Billy Sample facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Billy Sample |
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| Outfielder | |||
| Born: April 2, 1955 Roanoke, Virginia, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| September 2, 1978, for the Texas Rangers | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| October 5, 1986, for the Atlanta Braves | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .272 | ||
| Home runs | 46 | ||
| Runs batted in | 230 | ||
| Teams | |||
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William Amos Sample (born April 2, 1955) is a former professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine seasons. Billy Sample was a part of the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, and Atlanta Braves teams. His career spanned from 1978 to 1986.
Early Life and Sports
Billy Sample grew up in Salem, Virginia. He was born in Roanoke, Virginia. He went to Andrew Lewis High School and graduated in 1973.
While in high school, Billy was a fantastic athlete. He played three different sports very well. He was a star in football, basketball, and baseball. In 1971, as a junior, he scored the winning touchdown in a big football game. This helped his team reach the state championship. His team later lost to T. C. Williams High School. This game was later shown in the movie Remember The Titans. After high school, Sample attended Madison College. This school is now known as James Madison University. He played there for three years. In 1976, the Texas Rangers picked him to play baseball.
Major League Baseball Career
Billy Sample started his Major League Baseball career in 1978. He got a hit on his very first pitch in the big leagues. In 1979, he was named to the Topps All-Rookie Team. This showed he was one of the best new players.
He had a great hitting streak in 1981, hitting safely in 19 games in a row. In 1983, he was one of the best base stealers in the American League. He stole 44 bases out of 52 tries. He was also very hard to strike out. Only one teammate had hit more home runs than him among the players who were tough to strike out. Billy Sample finished his career with a .272 batting average. He stopped playing baseball in 1986 with the Atlanta Braves.
Life After Baseball
After his playing days, Billy Sample became a broadcaster and writer. He worked as a broadcaster for several baseball teams. These included the Braves, Seattle Mariners, and California Angels. He also shared his thoughts on many big sports networks. These included NPR, CBS Radio, ESPN, and MLB.com.
As a writer, his articles appeared in famous magazines. He wrote for Sports Illustrated and The New York Times. He was also one of the first writers for USA Today's Baseball Weekly. This publication is now called Sports Weekly. Sample also helped with a TV show about the Yankees' 1996 season. It was called Joe Torre: Curveballs Along the Way.
Billy Sample also became a filmmaker. He produced a movie called "Reunion 108." It was a comedy about baseball. The movie won an award at the Hoboken Film Festival in 2011. It was released in October 2013. In 2016, he wrote his first book. It was called "A Year in Pinstripes ... And Then Some." The book shared stories from his time with the New York Yankees. It also included memories from his childhood and other teams.
Billy Sample Field
On October 18, 2019, a special honor was given to Billy Sample. A baseball field in his hometown was renamed after him. This field was known as Municipal Field when he was growing up. It was later called Kiwanis Park. Now, it is known as Billy Sample Field at Kiwanis Park. This was the same field where he played baseball as a kid. It was also where he watched many future MLB players.
