William Raymond Parsons (born August 17, 1948) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player, a , , right-handed

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 ...

from

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

, where he attended

Riverside Polytechnic High School Riverside Polytechnic High School is a four-year public high school in Riverside, California, United States, and part of the Riverside Unified School District. The current facility, located on Victoria Avenue, was opened in September 1965; the t ...

. He played four seasons in the major leagues.

Baseball career

Parsons was drafted in the 7th round by the

Seattle Pilots The Seattle Pilots were an American professional baseball, professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington during the 1969 Major League Baseball season. During their single-season existence, the Pilots played their ho ...

in 1968, and played in their minor league system. He joined the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

in 1970, and was assigned to Portland of 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 ...

, going 3–0 with a 2.25 ERA. Parsons played his first game in the major leagues on April 13, 1971. He was in the starting rotation for the last-place Brewers in his rookie season, going 13–17 with a 3.20 ERA, while 7th in the league with 4 shutouts and 8th in the AL with 93 walks.Bill Parsons Biography
– Baseball Biography Parsons was second in the 1971 BBWAA Rookie of the Year voting, losing out to

Chris Chambliss Carroll Christopher Chambliss (born December 26, 1948) is an American professional baseball player and coach (baseball), coach. He played in Major League Baseball from to for the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves. He served ...

, and was named ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' AL Rookie Pitcher of the Year. He saw little game time for the remainder of his career. He was traded to the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

with cash for

Deron Johnson Deron Roger Johnson (July 17, 1938 – April 23, 1992) was an American professional baseball infielder, outfielder, designated hitter, and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Kansas City/Oakland Athletics, ...

in 1974. His contract was purchased by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

from the Athletics at the

Winter Meetings Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...

on December 2, 1974.Durso, Joseph. "Baseball Draft Is Skimpy," ''The New York Times'', Tuesday, December 3, 1974.
Retrieved October 30, 2020 In July 1975 he was traded by the Cardinals with cash to the

White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

for

Buddy Bradford Charles William Bradford (born July 25, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox (1966–70, 1972–75 and 1976), Cleveland Indians (1970–71), Cinci ...

References

External links

Baseball Reference (Minors)Baseball GaugeVenezuelan Professional Baseball League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parsons, Bill 1948 births Living people Arizona Instructional League Pilots players Baseball players from Riverside, California Billings Mustangs players Clinton Pilots players Denver Bears players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players Newark Co-Pilots players Oakland Athletics players Portland Beavers players Riverside City Tigers baseball players Sacramento Solons players Tucson Toros players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players American expatriate baseball players in Panama Riverside Polytechnic High School alumni