HOF skipper in various locales....known to be a turnaround artist to improve fortunes of floundering franchises.....but in fairness he also took over good franchises to the next level....end result was two WS rings and another two league pennants....characteristics; caustic, hard-nosed, knowledgeable, indifferent to star players and owners alike, sometimes to alienation and limiting his job security....Audacious, willing to go extremes in the effort to win, just ask Johnny Bench who was handcuffed by Williams' plotting in game 7 of the 1972 WS....On the field: Journeyman utility player whose most significant playing time came the second division team Kansas City A’s..... A bench player with Dodgers then the Orioles to name a few.... At the 12 year mark as a player, Williams arrives in Boston which represents the end of his playing days but clears the way for his historic role of manager....In 1965 immediately pressed into service as skipper of Toronto Maple Leafs AAA squad succeeding future managerial rival Sparky Anderson...Strong showing in two seasons results in promotion to the parent club in 1967....Bringing with him rookies Reggie Smith Mike Andrews with an already improving squad resulted in immediate dividends...20 win improvement to triumph in a wild AL pennant race and taking the Cardinals to 7 games in the WS....Captured Sporting News MLB manager of the year award....Williams continued to win in Beantown in 1968 and ‘69 but was surpassed by tight competition....undermining his tenure was an eroding relationship with ownership.... departed with a hand full of games in ‘69 season....unemployed, took a coaching job with the 2nd year Expos in 1970....Wanting the limelight again, resurfaced with Oakland A’s and the fickle owner Charlie Finley circa 1971... riding the wave of Vida Blue, Williams improves a talented squad over the top to gain AL west division with 101 wins....A’s fall to O’s in playoffs but the die is set for world championships in 72 and 73....repeating earlier conflicts with ownership parts with Charlie O and the A’s at the pinnacle of their mini-dynasty.....a valued person, he takes on the run producing anemic California Angels mid season....while some progress was made his 341 games resulted in .431 win%..... Next stop a return to Montreal coming off a 107 loss season...Williams repeated a 20 game improvement in 1977 and then another in 1979....advanced the team the Expos past its initial expansionist struggles... Williams moves back to California as he is hired by the San Diego Padres, another franchise with a history of futility....With a mix of youth and veteran talent built up the Friars to a NL West crown in 1984....kept the team’s focus after two lopsided losses to capture the pennant in an improbable comeback against the Chicago Cubs....While they fell short to the Tigers in the WS, Williams once again works magic.....Last stop was taking on Seattle Mariners....skipper for two half seasons and one full one....a marginal improvement but finished with sub .500 win pct.....Managerial totals were 120 wins over losses for a .520 win loss %....HOF induction 2008....Passed away in 2011.
If the Red Sox hadn't traded Earl Wilson to the Tigers in mid-1966, they may have won all the non-Bob Gibson WS games, and therefore the series.
ReplyDeleteTrue, Wilson would have been the second starter that often is the difference between winning and losing a WS. Red Sox also had two major obstacles to overcome that year. The lost of Tony C in August and a patchwork of catchers that added nothing to offensively.
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