William John McCool (July 14, 1944 – June 8, 2014) was an American

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 Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

. The left-handed pitcher played most of his seven-year,

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), ...

career with 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 ...

and spent a year each with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

and

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 ...

. He was listed as tall and . Born in

Batesville, Indiana Batesville is a city in Franklin and Ripley counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 6,520 at the 2010 census, making it the largest community in both counties but is not the county seat of either. The Batesville Casket Company ...

, McCool went to nearby Lawrenceburg High School in Lawrenceburg, where the McCools lived. He graduated from LHS in 1962 and was signed by the Reds as an amateur free agent in 1963. He started his pro career in 1963, playing Class-D ball for the Reds organization in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

and later that year made the jump to the then-Triple-A

. He made his major league debut at the young age of 19 on April 24, 1964. The first batter he faced was

Jesús Alou Jesús María Rojas Alou (born March 24, 1942) is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder. During a 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played for the San Francisco Giants (1963–68), Houston Astros (1969–73; 1978–79), ...

(who singled) as McCool pitched two innings in relief of Al Worthington in a 15-5 Reds loss to the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

at Cincinnati's

Crosley Field Crosley Field was a Major League Baseball park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second (1937) an ...

. That year he 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 ...

National League Rookie Pitcher of the Year. In 1965 and 1966 he was second in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

in saves and in 1966 he was named a National League All-Star. He appeared in a career-high 62 games in 1965. He was among the players drafted by the

in the

1968 MLB expansion draft The 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft was conducted to stock up the rosters of four expansion teams in Major League Baseball created via the 1969 Major League Baseball expansion and which would begin play in the 1969 season. The expans ...

. He appeared in 54 games for the Padres in their inaugural season of 1969. Just prior to the 1970 season he was traded to the Cardinals, with whom he pitched 18 games. In the offseason after the 1970 season (which would be his last in the majors, at age 25), he was traded to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

and later to the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

, but he did not appear for either team in the majors. After retiring from baseball in 1970 McCool moved to

Centerville, Ohio Centerville is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. A core suburb of Metro Dayton, its population was 24,240 as of the 2020 census. Geography Centerville is located at (39.638709, -84.148087). Although the city is located primar ...

where he raised his family. He worked for three years (1972–74) as a sports anchor for WKEF-TV in Dayton. McCool's book, ''The Billy McCool Pitching Digest: A Guide to Effective Baseball Pitching'', was published in 1977. He lived in Summerfield, Florida after retiring in 2004. In 2013, he was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame as a 1962 graduate of Lawrenceburg High School. McCool died in his Summerfield, Florida home on June 8, 2014.Billy McCool at Society for American Baseball Research
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCool, Billy 1944 births 2014 deaths Baseball players from Indiana Cincinnati Reds players Major League Baseball pitchers National League All-Stars Omaha Royals players People from Centerville, Ohio People from Batesville, Indiana People from Lawrenceburg, Indiana People from Marion County, Florida Portland Beavers players St. Louis Cardinals players San Diego Padres (minor league) players San Diego Padres players Tampa Tarpons (1957–1987) players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Television personalities from Ohio American sports announcers