Bill Madlock

Bill Madlock
Madlock in 1983
Third baseman
Born:(1951-01-12)January 12, 1951 Memphis, Tennessee,U.S.
Batted:Right Threw:Right
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
Texas Rangers(1973) Chicago Cubs(1974–1976) San Francisco Giants(1977–1979) Pittsburgh Pirates(1979–1985) Los Angeles Dodgers(1985–1987) Detroit Tigers(1987) Lotte Orions(1988)
Career highlights and awards
3×All-Star(1975,1981,1983) World Serieschampion (1979) 4×NL batting champion(1975, 1976, 1981, 1983)

Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock, Jr.(born January 12, 1951) is an American former professionalbaseballplayer andcoach.He played inMajor League Baseballas athird basemanfrom 1973 to 1987. Madlock is notable for being a four-time National Leaguebatting champion.His four batting titles as a third baseman was a record untilWade Boggsattained his fifth in 1988. Since 1970, onlyTony Gwynnhas won moreNational Leaguebatting titles (eight). Madlock is also one of only three right-handed hitters to have won multiple National League batting titles since 1960,Roberto Clementehaving also won four andTommy Davishaving won back-to-back titles in 1962 and 1963.

Early life and family

Bill Madlock was born inMemphis, Tennessee,but grew up inDecatur, Illinois,where he graduated fromEisenhower High School.

At Eisenhower High he played basketball, football and baseball. He received 150 scholarship offers for his skills as a basketball player,around 100 for his skills as a football playerand two for his skills as a baseball player.He accepted one of the two baseball scholarships, atSoutheastern Community Collegein Keokuk, Iowa, because of his preference for playing a less hazardous game. His reasoning was clear from what he later told a Sports Illustrated reporter: "I didn't want to have 6'5", 250-pound guys bearing down on me, so I decided to play baseball. "

He was considered for the baseball draft by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1969, but would not sign with the Cardinals. By the time Madlock was ready to sign with a major league baseball team, he had decided to go with an offer from the Washington Senators organization.

Madlock has four children with his late wife Cynthia: Sara, Stephen, Douglas and Jeremy.

Career

In a 15-season career, covering 1806 games, Madlock, nicknamed "Mad Dog", compiled a.305batting averagewith 2008hits,920runs,348doubles,163home runs,174stolen bases,605bases on ballsand 860runs batted in(RBI).

Early years

Madlock was drafted by the Washington Senators in the 5th round of the secondary phase of the1970 amateur draft.After spending a few years in the minor leagues, with a season with theOssining Oxenin the team's only season, he made his debut with the Texas Rangers (who had moved from Washington after the 1971 season) on September 7, 1973, and played 21 games with them, batting.351. Prior to his promotion, he led thePacific Coast Leaguein total bases (268) and runs scored (119), finished second in batting (.338) and had 22 homers and 90 RBI atTriple-ASpokane.He was traded along withVic Harrisfrom the Rangers to theChicago CubsforFerguson Jenkinson October 25, 1973. His new manager with the CubsWhitey Lockmansaid about him, "Our scouts are extremely high on Madlock as being one of the best hitting prospects they have seen in some time."Madlock replacedRon Santoas the Cubs' third baseman and hit.313, the highest average for a Cubs third baseman sinceStan Hackbatted.323 in 1945. In 1975 Madlock won his first batting title with a.354 average. On July 26 of that year he went 6-for-6 during a Cubs' loss to theNew York Mets.He also made the first of his threeAll-Starappearances and shared Game MVP honors withJon Matlack.

Batting averages

In 1976 Madlock repeated as batting champion with a.339 average, edging outKen Griffey Sr.of theCincinnati Redson the final day of the regular season (October 3, 1976). In an 8–2 win over theMontreal Expos,Madlock collected four singles to raise his average from.333 to.339, one point ahead of Griffey. Griffey belatedly entered his team's game (which the Reds won 11–1 over theAtlanta Braves), and went 0-for-2, dropping his average to.336.

Madlock at bat in 1986

During the advent of MLBfree agencyfollowing the1976 season,Madlock demanded a multiyear contract with an annual salary of about $200,000, but was rejected by team ownerPhilip K. Wrigleywho then announced that Madlock would be traded "to anyone foolish enough to want him."In what was considered one of the five worst trades in Cubs history by theChicago Tribune's Chris Kuc in 2016,Madlock andRob Sperringwere dealt to theSan Francisco GiantsforBobby Murcer,Steve Ontiverosand minor-league right-handed pitcher Andy Muhlstock on February 11, 1977.Madlock, an average fielder at best, was moved to second base (the Giants already hadDarrell Evansat third), and batted "only".302 and.309 in 1977 and 1978 respectively.

