Rookie of the Year: Billy Williams, 1961

Outfielder, Chicago Cubs

 

Age:  23 (June 15)

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 6’1”    Weight: 175

Prior to 1961:

A native of Whistler, Alabama (hence his later nickname, “Sweet Swingin’ Billy from Whistler”), Williams was the son of a semi-pro baseball player. He and his brothers played sandlot ball. In a high school without a baseball team, he also played basketball and football, and ran track. Offered a football scholarship to Grambling, he instead signed with the Cubs out of high school in 1956. An infielder throughout his youth, Williams was immediately switched to the outfield when assigned to Ponca City in the Class D Sooner State League where he batted .235 in 13 games. Still with Ponca City in 1957, he hit .310 with 40 doubles, 17 home runs, and 95 RBIs while struggling defensively. In 1958 with teams at the Class B and A levels, although hindered by illness, he batted a combined .289 with 12 home runs and 49 RBIs. Moving up to San Antonio of the Class AA Texas League in 1959, Williams was hitting .318 with 22 doubles, 7 triples, 10 home runs, and 79 RBIs when he left the club due to the overt racism he encountered. He returned and was soon promoted to the Fort Worth Cats of the Class AAA American Association from where he was called up by the Cubs, where he made just 18 plate appearances and hit .152. In 1960 he was assigned to Houston of the American Association and batted .323 with 26 home runs and 80 RBIs. Once again receiving a late call-up to the Cubs. He batted .277 and hit his first two major league home runs. Williams made it to the Cubs to stay in 1961 and, despite a slow start, was the regular left fielder by mid-June.  

1961 Season Summary

Appeared in 146 games

LF – 111, RF – 26, PH – 13

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 584 [20]

At Bats – 529 [19]

Runs – 75 [19, tied with Ernie Banks]

Hits – 147

Doubles – 20

Triples – 7 [13, tied with Frank Robinson & Don Hoak]

Home Runs – 25 [13]

RBI – 86 [16]

Bases on Balls – 45

Int. BB – 11 [6, tied with Gordy Coleman & Orlando Cepeda]

Strikeouts – 70

Stolen Bases – 6

Caught Stealing – 0

Average - .278 [20, tied with Tommy Davis, Jim Davenport & Ernie Banks]

OBP - .338

Slugging Pct. - .484 [16]

Total Bases – 256 [17]

GDP – 11

Hit by Pitches – 5 [6, tied with five others]

Sac Hits – 1

Sac Flies – 4

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 13, HR - 10, RBI - 43, AVG - .297, SLG - .487, OBP - .355

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 4 AB) vs. San Francisco 5/2, (in 6 AB) vs. San Franciscoo 5/26 – 13 innings, (in 4 AB) at Milwaukee 6/25

Longest hitting streak – 14 games

Most HR, game – 2 (in 5 AB) at Cincinnati 7/14 – 10 innings, (in 5 AB) vs. Milwaukee 8/2 – 11 innings

HR at home – 17

HR on road – 8

Multi-HR games – 2

Most RBIs, game – 5 vs. San Francisco 5/2

Pinch-hitting – 6 for 13 (.462) with 4 R, 1 2B & 1 RBI

Fielding

Chances – 240

Put Outs – 220

Assists – 9

Errors – 11

DP – 3

Pct. – .954 

Awards & Honors:

NL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

NL ROY Voting:

Billy Williams, ChiC.: 10 of 16 votes, 63% share

Joe Torre, Mil.: 5 votes, 31% share

Jack Curtis, ChiC.: 1 vote, 6% share

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Cubs went 64-90 to finish in seventh place in the NL, 29 games behind the pennant-winning Cincinnati Reds, while leading the league in batter strikeouts (1027) and total bases (2232). Utilizing a unique ten-coach system with a rotating head coach and no manager, the Cubs were 15-26 by the end of May but perked up during the summer to show slight improvement over the previous season, benefiting from an infusion of young talent that included Williams.

Aftermath of ‘61:

Williams was an All-Star for the first time in 1962 on his way to batting .298 with 22 home runs and 91 RBIs. While the Cubs nudged a bit over .500 in 1963, Williams contributed 25 home runs, 95 RBIs, a .286 average, and a .358 on-base percentage. A fast start in 1964 had Williams flirting with a .400 average by May, but he finished at .312 with 201 hits, 39 doubles, 33 home runs, 98 RBIs, and a .370 OBP. Off to a slower start in 1965, he still hit .315 with 203 hits, 39 doubles, 34 home runs, and 108 RBIs along with a .377 OBP. Quiet, dignified, and not inclined to seek publicity, Williams had a somewhat lesser season in 1966 in which his production dropped to .276 with 29 home runs, 91 RBIs, and a .347 OBP with a slugging percentage under .500. The Cubs were a surprise third-place club in 1967 and Williams hit .278 with 28 home runs, 84 RBIs, and a .346 on-base percentage. In 1968 he finished eighth in league MVP voting after batting .288 with 30 home runs and 98 RBIs while leading the NL with 321 total bases. In the first year of divisional play in 1969, the Cubs led the NL East for most of the season until being overtaken by the surprising Mets. Williams was solid as always, hitting .293 with 33 doubles, 10 triples, 21 home runs, 95 RBIs, with a .355 OBP. He continued along impressively in 1970 by batting .322 with a league-leading 205 hits, 137 runs scored, and 373 total bases, along with 42 home runs and 129 RBIs. He placed second in National League MVP balloting. The durable Williams finished a NL record 1117-consecutive game streak in September, when he chose to sit out a game. His 1971 production was .301 with 28 home runs and 93 RBIs, which was pretty much an average year by his standards. He had an outstanding season in 1972 in which he won the NL batting title (.333) while also leading in slugging (.606) and total bases (348) while hitting 37 home runs and compiling 122 RBIs and a .398 OBP. He finished second in league MVP voting for the second time in three years and was named Major League Player of the Year by The Sporting News. Still productive with a club in transition in 1973 and ’74, his average went from .288 to .280, his home runs from 20 to 16, and his RBIs from 86 to 68. Sidelined by an ankle injury in ’74, Williams appeared in only 117 games, most of which he played first base, an experiment that was deemed a failure. In the offseason he was traded to the Oakland Athletics. The A’s topped the AL West for the fifth straight year in 1975 and Williams, utilized as the regular Designated Hitter, batted .244 with 23 home runs and 81 RBIs. In the only postseason action of his career, he went hitless in seven at bats in the ALCS loss to the Boston Red Sox. A poor season in 1976 led to his release and retirement. For his major league career, Williams batted .290 with 2711 hits that included 434 doubles, 88 triples, and 426 home runs. He scored 1410 runs and compiled 1475 RBIs, a .361 OBP, and a .492 slugging percentage. With the Cubs he batted .296 with 1306 runs scored, 2510 hits, 402 doubles, 87 triples, 392 home runs, and 1353 RBIs with a .364 OBP and .503 slugging percentage. A six-time All-Star, Williams was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987. The Cubs retired his #26 and erected a statue of him outside Wrigley Field.

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.