Bill Madlock facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bill Madlock |
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Madlock in 1983
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| Third baseman | |||
| Born: January 12, 1951 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
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| Professional debut | |||
| MLB: September 7, 1973, for the Texas Rangers | |||
| NPB: April 8, 1988, for the Lotte Orions | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| MLB: October 4, 1987, for the Detroit Tigers | |||
| NPB: October 23, 1988, for the Lotte Orions | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .305 | ||
| Hits | 2,008 | ||
| Home runs | 163 | ||
| Runs batted in | 860 | ||
| NPB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .263 | ||
| Home runs | 19 | ||
| Runs batted in | 61 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock, Jr. (born January 12, 1951) is a former professional baseball player and coach from the United States. He played as a third baseman in Major League Baseball from 1973 to 1987. Bill Madlock is famous for winning the batting title four times in the National League. A batting title means he had the highest batting average in the league.
His four batting titles as a third baseman were a record for a long time. Only Wade Boggs later won more, getting his fifth in 1988. Since 1970, only Tony Gwynn has won more National League batting titles, with eight. Bill Madlock is also one of only three right-handed hitters to win multiple National League batting titles since 1960. The others are Roberto Clemente (who also won four) and Tommy Davis (who won two in a row).
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Bill Madlock's Early Life
Bill Madlock was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He grew up in Decatur, Illinois, where he went to Eisenhower High School.
At Eisenhower High, Bill played basketball, football, and baseball. He was very talented in sports! He received 150 scholarship offers for basketball and about 100 for football. But he only got two offers for baseball. He chose one of the baseball scholarships at Southeastern Community College in Iowa. He preferred baseball because it was less dangerous. He once told a reporter, "I didn't want to have 6'5", 250-pound guys bearing down on me, so I decided to play baseball."
The St. Louis Cardinals considered drafting him for baseball in 1969, but he did not sign with them. When he was ready to sign with a major league team, he chose an offer from the Washington Senators.
Bill Madlock has four children with his late wife, Cynthia: Sara, Stephen, Douglas, and Jeremy.
Bill Madlock's Baseball Career
During his 15-season career, Bill Madlock played in 1806 games. He was nicknamed "Mad Dog." He had a .305 batting average and collected 2008 hits. He also scored 920 runs, hit 348 doubles, and 163 home runs. He stole 174 stolen bases, got 605 bases on balls (walks), and had 860 runs batted in (RBI).
Starting in the Major Leagues
The Washington Senators drafted Bill Madlock in 1970. After playing a few years in the minor leagues, he made his big league debut. He joined the Texas Rangers (who had moved from Washington) on September 7, 1973. He played 21 games with them and had a great batting average of .351. Before joining the Rangers, he was a star in the minor leagues. He led the Pacific Coast League in total bases and runs scored. He was also second in batting average with .338.
On October 25, 1973, the Rangers traded Bill Madlock to the Chicago Cubs. His new manager with the Cubs, Whitey Lockman, was very excited. He said scouts believed Madlock was "one of the best hitting prospects they have seen in some time." Madlock took over as the Cubs' third baseman from Ron Santo. He hit .313, which was the highest average for a Cubs third baseman since 1945.
In 1975, Bill Madlock won his first batting title with an amazing .354 average. On July 26 of that year, he got 6 hits in 6 tries during a game against the New York Mets. He also played in his first of three All-Star Games that year.
Winning Batting Titles
In 1976, Bill Madlock won his second batting title in a row with a .339 average. He won it on the very last day of the season! He was playing against the Montreal Expos and got four singles. This raised his average just enough to beat Ken Griffey Sr. of the Cincinnati Reds.
After the 1976 season, Madlock wanted a new contract with a higher salary. The Cubs' owner, Philip K. Wrigley, did not agree. He announced that Madlock would be traded. On February 11, 1977, Madlock was traded to the San Francisco Giants. This trade was later seen as one of the worst in Cubs history. With the Giants, Madlock played second base instead of third. He still hit well, batting .302 in 1977 and .309 in 1978.
On June 28, 1979, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded for Bill Madlock. He became their starting third baseman again. That year, the Pirates went on to win the 1979 World Series. Madlock batted .328 with the Pirates during the regular season. He was even better in the World Series, hitting .375!
In 1980, Madlock's batting average dropped to .277. That season, he had an incident during a game against the Montreal Expos. He poked umpire Jerry Crawford in the face with his glove after being called out. The National League President fined Madlock $5,000 and suspended him for 15 games.
More Batting Titles and Later Career
Bill Madlock won two more batting titles, in 1981 and 1983. This made him the first player to win multiple batting titles with two different teams. In 1982, he finished second in the National League batting race.
In August 1985, the Pirates traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers were trying to win their division, just like the Pirates had in 1979. The Dodgers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the playoffs, but Madlock hit three home runs in that series. In 1987, the Dodgers released Madlock. He then signed with the Detroit Tigers. He hit .279 with 14 home runs for the Tigers and made it to the postseason again.
After the 1987 season, Madlock became a free agent. He played for the Lotte Orions in Japan in 1988.
Bill Madlock's four batting titles are the most for any player in Major League Baseball history who is not in the Hall of Fame.
"Mad Dog" and His Temper
Bill Madlock earned his nickname "Mad Dog" because he had a fiery temper. He was involved in several incidents during his career. For example, in 1975, he was thrown out of a game for arguing with an umpire. In 1976, he was fined for charging the pitcher's mound after a pitch came too close to him. He was ejected from 18 games as a player.
Over time, Madlock's behavior towards umpires changed. Umpire Jerry Crawford, who had the incident with Madlock in 1980, later said Madlock had "calmed down." Madlock's agent added that the 1980 incident was a turning point. After that, Madlock started using his charm when he disagreed with umpires.
After Playing Baseball
After his playing career, Bill Madlock became a coach. In 2000 and 2001, he was a coach for the Detroit Tigers. He worked with his former Pirates teammate, Phil Garner, who was the Tigers' manager. In 2001, another former Pirates teammate, Omar Moreno, invited Madlock to coach in a professional league in Panama.
In 2003, Madlock became the manager for the Newark Bears. This team was part of an independent league called the Atlantic League. He managed the team for two seasons. In 2013, he was announced as the manager of the Independent League Tiffin Saints.
On August 27, 2016, Bill Madlock was honored. He was inducted into the Decatur Public Schools Athletic Hall of Fame in Decatur, Illinois.
Today, Bill Madlock lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since 2007, he has been teaching batting lessons to kids at the Vegas Valley Batter's Box.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
- Major League Baseball titles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball batting champions
- List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders
- List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders
