William Henry McEnaney (February 14, 1952) is a 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 ...

player. He was a left-handed

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 ...

over parts of six 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), ...

(1974–79) 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 ...

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 ...

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

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 ...

. McEnaney was one of five children of William and Eleanor (Grieb) McEnaney and attended Springfield North High School in

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County, Ohio, Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, approxim ...

. He was drafted by the Reds in the eighth round of the 1970 amateur draft. He made his Major League debut at age 22 on July 3, 1974 in relief of starter

Clay Carroll Clay Palmer Carroll (born May 2, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won three division ...

in a 4–1 Reds loss to 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 ...

Riverfront Stadium Riverfront Stadium, also known as Cinergy Field from 1996 to 2002, was a multi-purpose stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States that was the home of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball from 1970 through 2002 and the Cincinnati Bengals o ...

. McEnaney's first-ever inning was a 1–2–3 one as he induced popouts from

Tommy John Thomas Edward John Jr. (born May 22, 1943), nicknamed "The Bionic Man," is an American retired professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 26 seasons between 1963 and 1989. He played for the Cleveland Indians, ...

Davey Lopes David Earle Lopes (; born May 3, 1945) is an American former second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted and threw right-handed. He played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, and Houston ...

and

Bill Buckner William Joseph Buckner (December 14, 1949 – May 27, 2019) was an American first baseman and left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams from through , most notably the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red ...

, and for the game he pitched two scoreless innings. In his rookie season, he pitched 24 games, with a 2–1 record and a 4.44

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 ...

. McEnaney was a key member of the bullpen of the

Big Red Machine The Big Red Machine is a nickname for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team that dominated the National League from 1970 to 1979 and is widely recognized as being among the best in baseball history. The team won six National League West Division titl ...

Reds teams that were the

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

and

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

World Series champions. In 1975, he posted a 5–2 record with a 2.47 ERA and 15 saves in 70 pitching appearances. But he is best known for his performance in the Series, in which he pitched five games ( innings) in relief with a 2.70 ERA and one save. He earned the save in the seventh and final game as he pitched a perfect three-out ninth inning. In 1976 he fell to 2–6 with a 4.85 ERA in 55 games. But he again excelled in the World Series, pitching scoreless innings in two games and earning two saves. And, just as in the previous World Series, he closed out the series with a 1–2–3 9th inning, for a four-game sweep over 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 ...

. In December 1976 he was traded to the Expos. In 1977, he pitched 69 games with a 3–5 record and a 3.95 ERA. He was then traded to the Pirates for the 1978 season and pitched only six games with a 10.38 ERA. Released by the Pirates, he played for the Cardinals in 1979. In that season, he pitched in 25 games with an 0–3 record and a 2.95 ERA, but it was his final season in the majors as the Cardinals released him prior to the 1980 season. For his Major League career he compiled 12–17 record with a 3.76

and 148

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 in 269 appearances, all as a

relief pitcher 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 (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

. McEnaney played in Mexico with the

Águilas de Mexicali The Águilas de Mexicali ( en, Mexicali Eagles) are a professional baseball based in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. They compete in the Mexican Pacific League (LMP), a Mexican winter league. The team plays at Estadio Nido de los Águilas als ...

and the Plataneros de Tabasco, as well as for the

West Palm Beach Tropics The West Palm Beach Tropics were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. The club hired Dick Williams as manager and fielded a lineup that included slugger Dave Kingman and R ...

of the

Senior Professional Baseball Association The Senior Professional Baseball Association, referred to commonly as the ''Senior League'', was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over, with a minimum age of 32 for catchers. The league began play in 1989 and had ei ...

. In 1980, while pitching for Mexicali, McEnaney hurled a 1–0

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

against the

Algodoneros de Guasave The Algodoneros de Guasave ( en, Guasave Cotton Growers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Guasave, Sinaloa. They won the league championship in 1972. The team was purchased in April 2014 by a group of inve ...

. McEnaney lives in Florida with his second wife, Cindy. They have two adult sons. He also has a daughter from his first wife, Lynne Magaw. After baseball, he has been an investment banker, had a painting business, later a bathtub refinishing business for 12 years and was most recently a salesman at Dick's Sporting Goods while working evenings as the scoreboard operator for the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

minor league affiliate

Jupiter Hammerheads The Jupiter Hammerheads are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in the town of Jupiter, Florida, Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home game ...

.https://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/baseball/former-reds-hero-will-mcenaney-now-runs-roger-dean-stadium-scoreboard/OWfSuZYAwJf63iZLo9wLUJ/

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
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SABR Biography Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:McEnaney, Will 1952 births Living people Águilas de Mexicali players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Ohio Cincinnati Reds players Columbus Clippers players Denver Bears players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Miami Marlins (FSL) players Montreal Expos players Nashville Sounds players Sportspeople from Springfield, Ohio Pittsburgh Pirates players Plataneros de Tabasco players Sioux Falls Packers players Springfield Redbirds players St. Louis Cardinals players Tampa Tarpons (1957–1987) players Trois-Rivières Aigles players Tulsa Drillers players West Palm Beach Tropics players