Rookie of the Year: Earl Williams, 1971

Catcher, Atlanta Braves

Age:  23 (July 14)

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’3”    Weight: 215

Prior to 1971:

A New Jersey native, Williams played Little League ball in his youth and was a star athlete at Montclair High School (basketball as well as baseball). A star pitcher, he also played American Legion ball. Chosen by the Braves with the sixth overall pick of the 1965 amateur draft, Williams passed up a basketball scholarship but still attended Ithaca College to study broadcasting and journalism. In his first year of minor league action in 1966, he appeared in 31 games in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League (22 at first base and 11 as a pitcher) and batted .211 along with a 1-0 pitching record and 3.10 ERA in 61 innings pitched. Giving up pitching and splitting time between first base and the outfield in 1967, Williams hit .251 with 7 home runs and 27 RBIs for West Palm Beach of the Class A Florida State League. An offseason knee injury cost him two months of the 1968 season, still with West Palm Beach, and he hit only .236 with no home runs in 50 games before finishing up with Greenwood of the Class A Western Carolinas League. In 1969, Williams put off school to fully commit to baseball and had a huge season, batting .340 with 33 home runs and 107 RBIs. The Braves decided to convert him into a catcher, and he was sent to the Arizona Instructional League to begin that process. Starting 1970 with Shreveport of the Class AA Texas League, Williams hit .318 with 19 home runs and 63 RBIs before moving up to Richmond of the Class AAA International League where he batted .265 with 5 home runs and 15 RBIs in 22 games. Called up to the Braves in September, he appeared in 10 games and hit .368, setting the stage for Williams to make the club in 1971 as a backup catcher and first and third baseman.

1971 Season Summary

Appeared in 145 games

C – 72, 3B – 42, 1B – 31, PH – 14

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 550

At Bats – 497

Runs – 64

Hits – 129

Doubles – 14

Triples – 1

Home Runs – 33 [5, tied with Bobby Bonds]

RBI – 87 [13]

Bases on Balls – 42

Int. BB – 5

Strikeouts – 80

Stolen Bases – 0

Caught Stealing – 1

Average - .260

OBP - .324

Slugging Pct. - .491 [8]

Total Bases – 244 [19]

GDP – 11

Hit by Pitches – 7 [3, tied with George Foster, Chris Speier & Willie Stargell]

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 4

Midseason snapshot: HR - 15, RBI - 44, AVG - .242, SLG – .458 

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 4 AB) vs. Houston 8/12

Longest hitting streak – 8 games

Most HR, game – 2 on five occasions

HR at home – 14

HR on road – 19

Multi-HR games – 5

Most RBIs, game – 6 at Houston 6/13

Pinch-hitting – 3 for 12 (.250) with 2 R & 2 BB

Fielding (C )

Chances – 418

Put Outs – 375

Assists – 35

Errors – 8

Passed Balls – 15

DP – 4

Pct. - .981

Awards & Honors:

NL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

NL ROY Voting:

Earl Williams, Atl.: 18 of 24 votes, 75% share

Willie Montanez, Phila.: 6 votes, 25% share

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Braves went 82-80 to finish third in the NL Western Division, 8 games behind the division-winning San Francisco Giants. The slow-starting Braves caught fire at the end of June, winning 21 of 29 games and 46 of their last 81 to secure a third-place finish. The initial surge coincided with the stationing of Williams as the regular catcher.

Aftermath of ‘71:

Reporting to spring training in 1972 a bit overweight, Williams again displayed solid power during the season, batting .258 with 28 home runs and 87 RBIs. His skill as a catcher, lauded in ’71, came under criticism in his second year. The Braves traded him and a minor leaguer to the Baltimore Orioles for second baseman Dave Johnson, catcher Johnny Oates, and pitchers Pat Dobson and Roric Harrison. As a power-hitting catcher/first baseman, Williams hit .237 with 22 home runs and 83 RBIs. He also became embroiled in controversies over behavioral issues. The issues between player and team continued in 1974 as he continued to split time between catcher and first base, appearing in 118 games and batting .254 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs. Dealt back to the Braves just prior to the 1975 season, Williams was utilized primarily as a first baseman while appearing in 111 games and hit .240 with 11 home runs and 50 RBIs. Seeing more action behind the plate in 1976, Williams was batting .212 with 9 home runs and 26 RBIs when he was traded to the Montreal Expos in July. He finished the season with 17 home runs and 55 RBIs to go along with a .225 average and was released by the Expos in the offseason. Joining the Oakland Athletics in 1977, Williams was a catcher/first baseman/DH for a last-place club and hit .241 with 13 home runs and 38 RBIs while feuding with manager Bobby Winkles. Released in 1978 after starting the season on the disabled list with a broken thumb, he never returned to the major leagues, although he played in the Mexican League in 1979 and ’80, leading the league in RBIs in 1979. For his major league career, that commenced with much promise and became mired in controversy, Williams batted .247 with 756 hits that included 115 doubles, 6 triples, and 138 home runs. He scored 361 runs and compiled 457 RBIs and a .424 slugging percentage. With the Braves he batted .251 with 200 runs scored, 413 hits, 58 doubles, 3 triples, 81 home runs, 255 RBIs, and a .437 slugging percentage. Appearing in seven postseason games (all with the Orioles), he hit .208 with a home run and four RBIs. Williams died in 2013 at the age of 64.   

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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.