  24. "Nick Williams Stats" | Baseball-Reference.com
  25. Stockburger, George (2018). "Phillies 2018 report card: Outfielder Nick Williams". That Ball’s Outta Here. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  26. "National League Leaderboards » 2018 » Right Fielders » Fielding Statistics" | FanGraphs Baseball
  27. "Nick Williams Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  28. "Nick Williams » Statistics » Batting". Fangraphs. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  29. "National League Leaderboards » 2019 » Batters » Standard Statistics". Fangraphs. January 1, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  30. @Reds (August 15, 2020). "The Reds have claimed off waivers from the Phillies and optioned to the alternate training site OF Nick Williams" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  31. "Reds Select R.J. Alaniz, Designate Nick Williams".
  32. "White Sox Sign Nick Williams".
  33. Zencka, TC (April 8, 2021). "White Sox Place Billy Hamilton On Injured List, Call Up Nick Williams". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  34. "White Sox Activate Tim Anderson, DFA Nick Williams".
  35. @TorosDeTijuana (April 11, 2022). "¡Les presentamos a Nick Williams! Nick ha jugado por cinco años en Grandes Ligas y se une a la búsqueda por el bicampeonato! #CastaDeCampeon 🐃🏆" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved April 15, 2022 – via Twitter.
  36. "Hanwha Eagles sign ex-MLB outfielder Nick Williams". koreaherald.com. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  37. 고유라 (June 18, 2023). "[공식발표] 한화, 오그레디 대체 외국인타자 닉 윌리엄스 영입 … 총액 45만 달러". SPOTV NEWS (in Korean). Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  38. Housenick, Tom (May 25, 2017). "Nick Williams' adjustments during BP, games lead to hot streak". The Morning Call. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  39. Matz, Eddie (March 31, 2019). "What it's like to lose your job to Bryce Harper". ESPN. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  40. "Why black players have vanished from baseball — and why that's starting to change". July 14, 2017.
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