Skip to main content

Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 70

By
Guillermo "Willie" Montanez played with the Phillies from 1970-1975, then again in 1982. Montanez made his Major League debut as an 18-year-old, with the Angels, in 1966. The Angels had selected Montanez as a Rule 5 draft pick out of the St. Louis system, but were forced to return Montanez to the Cardinals when they couldn't keep him on their Major League roster all season.

Four years later, Willie was traded to Philadelphia to complete an earlier deal involving Tim McCarver, Richie Allen and Cookie Rojas, when Curt Flood refused to report to the Phillies. Montanez appeared in 18 games with Philadelphia in 1970, before winning a spot as the everyday centerfielder for the Phillies when he impressed manager Frank Lucchesi with a strong spring training the following year. Montanez was originally a first baseman, but made the switch to the outfield to gain playing time.

In 1971, Montanez finished 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting, to the Braves' Earl Williams, when Montanez posted a .255 batting average, slugged 30 homers and drove in 99 runs. The following season, Montanez led the National League in doubles with 39.

The Puerto Rico native Montanez was widely considered a hot dog, due to his habit of making stabbing one-handed catches in the field and twirling his bat on the way to the plate.

A year later, with the arrival of Del Unser and the departure of Deron Johnson, Montanez returned to his natural position of first base. That season, Montanez batted over .300 for the first time, leading the Phillies with a .304 average. Montanez also had a 24-game hitting streak in 1974.

In May 1975, the Phillies traded Montanez to San Francisco for a 25-year-old outfielder named Garry Maddox. Montanez finished that split season with a career season high 101 RBI. That wasn't enough to lock himself into a place with the Giants, however, as Montanez would play for 6 more teams (Braves, Mets, Rangers, Padres, Expos and Pirates) in the next 6 seasons. Montanez became an all-star with Atlanta in 1977, when he batted .287, hit 20 homers and knocked in 68 runs.

After being released by the Pirates in 1982, Montanez returned to Philadelphia to finish the season, appearing mostly as a pinch hitter. He retired following the season.

___________________________________


Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE.



BallHype: hype it up!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Justin De Fratus Interview Excerpts- May, 2011

By
Armed with a 2-0 record, 3 saves and a 2.95 ERA in 15 games this season for the Double A Reading Phillies, Justin De Fratus continues to make strides toward his goal of reaching the Major Leagues. Ranked as a top 10 prospect within the Phillies system last off-season, the 23-year-old De Fratus was in camp with the Phillies during big league spring training. In 3 games with the Phils during the Grapefruit League season, De Fratus allowed 4 earned runs in 4 innings and took a loss. He did strike out an impressive 5 batters in those 4 frames, however. Drafted in the 11th round of the 2007 amateur draft, De Fratus stood out as a force in relief last year for both the High A Clearwater Threshers and the R-Phils. In 49 combined games at the two levels, De Fratus posted a 3-0 record with 21 saves and a 1.94 ERA. De Fratus continued his excellent 2011 by pitching for Team USA in the Pan-American qualifiers held in Puerto Rico, helping the Americans finish with a 9-1 record. He also posted out...
Post a Comment
Read more

World Series Preview: Phillies vs. Astros

By
The Fall Classic is set to get underway on Friday with the Phillies opening on the road to take on the Astros in a best-of-seven series. This year marks 75 years since the first time a World Series was televised and this year each game will be broadcast on the FOX television network.  ESPN will have the radio broadcast and that feed can be streamed by using this link . Game 1 Friday, 8:03pm Eastern....in Houston.  RHP Aaron Nola (11-13, 3.25 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (18-4, 1.75 ERA).  In 16 road starts during the regular season this year, Nola notched a 5-9 record with a 3.00 ERA.  Nola has struck out 18 and walked three in 17 1/3 innings pitched this postseason.  Earlier this month, Nola tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings at Houston.  In 15 home starts during the regular season, Verlander sported a 10-1 record with a 1.64 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP.  Verlander has a 5.68 ERA and has not recorded a win in seven career World Series starts.  Verlander has...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bubby Rossman's long awaited MLB debut

By
Eight years after he initially signed a professional contract with the Dodgers and a five-year stretch playing away from affiliated ball, Bubby Rossman became a major leaguer on Wednesday. Added as a substitute for pitcher Kyle Gibson, who is restricted from travel to Canada for the Phillies' series in Toronto, due to his medical inability to be vaccinated from COVID-19, Rossman took the mound for the first time in the majors. Rossman, who was a 22nd round draft selection in 2014 had pitched in 200 professional games before his one-inning outing in the Phillies' 8-2 loss to the Blue Jays. In 27 appearances with Double-A Reading this year, the 30-year-old right-hander has performed well, tallying a 2-2 record with a save, a 3.32 ERA and a .200 batting average against.   The embedded video below features a media session with Rossman from prior to opening day this year, in which the California native discusses his journey through independent baseball and back to affiliated ball w...
Post a Comment
Read more