Willie Montañez

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Guillermo (Naranjo) Montañez [mon-tha-NYES] (born April 1, 1948 in Catano, Puerto Rico) is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played with the California Angels (1966), Philadelphia Phillies (1970-75, 1982), San Francisco Giants (1975-76), Atlanta Braves (1976-77), New York Mets (1978-79), Texas Rangers (1979), San Diego Padres (1980), Montreal Expos (1980-81) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1981-82). He batted and threw left-handed.

After successive transactions between the Angels and Cardinals, Montañez came to the Phillies in 1970 as partial compensation when Curt Flood refused to report. In 1971 Montañez started in center field replacing Flood and hit a career-high 30 home runs and 99 runs batted in. He was considered in the National League Rookie of the Year vote, ending second behind Earl Williams.

In 1972 Montañez led the National League in doubles (39), and tied for the league lead in outfield assists with 15. Returning to his natural position at first base in 1973, he became an excellent fielder. Montañez led the league first basemen in assists three times (1975-76, 1978), hit over .300 in three consecutive years (1974-76), and was selected an All-Star in 1977. From 1975-78 he collected 393 RBI, including a career-high 101 in 1975. In 1976 he was named first baseman on The Sporting News NL All-Star team.

Also, in 1976, Montañez played in an unusual 163 games. Montañez was traded mid-season in 1976 to the Atlanta Braves. At the time of the trade, Montañez accounted for 60 games for the San Francisco Giants. As he appeared in 103 games with the Atlanta Braves, Montañez brought his total to 163 games in a 162 game season.

In a 14-year career, Montañez was a .275 hitter with 139 home runs and 802 RBI in 1632 games. He was traded nine times, including the deals that involved players as Darrell Evans, Al Oliver, Bert Blyleven, John Milner (twice), and the future Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry.

Even though he was productive, Montanez often carried the label "hot dog" for the aloof manner in which he approached the game. After hitting home runs, he would trot very slowly around the bases, shuffling his feet on occasion. Also, when catching infield fly balls, he would "snatch" the ball out of the air with his gloved hand and quickly shift glove and ball to the opposite hip, as if putting a gun in a holster. Antics such as these would irritate both teammates and opponents alike.