William Patrick McGuire (born February 14, 1964) is an American former professional baseball

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). McGuire attended

Creighton Preparatory School Creighton Preparatory School (simply referred to as Creighton Prep or Prep) is a private, Jesuit high school for boys in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It was established in 1878 under the name Creighton College and is located in the Roman Cat ...

in Omaha where he was regarded as one of the best high school catchers in the country. He was named to the

ABCA/Rawlings High School All-America Baseball Team The ABCA/Rawlings High School All-America Baseball Team has been named every year since 1969, with the exceptions of 1993 and 2020. Between 1971–1975 and in 2000, only one team was selected per year. In 1969–1970, 1976 and 1987, two teams were ...

in both 1981 and 1982. He committed to playing

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

over competing offers from

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

, USC,

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

and

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

among others. Although selected by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

in the 25th round of the

1982 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players * David Wells†, 2nd round, 30th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays * Allan Anderson, 2nd ro ...

, he chose to honor his commitment and enroll at Nebraska. McGuire thrived at Nebraska as both a catcher and a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He received Second and Third Team All-America honors from '' Baseball America'' as a sophomore and junior respectively. He was also named to the All- Big Eight Conference team as a junior. McGuire was drafted by the Seattle Mariners out of the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

in the 1st round (27th overall) of the 1985 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in and also played in MLB in . He played his final professional season in 1992 for the Single-A

Peoria Chiefs The Peoria Chiefs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was established in 1983 as the Peoria Suns. They are located in Peoria, Illinois, and are named for the Peor ...

in the Chicago Cubs organization. After the end of his playing career, McGuire began working as a college baseball umpire. Through his work as an umpire, he drew the attention of

Wichita State Shockers baseball The Wichita State Shockers baseball team represents Wichita State University in the sport of baseball. The Wichita State Shockers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and in the American Athletic Confere ...

recruiters to

Conor Gillaspie Conor Michael Gillaspie (born July 18, 1987) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman who played for the San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim between 2008 and 2017. Early life Gillaspie ...

and

A. J. Ladwig Adam Joseph Ladwig (born December 24, 1992) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in one game in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins in 2022. Amateur career Ladwig played high school at Millard West High ...

among other Nebraskan baseball players.

References

External links

1964 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Asheville Tourists managers Calgary Cannons players Chattanooga Lookouts players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Major League Baseball catchers Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball players Peoria Chiefs players Seattle Mariners players Baseball players from Omaha, Nebraska Vermont Mariners players Wausau Timbers players Baseball umpires Anchorage Glacier Pilots players {{US-baseball-catcher-1960s-stub