Dan Williams (baseball)
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Daniel Lawrence "Dan" Williams (born on September 3, 1966 in San Gabriel, California) is a former professional baseball player and a former bullpen catcher for the Cleveland Indians. He has been a player or coach in the Indians system since 1988. Williams bats and throws right-handed.[1]
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High school years
Williams attended Corvallis High School in Corvallis, Oregon, and was a letterman and a standout in football and baseball.
College career
Williams attended Ranger Junior College (1985–1986) and Western Oregon University (1987–1988).[1] While at Western Oregon, he was named National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) All-District 2 honorable mention in both 1987 and 1988.[2] He led the Wolves in hits, doubles and RBI both years and tied for the team lead in home runs in 1987.[3]
Professional career
Williams was drafted by the Indians in the 37th round of the 1988 draft and assigned to the Burlington Indians of the short-season Appalachian League. In addition to catching, he also played first base and in the outfield for Burlington. He is best known as the losing pitcher in relief in Burlington's 27-inning marathon 3-2 loss to Bluefield on June 24–25, 1988. He spent the 1989 season with the Watertown Indians of the short-season Class A New York-Penn League. His last full season as a minor league player came in 1990 when he was with the Kinston Indians of the advanced Class A Carolina League. He concluded his playing career in 1991, appearing in just 6 games for Kinston before signing on as a full-time coach.[1]
Coaching career
Once Williams playing career ended, he quickly stepped into his first coaching position at Kinston in 1991. The following season, he coached at Burlington and then for the Columbus RedStixx of the South Atlantic League in 1993. He was called up to Cleveland in 1993 to become their bullpen coach following Dom Chiti's promotion to pitching coach for the Indians. The next season, Williams returned to Columbus as third base coach. The following year at spring training in 1995, Williams was promoted to the Cleveland coaching staff. His duties with the Indians include catching starting and relief pitchers in the bullpen, throwing batting practice and hitting fungoes.[1] During his tenure with the Indians, the team reached the post season seven times including two trips to the World Series in 1995 and 1997. He also part of Mike Hargrove's coaching staff in the All-Star Game in Philadelphia in 1996. On September 30, 2009, the Cleveland Indians announced that Eric Wedge and the rest of the coaching staff would not be retained after the season ended. [4]
Personal life
Williams resides in Cleveland, Ohio with his wife, Christine, and their three children.[1]
