William Charles Risley (born May 29, 1967), is a former professional

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 ...

in Major League Baseball from – with the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

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) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Career

Risley graduated from Marist High School in Chicago and attended

Truman College Harry S Truman College, (called Truman College and formerly called Mayfair College), is a part of City Colleges of Chicago. It offers multiple 2-year associate degrees, as well as occupational training in a number of fields. Located at 1145 W ...

before being drafted by 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 ...

in 1987. He was traded to Montreal in 1991. He would be a relief pitcher throughout his MLB career. Yet in the second game of a doubleheader at

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ( ...

on July 8, 1992, Risley's big-league debut turned out to also be his only time as a starter. Pressed into duty by manager

Felipe Alou Felipe Rojas Alou (born May 12, 1935) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder, first baseman, and manager. He managed the Montreal Expos (1992–2001) and the San Francisco Giants (2003–2006). The first Dominican to play regularly in the ...

when the Expos needed to play two doubleheaders against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

in three days, Risley was the winning pitcher, going five innings and allowing the Dodgers just four hits, with relievers

Bill Sampen William Albert Sampen (born January 18, 1963) is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1990-1994. Sampen owns an instructional baseball program in Brownsburg known as "Samp's Hack Shack.” In 2016, Sampen f ...

and

Mel Rojas Melquíades Rojas Medrano (born December 10, 1966) is a Dominican former Major League Baseball (MLB) relief pitcher. From 1990 to 1999, he played for the Montreal Expos, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers of the National League a ...

closing out a 4-1 victory. That game turned out to be Risley's only appearance with Montreal during the 1992 season, and he was used just twice out of the bullpen in 1993, pitching in 41 games in the minors, before Montreal placed him on waivers. Risley was claimed by Seattle, where he became a reliable middle reliever on the Mariners' staff. A career highlight came in 1995, when Risley pitched in the first four games of the American League division playoffs against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

, earning a save in Game 4. Ace starter

Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American photographer and former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle M ...

's three innings of relief in an 11-inning victory in Game 5 sent Seattle on to the

1995 American League Championship Series The 1995 American League Championship Series (ALCS), the second round of the 1995 American League playoffs, matched the Central Division champion Cleveland Indians against the West Division champion Seattle Mariners. The Mariners had the home fie ...

, where Risley saw action again against 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 F ...

. Risley was traded that December to the

, where he spent the last three seasons of his career.

References

External links

1967 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Chicago Calgary Cannons players Cedar Rapids Reds players Chattanooga Lookouts players Dunedin Blue Jays players Greensboro Hornets players Gulf Coast Reds players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball pitchers Montreal Expos players Nashville Sounds players Ottawa Lynx players Seattle Mariners players St. Catharines Stompers players Syracuse Chiefs players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Tacoma Rainiers players Toronto Blue Jays players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1960s-stub