Woody Williams

Gregory Scott "Woody" Williams (born August 19, 1966) is a former right-handed Major League Baseball starting pitcher. He made his major league debut for the Toronto Blue Jays on May 14, 1993, and pitched in the majors for fifteen seasons.

Williams, a Cy-Fair High School graduate and University of Houston alumnus, began his career pitching in relief until he was moved to a full-time starter in 1997. On December 12, 1998, he was traded to the San Diego Padres with minor leaguer Peter Tucci and Carlos Almanzar for right-handed pitcher Joey Hamilton. He worked exclusively as a starter in San Diego until he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for outfielder Ray Lankford on August 2, 2001.

After he was traded, Williams' career took off. While in San Diego that season, he posted an 8-8 win-loss record with a 4.97 ERA in 23 starts, but with St. Louis, Williams went 7-1 with a 2.28 ERA in 11 starts.

On August 10, 2003, Williams hit into an unassisted triple play against the Atlanta Braves. AS a result, Atlanta's shortstop Rafael Furcal became the 12th player in Major League history to make one of the rarest plays in baseball, while Williams was the first big league pitcher to ever hit into a unassisted triple play. He continued to pitch well for St. Louis, making the 2003 All-Star Game and starting Game 1 of the 2004 World Series.

After the 2004 season came to a close, Williams filed for free agency and signed back with the Padres on December 9, 2004.

On November 24, 2006, the Houston Astros announced they had signed Williams to a two-year, $12.5 million contract, at the same press conference announcing the Carlos Lee signing.

After a career-worst 2007 season with Houston, where he went 8-15 with a 5.27 ERA, and a poor showing during the 2008 spring training, Williams was released by the Astros on March 29 and subsequently retired.

Williams is one of only fifteen pitchers to earn a victory against all 30 MLB teams.

Williams used an assortment of different pitches against opposing batters. He used a cut fastball which he could throw between 89-92 mph, which was considered his best pitch overall. He relied on his curveball as his strikeout pitch, and utilized a straight change as well. Williams was also known to throw an occasional knuckleball in games.

Woody is active in the Alvin, Texas community. In 2002, he donated money to the Alvin High School athletic program to help buy new equipment. He also trained with the Alvin High baseball team before heading off to spring training.

He has five children. Katelyn, Sarah, Hannah, Caden, and Lillian and currently resides in Houston with them and his wife. His cousin Chase Ortiz is a defensive end for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. Williams began coaching varsity baseball at Fort Bend Baptist Academy in 2009, and led the team to the Texas Class 4A semifinals in both 2010 and 2011.