William Mays Eyre (born July 21, 1978) is a former

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), ...

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 ...

. He played for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

, Texas Rangers and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

Baseball career

High school & college

Eyre was All-State at

Cyprus High School Cyprus High School is a public high school located at 8623 West 3000 South in Magna, Utah, United States. Cyprus High opened in 1918, and now has an enrollment of 1650 students. The principal of the school as of 2021 is Rob McDaniel. The school' ...

(UT). In and , he was an All-America selection playing

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball and ...

at the

College of Eastern Utah Utah State University Eastern (USU Eastern) is a public regional college within the Utah State Universitybr>system The USU Eastern campus is located in Price, Utah, United States. Founded as Carbon College in 1937, the college joined the Universi ...

Minnesota Twins

Eyre was drafted in the 23rd round of the

1999 Major League Baseball Draft The 1999 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1999. A total of 1474 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections ...

by the

. From 1999 to , Eyre made his way through the Twins' minor league system, playing for the

Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their major league affiliate. The team playe ...

Quad City River Bandits Quad as a word or prefix usually means 'four'. It may refer to: Government * Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States * Quadrilateral group, an informal group which inc ...

Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex a ...

New Britain Rock Cats The New Britain Rock Cats were a minor league baseball team that competed in the Eastern League. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox for 12 years, the Minnesota Twins for 20 years and the Colorado Rockies for one. They playe ...

Phoenix Desert Dogs Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), ...

(

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

), and

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

. He made his major league debut for the Twins on April 6, 2006, but was nontendered by the Twins on December 12, 2006, making him a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers signed Eyre to a minor league contract with an invitation to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. Eyre had

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

in August and missed all of . He returned to the Rangers bullpen for 2009. He spent all of 2010 with the AAA

Oklahoma City RedHawks Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

and then became a free agent.

Oakland Athletics

On November 5, 2010, Eyre signed a minor league contract with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

Baltimore Orioles

Eyre opted out of his contract in July 2011 and signed a minor league contract with the

. He was designated for assignment on December 8, 2011, but was shortly re-signed to a minor league contract. On June 12, 2012 he was released by the Baltimore Orioles.

Return to Texas Rangers

Following his release from the Orioles organization, on June 19, 2012 Eyre signed a minor-league contract with the Texas Rangers - the organization with whom he pitched in the minor and major leagues from 2007 through 2010 - and resumed pitching in relief for their AAA affiliate, the Round Rock Express, the next day.,

Personal life and family

Eyre was named after

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-tim ...

by his

mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...

, who was an admirer of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Hall of Fame

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

despite being a

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 ...

fan.Kepner, Tyler. "In the Belly of the East," ''The New York Times'', Wednesday, September 14, 2011.
/ref> He is the brother of

Scott Eyre Scott Alan Eyre (born May 30, 1972), is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, and Philadelphia Phil ...

, a retired major league relief pitcher. He also has a younger brother, Robert Grace, who is playing in the minor leagues for 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 ...

organization. He is married and has four children; two girls and two boys.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eyre, Willie 1978 births Living people Minnesota Twins players Texas Rangers players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from California Major League Baseball pitchers Elizabethton Twins players Quad Cities River Bandits players Fort Myers Miracle players New Britain Rock Cats players Rochester Red Wings players Oklahoma RedHawks players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Sacramento River Cats players Norfolk Tides players Round Rock Express players Utah State Eastern Golden Eagles baseball players