Former Red Sox manager Jimy Williams, who died on Friday at the age of 80 after a brief illness, reminded me of Forrest Gump.
Williams’ professional baseball career spanned five decades, and he played, coached, or managed for a third of Major League Baseball’s 30 teams, including championship seasons with the Braves in 1995 and the Phillies in 2008. Bobby Doerr scouted him, Sandy Koufax struck him out in his first big-league at-bat, and Juan Marichal allowed his first major-league hit. Williams was teammates with Curt Flood and Lou Brock, played summer ball with Tom Seaver in Alaska, and managed Fernando Valenzuela in the Mexican Winter League. He guided Nomar Garciaparra to Rookie of the Year and Pedro Martinez to his second and third Cy.
In the aftermath of 2004, 2007, 2013, and 2018, it’s easy to forget that Williams helped lay the groundwork; his late-90s Red Sox powered Boston into the new decade and eventual glory. And few people realize that his link to the Red Sox began decades ago. They were his first professional organization, though only briefly. A talented infielder at Fresno State in the 1960s, the California native signed with Boston after graduation, with Doerr and Glenn Wright credited with scouting him, but only played one season in their system before being selected by the Cardinals in the 1965 Rule 5 Draft. Over the next two seasons, he played all of his 14 career big-league games for St. Louis, but spent the most of his playing time in
Williams’ ultimate effect on the Red Sox occurred nearly exactly 30 years later. On November 19, 1996, he returned to his previous club, being appointed by general manager Dan Duquette to replace dismissed manager Kevin Kennedy.
From the first day on the job, the new skipper’s individuality and quirkiness were evident. His Red Sox inaugural press conference will always be remembered for one line: “If a frog had wings, he wouldn’t bump his booty.” It was one of several confusing aphorisms Williams repeated over the years.
Williams inherited a hectic clubhouse. Duquette and Mo Vaughn have been feuding for some years. The GM also made a disastrous miscalculation by claiming that Roger Clemens, 33, was in “the twilight of his career.” The three-time Cy Young winner left for Toronto, where he quickly exacted retribution with Cy Youngs Nos. 4 and 5 in 1997 and 1998, respectively, as well as two more with the Yankees in 2001 and the Astros in 2004.
After finishing third under Kennedy, the Red Sox dropped to fourth in Williams’ first season. However, 1997 was not entirely horrible. Derek Lowe, a rookie pitcher, and Jason Varitek, a catcher prospect, were acquired from Seattle in one of baseball’s most lopsided trades. Williams is an infield coaching guru.
The Red Sox began a run of straight winning seasons in Williams’ second year, which would last until 2012, the second-longest streak in franchise history (’67-82). With the acquisition of defending NL Cy Young Pedro Martinez from the Montreal Expos, Boston advanced to 92-70 in 1998, their first season of winning 90 or more games since 1986. The Red Sox had the second-best record in the American League, thus they received the wild card (which was still in a single-team structure), but they were eliminated in the first round by Cleveland and a teenage slugger named Manny Ramirez.
The following season was one of the most successful in franchise history and Williams’ career. The Red Sox drafted his son, Brady (who is now the Rays’ third-base coach), and Fenway
