This page is for the baseball pitcher. For the baseball infielder, see Woody Williams (infielder). Woodrow Wilson Williams (born August 21, 1912 in Pamplin Virginia - February 24, 1995 in Appomattox Virginia) was a For World War II Medal of Honor recipient, see Hershel W. Williams. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. Hershel Woodrow Williams (born 1923 is a retired United States Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his outstanding heroism in the Battle of Iwo Jima

Gregory Scott "Woody" Williams (born August 19, 1966 in Houston, Texas) is a former right-handed Major League Baseball starting pitcher. In Baseball or Softball, a strikeout or strike out (denoted by SO or K) occurs when a batter receives three strikes The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Philadelphia Phillies (4-2 Paul Molitor, Headline events of the year Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego California since their founding in 1969 Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Atlanta Braves (4-0 Mariano Rivera, MVP Champions Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions Other champions Caribbean World Series: The St Louis Cardinals (also referred to as "the Cards " or "the Redbirds " are a professional Baseball team based in St Champions Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions Other champions Caribbean World Series: Headline events of the year The Boston Red Sox win their first World Series since, ending the Curse of the Bambino. The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego California since their founding in 1969 2005 Major League Baseball season Headline events of the year Chicago White Sox swept the Houston Astros to win the World Series 2006 Major League Baseball season|2006 Nippon Professional Baseball season Headline Event of the Year The 2006 World Baseball Classic is a surprise success The Houston Astros are a Professional baseball team based in Houston Texas. Champions Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions Other champions Minor League Baseball The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also popularly known as the "Midsummer Classic" is an annual Baseball game between players from the National League Events 43 BC - Octavian, later known as Augustus compels the Roman Senate to elect him Consul. Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. Someone who is right-handed will prefer to use this hand for everyday activities such as writing, maintaining personal hygiene, Cooking and so forth In Baseball or Softball, a starting pitcher, often abbreviated as starter, is the Pitcher who pitches the first pitch to the first batter of He made his major league debut for the Toronto Blue Jays on May 14, 1993. The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Events 1264 - Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured in France making Simon de Montfort the Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Philadelphia Phillies (4-2 Paul Molitor,

Williams, a Cy-Fair high school graduate and University of Houston alumnus, began his career pitching in relief until he was moved to a full time starter in 1997. Cy-Fair High School is a Secondary school located in Cypress, which is an unincorporated place in Harris County, Texas, near Houston The University of Houston (often referred to as " U of H," " UH," or " Houston " is a public doctoral/research A relief pitcher or reliever is a Baseball or Softball Pitcher who enters the game after the Starting pitcher is removed due to injury In Baseball or Softball, a starting pitcher, often abbreviated as starter, is the Pitcher who pitches the first pitch to the first batter of Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Florida Marlins over Cleveland Indians (4-3 Liván Hernández, On December 12, 1998, he was traded to the San Diego Padres with Peter Tucci (minors) and Carlos Almanzar for right-handed pitcher Joey Hamilton. Events 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II 's Persian Headline events of the year Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego California since their founding in 1969 Carlos Manuel Almanzar Girón (b November 6, 1973 in Santiago, Dominican Republic) is a Pitcher currently in the Minor League Joseph Hamilton (born September 9, 1970 in Statesboro Georgia) is a retired Major League Baseball Pitcher who played from 1994-2003 He worked exclusively as a starter in San Diego until he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for outfielder Ray Lankford on August 2, 2001. The St Louis Cardinals (also referred to as "the Cards " or "the Redbirds " are a professional Baseball team based in St Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in Baseball farthest from the batter Raymond Lewis Lankford (born June 5 1967 in Los Angeles California) is a former Center fielder in Major League Baseball who played Events 338 BC - A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Champions Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions Other champions Caribbean World Series:

After he was traded, Williams' career took off. While in San Diego that season, he posted an 8-8 won-loss record with a 4. 97 ERA in 23 starts, but with St. In Baseball statistics, earned run average ( ERA) is the Mean of Earned runs given up by a Pitcher per nine Innings pitched Louis, Williams went 7-1 with a 2. 28 ERA in 11 starts.

He continued to pitch well for St. Louis, making the 2003 All-Star Game and starting Game 1 of the 2004 World Series. The 2003 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 74th midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL and National League (NL The 2004 World Series was the championship series of the 2004 Major League Baseball (MLB season

After the 2004 season came to a close, Williams filed for free agency and signed back with the Padres on December 9, 2004. Headline events of the year The Boston Red Sox win their first World Series since, ending the Curse of the Bambino. Events 536 - Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city

On November 24, 2006, the Houston Astros announced they had signed Williams to a two year, $12. Events 380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal 2006 Major League Baseball season|2006 Nippon Professional Baseball season Headline Event of the Year The 2006 World Baseball Classic is a surprise success The Houston Astros are a Professional baseball team based in Houston Texas. 5 million contract, at the same press conference announcing the Carlos Lee signing. Carlos Noriel Lee (born June 20, 1976 in Aguadulce, Panama) is a Left fielder in Major League Baseball who plays for the [1]

After a poor showing during the 2008 spring training, Williams was released on March 29 and subsequently retired. Calendar Major League Baseball See also 2008 Major League Baseball season Postseason October 1 – ALDS and In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the Regular season. Events 1461 - Wars of the Roses: Battle of Towton - Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King

Pitching style

Williams used an assortment of different pitches against opposing batters. He used a cut fastball which he could throw between 89-92 mph, and his cutter was considered his best pitch overall. In Baseball, a cutter, or cut fastball, is a type of Fastball which breaks slightly as it reaches Home plate. In Baseball, a cutter, or cut fastball, is a type of Fastball which breaks slightly as it reaches Home plate. He relied on his curveball as his strikeout pitch, and utilized a straight change as well. The curveball is a breaking pitch in Baseball thrown with a grip and hand movement that imparts down and/or sideways spin to the ball. Williams was also known to throw an occasional knuckleball in games. A knuckleball (or knuckler for short is a Baseball pitch with an erratic unpredictable motion

Williams was known to lose his effectiveness in games as his pitch count increases, and rarely made it past the seventh inning in games. In Baseball statistics, pitch count is the number of pitches thrown by a Pitcher in a game ^[1]

Personal life

Woody has done a lot in the Alvin, Texas community. In 2002, he donated money to the Alvin High School athletic program to help buy new equipment. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. He also trained with the Alvin High baseball team before heading off to spring training.

He has four children, Katelyn, Hannah, Caden, and Lillian, and currently resides in Houston with them and his wife. His cousin Chase Ortiz is a standout defensive end at Texas Christian University. Chase Patrick Ortiz (born May 22, 1985) is an American Football Defensive end who is currently in training camp with the Cleveland Texas Christian University is a private, Coeducational University located in Fort Worth, Texas. During the 2005 season, Williams was forced to deal with a tragedy in the family when his sister, Gretchen Williams Richardson, shot and killed her husband John Richardson. She later pleaded guilty to homicide and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. However, in a rare case of media restraint, the story was not reported until well after the case was settled due to the local media's respect for Williams' wishes to keep the story out of the public eye. [2]

References

1. ^ Williams' scouting report

External links

• MLB player page
• Baseball Reference