Matthew Evan Williams (born July 25, 1959) 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 ...

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 pitched parts of two 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), ...

: 1983 for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

and 1985 for the Texas Rangers. Williams was the Blue Jays' first-round pick in the

1981 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players *Darrin Jackson, 2nd round, 28th overall by the Chicago Cubs *Mike Gallego, 2nd round, 33r ...

and the fifth pick overall out of

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

. He debuted for the Blue Jays in 1983, but pitched just 8 innings in 4 games before returning to the minor leagues. After another two years in the minors, Williams was traded to the Rangers as part of a deal to acquire Cliff Johnson. Williams pitched six games down the stretch for Texas, including three starts, with an ERA of 2.42. Despite this impressive showing, he never again played in the major leagues.

References

1959 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Texas Florence Blue Jays players Knoxville Blue Jays players Major League Baseball pitchers Oklahoma City 89ers players Rice Owls baseball players Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Blue Jays players Texas Rangers players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1950s-stub