Madlock was acquired along withLenny RandleandDave Robertsby thePittsburgh Piratesfrom theGiantsforAl Holland,Ed WhitsonandFred Breiningon June 28, 1979 in whatDave Kindreddescribed as "a midsummer deal that still doesn't make sense."He was a starting third baseman again on a ballclub that eventually won the1979 World Series.He batted.328 with the Pirates during the regular season and.375 in the World Series.

In 1980 Madlock's average dropped to.277 as the Pirates finished third in theNational League East,eight games behind the eventualWorld ChampionPhiladelphia Phillies.For Madlock, the season became infamous for an incident during a May 1 game against theMontreal ExposatThree Rivers Stadium.Madlock poked umpireJerry Crawfordin the face with his glove after being called out on strikes with the bases loaded.National LeaguePresidentChub Feeneyfined Madlock $5,000 and suspended him 15 games. Madlock appealed the suspension and remained in uniform before finally serving the suspension on June 6, after National League umpires threatened to eject him from every game he tried to play in.

Batting titles

Madlock won two more batting titles, in 1981 and 1983, making him the first player to win multiple batting titles with two different teams. He also finished second in the National League in batting in 1982, his.319 average bettered only byAl Oliver's.331. Afterwards, however, his play mirrored the decline of the team. In August 1985 the Pirates traded him to Los Angeles which, like Pittsburgh in 1979, was contending for a division title. The Dodgers lost to theSt. Louis Cardinalsin theNLCSbut Madlock hit three home runs in the loss. In1987,the Dodgers released Madlock, who signed a few days later with theDetroit Tigers,hitting.279 with 14 home runs and 50 RBI in 87 games including a three home run game on June 28, where he again earned a trip to the postseason. Madlock became a free agent at the end of the 1987 season and played for theLotte Orionsin Japan in 1988.

Madlock's four batting titles is the most of any player in major league baseball history who is not enshrined in theHall of Fame.

"Mad Dog"

Madlock also had a fiery temper, and was involved in several incidents (including the 1980 episode) that exemplified it:

• August 16, 1975: In the first inning of a game against theHouston Astrosat theAstrodome,Madlock was ejected for arguing with umpireArt Williamson a close play at first base in which Madlock was called out. He was ejected by not only Williams but also home plate umpireBruce Froemming,who overheard Madlock's angry profanity-laden tirade.
• May 1, 1976: Madlock was fined $500 forcharging the moundafter San Francisco pitcherJim Barrbrushed him back with a pitch during a game atCandlestick Park.
• Spring training,1978: Madlock, as a Giant, got into a clubhouse fight withJohn Montefuscoafter interrupting an interview with the pitcher. Afterwards, Madlock ripped Montefusco: "I've heard and read where Montefusco has said this team is a team of losers."

As a player, Madlock was ejected from 18 games. He was also ejected from three games during his two years as a Tiger coach.

Over time, Madlock's approach to umpires changed. Umpire Jerry Crawford remarked after his 1980 dispute with Madlock that "[t]here's no question [Madlock has] calmed down. He's changed, which is great, because a guy of his ability doesn't have to do the things to umpires that he was doing." Madlock's agent,Stephen Greenberg,son of baseball greatHank Greenberg,added that "[t]he Crawford incident was a benchmark. Now if he disagrees with an umpire, he uses his charm, which can be considerable."

Post-playing career

In 2000 and 2001 Madlock was a coach with theDetroit Tigers,reuniting with Tigersmanagerand former Pirates teammatePhil Garner.In 2001, Madlock was invited byOmar Moreno,another former Pirate teammate, to coach in a professional league in Panama City, Panama. In 2003, Madlock was hired to manage theNewark Bearsof the independentAtlantic League;the team went 117–134 during his two seasons. In 2013, he was announced as the manager of the Independent League Tiffin Saints.

On Saturday, August 27, 2016, Madlock was inducted into the Decatur Public Schools (Decatur, IL) Athletic Hall of Fame during its inaugural ceremony at Frank M. Lindsay Field at Millikin University during the annual MacArthur-Eisenhower Tate & Lyle Braggin’ Rights Football Game.

Madlock lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, where since 2007 he is 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

External links

• Career statistics and player information fromBaseball Reference,orFangraphs,orBaseball Reference (Minors)
• Bill Madlock- Baseballbiography
• The Baseball Page