William Isaac Craig (born November 16, 1994) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He previously played 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), ...

(MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and in the KBO League for the

Kiwoom Heroes The Kiwoom Heroes () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. They are a member of the KBO League. The Heroes play their home games at Gocheok Sky Dome in Gocheok-dong, a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of Se ...

Amateur career

Craig attended Science Hill High School in

Johnson City, Tennessee Johnson City is a city in Washington, Carter, and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, mostly in Washington County. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 71,046, making it the eighth largest city in Tennessee. Joh ...

. The Kansas City Royals selected Craig in the 13th round of the

2013 Major League Baseball draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

, but he did not sign. He attended

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

, where he played

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 ...

for the

Wake Forest Demon Deacons The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Wake Forest University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a mem ...

. Craig played as both a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

and

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 ...

at Wake Forest. As a freshman in 2014, he had 189 at-bats over 54 games and hit .280/.357/.439 with eight

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 36

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBI). As a pitcher he appeared in seven games with one start and went 1–0 with a 4.05

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 ...

(ERA). He played collegiate summer baseball for the St. Cloud Rox of the

Northwoods League The Northwoods League is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. The league is amateur, and players are not paid, so as to maintain their college el ...

in 2014. As a sophomore, Craig was named the ACC Player of the Year after hitting .382/.496/.702 with 13 home runs and 58 RBI. As a pitcher he was 3–4 with a 6.09 ERA and 39 strikeouts. After the 2015 season, he played collegiate summer baseball for the

Chatham Anglers The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in t ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Professional career

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Craig in the first round, 22nd overall, in the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be di ...

. He was the most recent first round pick out of Wake Forest until pitcher Jared Shuster in 2020. He signed and was then assigned to the

West Virginia Black Bears The West Virginia Black Bears are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Granville, West Virginia, and play their home games at Monongalia County Ballpark, which is across the Monongahela River from Morgan ...

where he batted .280 with two home runs and 23 RBIs in 63 games. In 2017, Craig played for the

Bradenton Marauders The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as the ...

, posting a .271 batting average with six home runs and 61 RBIs in 123 games, and in 2018, he played with the

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of th ...

, batting .248 with twenty home runs and 102 RBIs in 132 games. He spent the 2019 season with the Indianapolis Indians, slashing .249/.326/.435 with 23 home runs and 78 RBIs over 131 games. Craig was named to the 2019 All-Star Futures Game. Craig was added to the Pirates 40–man roster following the 2019 season. On August 27, 2020, Craig was promoted to the major leagues for the first time and made his debut that night against 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 ...

. Craig went hitless in 4 at-bats for the Pirates in 2020. On November 25, 2020, Craig was designated for assignment. He was outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis on December 2. On May 13, 2021, Craig was selected to the active roster. That day, he hit his first MLB home run, a solo shot off of

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 ...

pitcher Camilo Doval. On May 27, 2021, Craig's 15th MLB game, he was the key fielder in a blooper reel highlight of 2021, when he chased

Javier Báez Ednel Javier Báez (born December 1, 1992), nicknamed "El Mago" (Spanish for "The Magician"), is a Puerto Rican professional baseball shortstop for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cu ...

down the first base line toward home with two outs, instead of simply stepping on the bag to force him out. Willson Contreras scored from second base as Craig threw the ball to catcher Michael Pérez. Báez was able to safely run back to first base, and Pérez's throw to try to retire Báez at first base sailed into right field as second baseman Adam Frazier was late to cover the bag at first. The play was ruled as two errors, with one on Craig and the other on Pérez. After batting .217/.277/.300 with 1 home run and 3 RBI in 18 games, Craig was designated for assignment by Pittsburgh on June 4. He was outrighted to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians on June 9.

Kiwoom Heroes

On July 13, 2021, Craig was acquired by the

of the KBO League and signed a contract worth $371K with the team. In 61 games, he slashed .248/.320/.383 with 6 home runs and 30 RBIs. Craig was not re-signed for the 2022 season and is currently a free agent.

Coaching career

In June 2022, Craig returned to Wake Forest to complete his college degree. On August 25, 2022, Wake Forest hired Craig as part of

Tom Walter Tom Walter is an American college baseball coach. He has been the head coach of Wake Forest Demon Deacons baseball, Wake Forest since the start of the 2010 NCAA Division I baseball season, 2010 season. Before coming to Wake Forest, Walter held ...

's coaching staff for the ensuing season.

References

External links

Wake Forest Demon Deacons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Will 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Johnson City, Tennessee Baseball players from Tennessee Major League Baseball first basemen Pittsburgh Pirates players Wake Forest Demon Deacons baseball players Chatham Anglers players West Virginia Black Bears players Bradenton Marauders players Altoona Curve players Surprise Saguaros players Indianapolis Indians players All-American college baseball players