Brian Walton
August 21, 2004
Exclusive Birdhouse Interview with Woody Williams
By Brian Walton
Righthanded starting pitcher Woody Williams has nine wins and an ERA of 3.93, which are only fifth best and fourth best respectively among the Cardinals’ starters. However, the 38 year-old Williams is a proven winner and has come on strong since struggling the first two months of the season as he recovered on the job from an off-season shoulder injury. Since June 1, Williams’ record is 7-2 and he’s posted a 3.21 ERA. That is better than any of the other four starter’s full season marks. I know that is not an apples-to-apples comparison, but it does illustrate Williams’ contribution to the high-flying Cardinals now and I believe is also an indicator of his post-season value.
Congratulations on getting career win #100. Was that something you thought about ahead of time?
No. You can never think about that. For me, I look at those guys who’ve won 300 games. What’s 100 when compared to 300? That’s not that good. Still, for my career, from where I started and where I am at now, I am very appreciative of that.
Talk to me about the situation in San Francisco where you didn’t back down to Barry Bonds. (On August 1, Williams threw 11 pitches before retiring Bonds on a fly ball in an epic matchup at a crucial point of a game where he ended up besting Jason Schmidt and registering win #100 of his career.)
That’s the way I am. I am not going to back down from anybody. I mean, I’m not going to let him beat me and win the game. But, when I have a chance to win the ballgame and pitch to someone, I am going to do it. It doesn’t matter if it is him or whoever it is. In the past, I’ve had pretty good numbers and success against him. When it’s not going to the change the outcome of the game, there is nothing to think about. Be aggressive and make pitches.
What have you done differently since the beginning of June, when your results began to improve so substantially?
It’s just health. My shoulder froze up last winter for whatever reason. It took awhile to get it stretched out and strengthened up a little bit. I’ve never had that happen to me so it was kind of a weird deal. Now that I am healthy, I am able to go out there and make pitches.
I know you always want to pitch, but how did you decide if you were really ready to go after a Spring Training where you didn’t get much game action?
It was fine. Was my stuff where it is now? No. But, I think I still had good enough stuff to win. I didn’t win a few ballgames. I left a couple with leads. There were a couple of games where if I would have had the opportunity to make one pitch, I could have won several ballgames in April. It just didn’t turn out that way.
How do you compare the current Cardinals rotation with previous ones here, in San Diego and Toronto of which you’ve been a part?
It is the best one I’ve been in with the exception maybe of one in Toronto where it was Chris Carpenter, myself, Roger Clemens, Pat Hentgen and Eric Hansen. I thought that was a very good rotation. But, we have a very good defense here and it helps us all out and it is very consistent.
I see you with a bat in your hands frequently. You seem to take your hitting seriously. (Williams is a .221 career hitter with three home runs and 33 RBI.)
I definitely enjoy and take pride in and enjoy my hitting. Is it easy? No, but I enjoy it and I do try my best.
I notice that you were especially close to Pitching Coach Dave Duncan during the games when Matt Morris was suspected of tipping pitches. Is that something you regularly do?
It has nothing to do with Matt. I try to pick up the other team’s pitchers to help our hitters out or whatever I can do. There’s a lot of us that do that. I think it is just looking out for everybody’s best interests.
Are you considering staying in the game once your playing days are over?
Yeah, in a Little League sense. I am going home to be my son’s coach and catch up on being a Dad.
When your contract is up, are you going to again consider playing at home in Houston?
Well, they (the Cardinals) have an option on me for next year. The ball is in their court, so to speak. So, we will wait and see what their decision is. And based on what they decide, I will do what is best for me and my family.
