William Bentley Inman (born February 6, 1987 in

Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, located in the Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River. It was a center of tobacco production and was an area of Confederate activi ...

) is 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

Career

Inman is from

. Prior to playing professionally, he attended

Tunstall High School Tunstall Sr. High School is a high school located in Dry Fork, Virginia. About 900 students go to the school each year. The school has two levels and was recently renovated over the past several years. Tunstall High School was named for a long ...

in Dry Fork, Virginia. He received a scholarship to attend Auburn University. Inman was drafted in the third round of the 2005 amateur draft by 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) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

, beginning his professional career that season. He split the year between the

Helena Brewers The Helena Brewers were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pioneer League located in Helena, Montana, from 1978 to 2018. The team played their home games at Kindrick Legion Field, which was built in 1939. They were affiliated with the Milwaukee ...

and AZL Brewers, going a combined 6–0 with a 1.91 ERA in 14 games (five starts). He struck out 59 batters in 47 innings of work. In 2006, he pitched for the

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner league of Major League Baseball. The Dir ...

, going 10–2 with a 1.71 ERA in 23 games (20 starts) and striking out 134 batters in 110 innings of work. His 134 strikeouts were the most strikeouts in a single season in

history, until

Tyler Glasnow Tyler Allen Glasnow (born August 23, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Early life Glasnow was born on August 23, 199 ...

broke his record in 2013. Before the 2007 season, ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form ...

'' named Inman the 91st best baseball prospect. He began the season in the Brewers organization, playing for the

Brevard County Manatees The Brevard County Manatees were a minor league baseball team of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League from 1994 to 2016. They were based in Viera, Florida, and played their home games at Space Coast Stadium. The team left Brevard County af ...

and

Huntsville Stars The Huntsville Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1985 to 2014. They competed in the Southern League as the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics from 1985 to 1998 and Mil ...

. However, on July 25, he was traded with

Joe Thatcher Joseph Andrew Thatcher (born October 4, 1981) is an American college baseball coach and former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim an ...

and minor leaguer

Steve Garrison Stevenson Nathaniel Garrison (born September 12, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees in 2011. Garrison grew up in Ewing Township, New Jersey and attended The Hun ...

for relief pitcher

Scott Linebrink Scott Cameron Linebrink (born August 4, 1976) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He attended Texas State University before getting drafted, but finished his degree after his retirement at Concordia University (Texas) in Austin. ...

. He finished the season with the

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in San Antonio, Texas, and are named for the Spanish missions around which the city was founded ...

in the Padres system. Overall, he went 8–11 with a 3.28 ERA in 28 games started, striking out 180 batters in 159 innings. He pitched for the Missions again in 2008, going 9–8 with a 3.52 ERA in 28 starts, striking out 140 batters in 135 innings. He appeared in the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

All-Star Game and

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National Le ...

that season. His 2009 season was split between the Missions and

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

, and he went a combined 7–9 with a 4.79 ERA in 27 starts. He began the 2010 season with the Portland Beavers, but underwent

ulnar nerve In human anatomy, the ulnar nerve is a nerve that runs near the ulna bone. The ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint is in relation with the ulnar nerve. The nerve is the largest in the human body unprotected by muscle or bone, so injury is c ...

transposition during the season. On November 22, 2011, Inman signed a minor league contract with 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 eig ...

. After pitching for the

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

during the 2012 season, he became a free agent, and signed with the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

for the 2013 season, receiving a non-roster invitation to spring training. On July 1, 2013, Inman was released by the Rays. He went 0–2 with a 6.47 ERA in 21 appearances covering 32 innings, striking out 25 for Triple-A Durham.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inman, Will 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Danville, Virginia Baseball players from Virginia Baseball pitchers Arizona League Brewers players Helena Brewers players West Virginia Power players Brevard County Manatees players Huntsville Stars players San Antonio Missions players Tucson Padres players Portland Beavers players Pawtucket Red Sox players Durham Bulls players