He was the “Big Hurt” before the “Big Hurt.” And Hank Aaron called him the National League’s strongest right-hander he ever faced.
On Saturday-morning, former Major League-pitcher and pitching coach Stan Williams passed away at the age of 84 in his Laughlin, Nevada home. Williams was hospitalized on Feb. 11 due to the effects of cardiopulmonary disease.
Williams, who earned the nickname “Big Hurt” by intimidating batters with inside fastballs that were known to hit an occasional batter, was a hard-throwing righthanded pitcher in the 1958-72 Majors. Hall of Fame slugger Frank Thomas would later be nicknamed, although the pain he caused lay with baseball.
Williams made his MLB debut in the Dodgers’ first season in Los Angeles after moving from Brooklyn, and he quickly became a staple of a rotation that also included Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Johnny Podres.
Still primarily a reliever in 1959, Williams helped the Dodgers win their first World Series in Los Angeles by beating the White Sox in six games. His best season as Dodger came in ’60, when he posted a 3.00 ERA over 207 1/3 innings and was named the NL All-Star.
The Dodgers traded Williams to the Yankees for Bill “Moose” Skowron after the ’62 campaign. Williams spent two seasons with New York before pitching for the Indians from 1965-69. Cleveland traded him to the Twins ahead of the ’70 season, and Williams went on to post an 1.99 ERA on 68 relief appearances. His stay with Minnesota was short-lived, however, as the Twins traded him to the Cardinals during the ’71 season. He appeared in three games for the Red Sox in ’72, his last season as a player.
Williams ended his playing career with a record of 109-94 and an ERA of 3.48. He would later become a pitching coach, scout and advisor to several clubs, and was the pitching coach for the Reds when Cincinnati won the 1990 World Series over the much-loved Athletics. He also was a pitching coach for the Red Sox and Yankees.
Williams is survived by his daughter Shawn, son Stan Jr., brother Jim, three grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.