Matt Williams

Date of Birth: 11/28/1965
Birthplace: Bishop, California
College: University of Nevada

Matt Williams had a long and successful playing career in the major leagues in the 1980s and 1990s. He was first drafted as a third baseman by the San Francisco Giants in 1986. A year later, he started a ten-year career with the Giants. During his time in San Francisco, Williams won three Gold Gloves (1991, 1993, 1994) and three Silver Slugger awards (1990, 1993, 1994). He led the National League in RBIs in 1990 and four years later, he led the league in home runs.

In 1997, Williams moved to the American League and the Cleveland Indians. In his one year with the Indians, he again won a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger award. Williams played with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the last six years of his playing career (1998-2003). Statistics for Williams as a player in 17 years in the major leagues include:

• 1,866 games played
• 1,878 hits
• 338 doubles
• 378 home runs
• 1,218 RBIs
• .268 batting average

Seven years after retiring as a player, Williams returned to the Diamondbacks as a coach. He worked in that position from 2010 through 2013.

Williams was named manager of the Washington Nationals on October 31, 2013. He was very successful in 2014, his first year as a major league manager. The Nationals finished with a 96-66 record in 2014, the best record in the National League. Even though they lost the NL Division series to the Giants in three games to one, Williams was rewarded for his managerial skills with the 2014 NL Manager of the Year award.

After the Nationals finished the 2015 season in second place in the NL East division with an 83-79 record, Williams was fired on October 5th. In his two years as the Nationals' manager, the team had 179 wins to 145 losses.

Williams managed in the Korean Baseball Organization in 2020 and 2021. In December, 2021, he was hired to be the third base coach for the San Diego Padres.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Matt Williams
ESPN - Matt Williams