Skip to main content

OF Prospect Williams ready to take responsibility and learn from mistakes

N Williams 2
Nick Williams, image- Nick Williams

In Monday's 5-3 loss to Columbus Lehigh Valley outfielder Nick Williams ended an 0-for-4 night with a grounder back to the pitcher. Frustration with coming up short for his team seemed to be displayed and urgency was missing from his stride heading toward first base and heading back to the dugout. He was immediately removed from the game and benched for the IronPigs' following game. It was his second benching for such an issue this month.

The 22-year-old standout, who was acquired from Texas as part of last summer's Cole Hamels trade, missed two games just a couple weeks back when he was benched for a lack of urgency on the base paths as well.

While Williams initially played coy and told media members following Monday's game that he received no explanation for being pulled from that night's contest and then asserted during a Comcast SportsNet interview on Tuesday that he felt other players would have done the same thing, he was more ready to own up on Wednesday, taking responsibility for his perceived issues.

"I just made a mistake, you gotta learn from it," Williams stated. "You know, just take the punishment. I'm only human. I make mistakes. Everyone just-- I'm not perfect. No one is, so you know it's just a learning curve and (I'll) just try to get back out there and help the team."

According to the lefty batting slugger, seeing the attention that questionable efforts can draw in the media and from the fan base seems to have really forced the seriousness of the situation to set in.

"It's just really something that didn't really ring my mind until it's really, like, put out there," Williams explained. "You know, it's just-- I feel embarrassed for it and I don't like it. I don't want to be labeled as that 'cause I feel like I'm a great teammate and a great player and I feel like I'm good to fans."

Williams has been a great contributor for the IronPigs all season, posting a .288 average with seven homers and 38 RBI in 68 games for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Praised for being a five-tool guy that can contribute to the game in so many ways, Williams and his hustle concerns may remind fans of the Phillies' all-time hits leader, who also was a very talented player that didn't always show the greatest levels of exertion on the playing field: Jimmy Rollins.

"Jimmy's a great dude and I feel like on and off the field he was a very respectful person," Williams said, asserting a quality that he plans to display toward the game, his coaches and those watching more often.

It's a safe bet that a hefty majority of Phils fans would take another Jimmy Rollins in the team's lineup going forward.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

2021 Phillies Top Prospects Countdown: #22 SS Casey Martin

Please visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work, get access to material like this before anyone else and get access to interviews as well as other exclusive content you can't get anywhere else.   A third round draft pick last year, Arkansas junior Casey Martin was quickly signed by the Phillies and consideration as one of the organization's top infield prospects quickly began.  The team's confidence in his ceiling is likely evident in the signing bonus he got, which was reportedly $1.3 million, which was considerably more than slot money dictated by his 87th overall draft position ($685K). The right-handed batting Martin tallied a .311/.393/.545 slash line with 30 homers, 24 steals and 112 RBI in 143 games through his college career at Arkansas.  Reports had him falling in the draft as a result of an injury to the hamate bone in his left hand prior to his 2020 season.  Prior to the procedure, Baseball America projected Martin as a top ten draft pick.

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

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal