Jim Williams, AL Manager of the Year in Boston in '99, dies at 80

Jimy Williams, the 1999 American League Manager of the Year for Boston who won 910 games in a dozen seasons including stints with Toronto and Houston, died Friday in Tarpon Springs, Florida. He was 80.

The Red Sox said his death at a hospital followed a brief, unspecified illness. He lived in nearby Palm Harbor, on the west coast of Florida, about 25 miles from Tampa.

Williams was named AL Manager of the Year after leading the Red Sox to their second straight playoff appearance. He had replaced Kevin Kennedy as Boston's manager after the 1996 season.

The Red Sox won 78 games in Williams' first season and then more than 90 in each of the next two. In 1998, Boston made the playoffs as a wild card team, but was defeated by Cleveland in the AL division series. The next year, trailing 0–2 in the division series, again against Cleveland, the Red Sox rallied to win the game 3–2. (Boston lost 4-1 to the New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series.)

The Red Sox won 85 games in 2000 and Williams was fired in August 2001, with the team going 65-53. He was hired by the Houston Astros that fall, but after two winning seasons with them, he was fired from the team mid-season in 2004 at 44-44.

Williams was fired a day after fans at the All-Stars Game, held at Minute Maid Park in Houston, booed as he was introduced as coach for the National League team. (Houston joined the American League in 2013.)

Williams' career management record was 910–790.

James Francis Williams was born on October 4, 1943 in Santa Maria, California, northwest of Santa Barbara. He first spelled his name Jimy as a joke in high school. After graduating in 1961, he attended Fresno State, where he earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural industry in 1964. He played summer ball that year with the Alaska Goldpanners alongside future Major League stars Tom Seaver and Graig Nettles.

Williams, an infielder, signed with Boston, played at Class A Iowa and was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in a 1965 draft. Williams made his major league debut on April 26, 1966, striking out Sandy in his first at bat Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played in 14 Major League games and went 3 for 13 (.231) with one run batted in. His first hit came on May 7, an RBI single off San Francisco's Juan Marichal, who like Koufax was a future Hall of Famer.

“I can remember my first Major League hit, but if you only get three, you can remember them all,” he told The Houston Chronicle.

He went on to play minor league ball for the Cincinnati Reds and Montreal Expos organizations before a shoulder injury cut short his playing career. After six seasons as a minor league manager for the California Angels organization, he became third base coach for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1980.

Bobby Cox took over as manager of the Blue Jays in 1982, and when Cox left to become general manager of the Atlanta Braves in 1986, Williams replaced him in the Toronto dugout. Toronto went 86-76 in his first season and had a 3½-game AL East lead with seven games remaining in 1987, but went 0-7 and finished two games behind the Detroit Tigers.

The Blue Jays went 87-75 in 1988, and Williams was replaced by Cito Gaston after a 12-24 start in 1989. Williams had clashed several times with Jays star George Bell, who did not want to be a design hitter.

Williams returned to the Braves as Cox's third base coach from 1991-96, memorably greenlighting Sid Bream's pennant-winning run on Francisco Cabrera's single that beat Barry Bonds' throw from left field to win Game 7 of the Won the 1992 NL Championship Series. against Pittsburgh.

After his time in Boston and Houston, Williams spent 2005 and 2006 as a roving instructor for the Tampa Bay Rays and was Manager Charlie Manuel's bench coach for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2007 and 2008, earning a World Series ring in his second season deserved.

His sons Shawn and Brady Williams both played in the minor leagues. Brady is Tampa's third base coach; Shawn is a former minor league manager.

In addition to his sons, Williams is survived by his wife of 47 years, Peggy Williams; his daughters Monica Farr and Jenna Williams; and eight grandchildren. Monica was an All-America swimmer at Texas A&M and won two gold medals at the World University Games.

The New York Times contributed to the reporting.