Skip to main content

Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 70

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!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Diekman a Late Addition to Mesa AFL Roster

On Wednesday, Phillies lefty pitching prospect Jacob Diekman made his Arizona Fall League debut. Diekman, who was drafted in the 30th round of the 2007 amateur draft, was assigned to Mesa late, in order to increase his 2010 innings total, according to Mesa hitting coach Mark Parent, who managed Diekman in Lakewood this past season. Diekman, 23, posted a 2-0 record with 1.90 ERA in 21 games with Class A Lakewood before being promoted to High-A Clearwater on June 24th. In 24 games with the Threshers, Diekman went 0-2 with a 3.66 ERA. Combined, Diekman tossed 55 2/3 innings and held opponents to a .187 batting average against at two levels in 2010. However, after not pitching in an official game since he threw a shutout inning to wrap up the Clearwater season on September 5th, Diekman was unable to record an out as all seven batters he faced reached base, six with hits, one on an error. Diekman was charged with 5 earned runs in the outing. Diekman had spent time at instructional ball from

McGwire Stays Phony, Despite Admitting Drug Use

Mark McGwire made an effort to publicly come clean today, admitting to the world that he took performance enhancing drugs during his playing career. Steroids and human growth hormones were among the drugs that McGwire admitted to using. MLB Network featured a one on one interview with Bob Costas and McGwire on Monday evening. The broadcast was virtually garbage, thanks to McGwire. Ahead is a list of quotes from McGwire's interview. McGwire repeatedly stated his point of view that there were no dishonorable intentions involved when taking steroids, and that he was merely using them as a means to recover from varying ailments. When asked if he felt like he cheated... "As I look back now...I can see how people would say that. As far as the talent goes and the hand-eye coordination, the ability, the genetics I was given...I don't see it." "I did not take this for any strength purposes." Denial. Read on for similar B.S. He whined about the abuse he's taken at

Bubby Rossman's long awaited MLB debut

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 wi