Bill Mueller
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William Richard Mueller [MILL-er] (born March 17, 1971) is a Major League Baseball third baseman who plays for the Boston Red Sox (2003-present). Previously, Mueller played with the San Francisco Giants (1996-2000, 2002) and Chicago Cubs (2001-02). He is a switch hitter and throws right-handed.
Mueller was born in Maryland Heights, Missouri. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1993 amateur draft, and made his debut in 1996. He was traded to the Cubs before the 2001 season, and returned to San Francisco in September 2002. Before the 2003 season, Mueller was signed by the Red Sox as a free agent. In his first year in Boston he won the batting title with a .326 average.
In a nine-year career, Mueller is a .292 hitter with 72 home runs and 416 RBI in 1034 games.
Highlights
- Led American League in batting average (.326, 2003)
- Only player in major league history to hit two grand slams in a single game from opposite sides of the plate
- Mueller made a significant number of contributions to the Red Sox first World Series win in 86 years. The most notable, of course, was his RBI single in the ninth inning of Game 4 against the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. Facing elimination in the bottom of the ninth down 4 runs to 3, Kevin Millar drew a walk from star closer Mariano Rivera. Dave Roberts came in to pinch run for Millar, and managed to steal second base with his great speed. He came around to score on a single by Mueller and the Sox went on to win in 12 innings and begin their run of eight straight wins culminating in the title.
- Mueller hit a game-winning, walk-off home run on July 24th, 2004 against the Yankees. The game had been a see-saw battle featuring a benches-clearing brawl in which Boston catcher Jason Varitek and Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez famously clashed after Bronson Arroyo hit Rodriguez with a pitch. The game appeared to be another devastating loss for the then-stagnant Red Sox, but in the bottom of the ninth, with the Sox down by a run and with the Yankees' great closer Mariano Rivera on the mound, Mueller drove a 3-1 pitch into the Red Sox bullpen in right-center, saving the game (and possibly the season) for the Sox.
External links
- Template:Baseball-reference
- ESPN profile (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5587)