Dave Williams (2000s pitcher)

David Aaron Williams (born March 12, 1979 in Anchorage, Alaska) is a former professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, Williams has played all or part of seven seasons in Major League Baseball as well as one season in Nippon Professional Baseball.

Career

Williams graduated in 1997 from Caesar Rodney High School in Camden, Delaware, and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates the following year. He made his major league debut on June 6, 2001. He pitched for four seasons in Pittsburgh, as both a starter and reliever. While in Pittsburgh, Williams played with high school teammate Ian Snell (who graduated in 2000). On December 6, 2005, he was traded from the Pirates to the Cincinnati Reds for Sean Casey.

2006

On May 20, 2006, the Cincinnati Reds designated Williams for assignment after he went 2-3 with a 7.20 ERA in eight starts. On May 25, he was traded to the New York Mets for pitcher Robert Manuel.

On August 18, the Mets recalled Williams from the Norfolk Tides to make a start in place of Pedro Martínez. Williams held the St. Louis Cardinals to two runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out four over 6.1 innings to pick up the victory in the Mets' 6-2 win. He finished the season with a 3-1 record and 5.59 ERA in six appearance—five starts—and 29 innings with the Mets.

2007

The Mets signed Williams to a one-year contract, worth $1.25 million, for the 2007 season, with incentives could have brought as much as $2 million.^[1]

In February, Williams had surgery to repair a herniated disc in his neck.^[2] He came off the disabled list on July 6, and made his only start of the year against the Houston Astros on July 8, giving up 8 runs in only 3.1 innings. He was then designated for assignment on July 14 so Oliver Pérez could return to the Mets rotation from the disabled list. He was called up again on September 1 when the roster expanded.

2008

Williams signed to pitch for the Yokohama BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball for the 2008 season on December 12, 2007. He was released on September 3.

2009

In February 2009, Williams signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals with an option for the major leagues. He appeared in 21 games as a relief pitcher for Washington's Double-A affiliate, the Harrisburg Senators with a record of 1-3 and an ERA of 3.56, and 19 games for their Triple-A affiliate, the Syracuse Chiefs, with a record of 0-1 and an ERA of 7.89.

He filed for free agency in November 2009. He did not play professionally in 2010. Now a pitching coach in the Gulf Coast League.

References

1. ↑ "Mets non-tender Zambrano" Mets.com, December 12, 2006. Accessed July 6, 2007.
2. ↑ "Mets Lefty Out For 3 Months", New York Post, February 6, 2007. Accessed July 6, 2007.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Japanese Profile