Bill Gullickson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William Lee Gullickson (born February 20, 1959 in Marshall, Minnesota) is a former major league baseball pitcher who played for five different teams, in both the U.S. and Japan during a fourteen year career.

Gullickson was taken in the June 1977 MLB draft by the Montreal Expos, the second player to be taken. He finished second behind Steve Howe in the National League Rookie of the Year voting in 1980, after a season in which he went 10-5 with an ERA of three, and set a major-league record for most strikeouts in a game by a rookie, with 18. Gullickson held that record for 18 years, until Kerry Wood broke it with 20 strikeouts in 1998. Gullickson currently holds the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals all-time strikeout record for a single game with 18 strikeouts.

In 1981 he helped the Expos to their only division title with a 7-9, 2.81 record. Except for the 1981 strike season, Gullickson was in double figures in wins for every year onward.

Gillickson was acquired by the Reds in 1986, going 15-12 that season. The next year he was acquired by the New York Yankees for their 1987 pennant drive, but he was unhappy there and in 1988 accepted a two million offer to pitch in Japan for the Tokyo Giants, with whom stayed two seasons. When asked about his time in Japan, Gullickson said it was strange; the only English words that he saw were "Sony and Mitsubishi."^{[citation needed]}

Gullickson signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros after the 1989 season, and had a mediocre season before being released. He then signed a multi-million dollar contract with the Detroit Tigers, with whom he pitched a few seasons. In 1991 Gullickson led the American League in wins, with 21, but in 1994 was forced to retire due to injuries.

Gullickson is married to Sandy Gullickson and is the father of many up and coming sports stars. Daughter, Cassie, is on the Track and Field Team at Notre Dame. Daughter, Carly, is a professional tennis player, who is currently ranked in the top 50 in the world in doubles. Bill and Sandy are also the parents of Chelsea, Callie, Craig, and Chloe.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Sources

• Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis