Theodore Carl Wills (born February 9, 1934 in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

) 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 ...

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 played all or part of five seasons in

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), ...

for 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 ...

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

Chicago 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 p ...

between 1959 and 1965.

Professional career

Wills attended Fresno State University. Wills batted left-handed and threw left-handed, and he was listed at and . The Red Sox signed Wills in 1955 to his first professional contract. After a four full years in the minors, he made his big league debut on May 24, 1959. Over parts of four seasons with the Bosox, he appeared in 42

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 ...

, won six, lost nine and posted a 6.09

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. He recorded 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 as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

; both occurred during his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

campaign. On May 8, 1962, the Reds purchased Wills from the Red Sox. After spending the 1963–64 seasons in the minor leagues with the San Diego Padres, the White Sox acquired Wills from the Reds before the 1965 season. He was let go in June, and pitched in 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 ...

and St. Louis Cardinals organizations before the end of the season, his last as a professional.

Overview

Throughout his career, Wills was used mostly as a

reliever In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

, appearing in 83 total games, starting 13, and working in 186

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 210

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

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 133

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 ...

s. He was more successful as a reliever, compiling a 6–4 career record as a reliever, with five saves and a 5.17 ERA. Overall, he went 8–11 with a 5.46 ERA with perhaps his best season being his last-in 1965, he appeared in 15 games and had an ERA of 2.84. At the plate, Wills was a solid batter—in 44 career at-bats, he hit .250 with three career doubles. Fielding was not his best asset—he had a .911 career fielding percentage, committing four career errors. Wills played his final game on June 12, 1965.

Personal life

Wills currently resides in Clovis, California. Ted's father, Ted C. Wills, Sr., was mayor of Fresno from 1969 to 1977.

References

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-10-me-passings10.2-story.html

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wills, Ted 1934 births Living people Albany Senators players Baseball players from California Boston Red Sox players Chattanooga Lookouts players Chicago White Sox players Cincinnati Reds players Fresno State Bulldogs baseball players Greensboro Patriots players Jacksonville Suns players Major League Baseball pitchers Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Oklahoma City 89ers players Portland Beavers players San Diego Padres (minor league) players San Jose Red Sox players Seattle Rainiers players Sportspeople from Fresno, California