Bill Mueller

From SoSH

William Richard "Bill" Mueller (born March 17, 1971 in Maryland Heights, Missouri), was the third baseman for the Boston Red Sox from 2003 to 2005. He is currently the hitting coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Awards/Achievements 3 Moment in the Sun 4 Trivia 5 Transactions 6 External Links

Overall Career

A switch-hitter, Mueller was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 15th round of the 1993 amateur draft. He made his MLB debut in 1996, was traded to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Tim Worrell prior to the 2001 season, and then sent back to the Giants for Jeff Verplancke for the 2002 season. As a free agent, he signed with the Red Sox on January 14, 2003. In his first year with the Red Sox he won the batting title. In his second, he played a key part on a World Series Championship team. On December 14, 2005, he signed a two-year deal with the Dodgers.

Mueller has a history of knee problems, the most serious of which came in 2001 when, catching a foul ball, he slid into a metal grate at Busch Stadium and fractured his left kneecap. His last surgery, his third in three years and fourth overall, took place in mid-May of 2006.

The Dodgers announced Mueller's retirement on November 17, 2006 and hired him as special assistant to general manager Ned Colletti. When Eddie Murray was fired as the Dodgers hitting coach on June 14, 2007, Grady Little named Muller as the interim hitting coach.

Awards/Achievements

• 2003 American League Silver Slugger - 3B
• 2003 American League Batting Champion
• 2005 Fenway Nation Award

Moment in the Sun

For most, winning a batting title would be an obvious choice as a top career highlight. But not if you're Bill Mueller.

Mueller's two most important at-bats as a member of the Boston Red Sox both came in the championship season of 2004, and both came against the Yankees and their superstar closer.

On Saturday, July 24, the Sox and the Yankees met at Fenway on a dark, rainy afternoon. In the third inning, with the Yankees on top 3-0, Bronson Arroyo threw inside on Alex Rodriguez, resulting in a HBP. A now-famous bench clearing brawl ensued, resulting in the ejection of A-Rod and Jason Varitek. The Sox later took a 4-3 lead, only to see the Yankees explode for 6 runs in the 6th. In the bottom of the ninth, the Sox trailed 10-8 as Yankee reliever Mariano Rivera entered the game. Nomar Garciaparra led off with a double, and advanced to third on a Trot Nixon sac fly. Kevin Millar singled to right center, sending Nomar home, making the score 10-9, and bringing Mueller to the plate. With a 3-1 count, Mueller hit a 2-run walk-off homerun into the Sox bullpen giving the Sox the 11-10 victory. The game (AKA the Brawl Game) has since been recognized by many as the turning point of the Championship season.

(Incidentally, in the top of the 7th the Sox pulled off the amazing and bizarre feat of loading the bases with nobody out on three errors, and then allowing further runs to score. Conceivably, the stress of seeing this play out influenced Theo Epstein to, one week later, trade for defense in the form of Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz.)

Fast forward two and a half months. The Sox were facing the Yankees in the ALCS and seemingly on the brink of elimination, trailing 3 games to 0. On the evening of October 17th, Game 4 took place at Fenway Park. As Mariano Rivera took the mound at the bottom of the ninth inning, the Sox trailed 4-3. Kevin Millar walked in 5 pitches to start off the inning, and was immediately replaced with pinch runner extraordinaire Dave Roberts. With Bill Mueller at the plate, Rivera threw three consecutive pick-off attempts to 1st. Finally he pitched to Mueller, and as it crossed the plate as a Ball, Roberts stole second. Two pitches later, Mueller singled on a ground ball to centerfielder Bernie Williams, scoring Roberts and tying the game at 4. The Red Sox went on to win the game in the bottom of the 12th on a David Ortiz 2-run walkoff. The Sox never looked back as they won their next 7 straight games and brought a World Series Championship to Boston for the first time in 86 years.

Trivia

• Won batting title in 2003 with a .326 average, narrowly beating out teammate Manny Ramirez who finished at .325.

• Hit two grand slams, one from each side of the plate, at The Ballpark in Arlington in Texas on July 29, 2003. He also hit a solo homer in the same game.

• In 2005 he hit .526 (10 for 19) with the bases loaded, with an OPS of 1.034

• Nicknames include The Professional and Billy Ballgame.

• In his Red Sox career, his regular season numbers against Mariano Rivera are: 5-11 1 HR 3 RBIs 1BB 2K .455/.500/.727

Transactions

• June 3, 1993: Drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 15th round of the 1993 amateur draft.
• November 18, 2000: Traded by the San Francisco Giants to the Chicago Cubs for Tim Worrell.
• September 4, 2002: Traded by the Chicago Cubs with cash to the San Francisco Giants for Jeff Verplancke (minors).
• October 28, 2002: Granted Free Agency.
• January 10, 2003: Signed as a Free Agent with the Boston Red Sox.
• October 27, 2005: Granted Free Agency.
• December 15, 2005: Signed as a Free Agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis