Bill Posedel

Bill Posedel
Pitcher
Born: August 2, 1906
San Francisco, California
Died: November 28, 1989 (aged 83)
Livermore, California
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 23, 1938 for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Last MLB appearance
September 13, 1946 for the Boston Braves
Career statistics
Win–loss record 41–43
Earned run average 4.56
Innings pitched 679⅓
Strikeouts 227
Teams

William John Posedel (August 2, 1906 – November 28, 1989), nicknamed "Barnacle Bill," was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Braves from 1938–41 and in 1946.

Posedel was born in San Francisco, California. He began his professional baseball career in 1929, pitching for the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League. He would spend all or parts of six seasons pitching for Portland, and twice (in 1936 and 1937) win 20-plus games for the Beavers. Posedel's extended service in the PCL resulted in his late Major League debut, at age 31, for the 1938 Dodgers.

In his finest MLB campaign, 1939 with the Boston "Bees" (then the Braves' official nickname), Posedel won 15 of 28 decisions, including five shutouts, for a seventh-place team that claimed only 63 victories all season. All told, Posedel allowed 747 hits and 248 bases on balls in 679⅓ innings of work in the Majors. He struck out 227.

After his playing career, Posedel was a pitching coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1949–1953), St. Louis Cardinals (1954–57), Philadelphia Phillies (1958), San Francisco Giants (1959–60), Oakland Athletics (1968–72) and San Diego Padres (1974). He also worked as a scout for the Pirates (1948), Cleveland Indians (1961) and Kansas City Athletics (1962–67), and managed the 1957 Beavers from April 29 through the end of the season.

Posedel served in the United States Navy from 1925 to 1929 and again during World War II, from 1942 to 1945. He died in Livermore, California, at age 83.

See also

External links

Preceded by
Bill Burwell
Pittsburgh Pirates pitching coach
1949–1953
Succeeded by
n/a
Preceded by
n/a
St. Louis Cardinals pitching coach
1956–1957
Succeeded by
Al Hollingsworth
Preceded by
Frank Carswell
Portland Beavers manager
1957
April 29–September 15
Succeeded by
Tommy Heath
Preceded by
Whit Wyatt
Philadelphia Phillies pitching coach
1958
Succeeded by
Tom Ferrick
Preceded by
n/a
San Francisco Giants pitching coach
1959–1960
Succeeded by
Larry Jansen
Preceded by
Wes Stock
1967 Kansas City Athletics
Oakland Athletics pitching coach
1968–1972
Succeeded by
Wes Stock
Preceded by
Johnny Podres
San Diego Padres pitching coach
1974
Succeeded by
Tom Morgan