William Alvan Faul (April 21, 1940 – February 21, 2002) was an American Major League Baseball player, a right-handed pitcher for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

and San Francisco Giants (1962–66; 1970). He stood tall and weighed . Born in Cincinnati, Faul attended Goshen High School. Playing alongside his brother Jerry, Faul helped Goshen win the 1958 Ohio state baseball championship, then he played baseball at the University of Cincinnati, where he set the school's

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

record and once fanned 24 batters in a game.

Baseball career

Faul signed with the Tigers in 1962. Assigned to the

Knoxville Smokies Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...

of the Sally League, he won six of eight decisions and posted a 2.10 earned run average. After a one-game major-league trial late in 1962, Faul spent the entire season with the Tigers. Working as a swing man, he appeared in 28

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although except ...

, ten as a starter, won five of 11 decisions, had two

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s and one save. But Faul also gained a reputation as one of his buttoned-up era's more free-spirited players and struggled under old-school

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Chuck Dressen after Dressen took command of the Tigers in mid-season. Faul spent all but one game of the campaign in Triple-A, where he compiled an outstanding win–loss record (11–1) but a high earned run average (4.05) for the Syracuse Chiefs. The Tigers then sold his contract to Cubs during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in . The deal set up Faul's most successful big-league campaign. It began inauspiciously when he was roughed up during an April relief appearance against his hometown team, the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. The outing earned Faul another trip to Triple-A, where he spent two months in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. Recalled in July and eventually plugged into the second-division Cubs' starting rotation, Faul worked in 17 games (including 16 starts), threw five complete games and three shutouts, including a two-hitter and a three-hitter. The 1965 Cubs tied a major league record by turning three triple plays, and Faul was the pitcher on each occasion. At one point that season, Faul credited the success he was having to his having the ability to hypnotize himself and batters. For the year, Faul posted a 6–6 record and set a personal best with a 3.54 earned run average. He began working out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

for the Cubs' new manager, Leo Durocher, but got a chance to start on May 1 against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

at Wrigley Field. He defeated the Phils 6–1, registering what would be his final major league victory. He got in five more starts during the seasons first half, but was sent to Triple-A Tacoma in July. After spending 3 years in the minors, he surfaced in the majors again as a member of the Giants' bullpen, appearing in seven May games and registering one save. Then he was sent back to Triple-A, where he toiled through 1971. After sitting out the 1972 campaign, he made a final comeback in the Cubs' organization in 1973 before retiring. All told, Faul appeared in 71 big-league games, including 33 starting assignments, over all or parts of six seasons. He won 12 games, lost 16, with eight complete games, three shutouts, and two saves. In 261

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

he allowed 247 hits and 97

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

, with 164

s. His career ERA was 4.72.

Personal life and death

Faul was a resident of Pleasant Plain, Ohio. He died at age 61 and is survived by his brother Jerry who still resides in Ohio.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faul, Bill 1940 births 2002 deaths All-American college baseball players Baseball players from Cincinnati Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Bearcats baseball players Detroit Tigers players Indianapolis Indians players Knoxville Smokies players Major League Baseball pitchers Midland Cubs players Omaha Royals players Phoenix Giants players Sportspeople from Warren County, Ohio Portland Beavers players Salt Lake City Bees players San Francisco Giants players Syracuse Chiefs players Tacoma Cubs players Waterbury Indians players