Williams Resurfaces to Haunt New York

Gerald Williams received an opportunity out of necessity. Williams’ performance took care of the rest.

The Atlanta Braves were hit hard by illness and injuries this season, so they turned to Williams and others to provide a boost. The former reserve outfielder filled the void better than expected, helping the Braves become National League champions for the fifth time during the decade.

Williams sparked the Braves after becoming the full-time leadoff batter in August, providing a missing element. The Braves play the New York Yankees in the World Series beginning Saturday at Turner Field, matching Williams against his former team and many close friends.

The journey from New York to Atlanta was often uncomfortable for the soft-spoken Williams, but he has finally found his place.

“For me, this has been a very rewarding season,” Williams said. “It’s just a situation where when I got into the lineup, I was trying to establish a rhythm to help my team and my teammates.

“I was just trying to get on base any way that I could. Sometimes, fortunately, I get on.”

Williams scored the winning run in the Braves’ 10-9, 11-inning victory over the New York Mets in Game 6 on Tuesday. He opened the inning with a double against left-hander Kenny Rogers, putting the Braves in position to finally clinch the wild series.

The Braves squandered 5-0 and 7-3 leads, and Williams’ key hit helped them prevent a potentially embarrassing off-season.

“It was a situation where we lost the lead, but we didn’t lose the game,” Williams said. “We just had to make sure we got guys in scoring position and that we drove guys in when they got into scoring position.

“As far as ever giving up or losing spirit or anything like that, no, that’s not what this game is about. It’s about making adjustments when you need to.”

Williams and the Braves have done that throughout their obstacle-hurdling season.

The right-handed batter has provided key hits since Manager Bobby Cox made him the leadoff hitter and everyday left fielder Aug. 5.

Atlanta trailed New York by two games in the East division at that point. The Braves were trying to overcome losing first baseman Andres Galarraga, catcher Javy Lopez and closer Kerry Ligtenberg; and the Mets threatened their long-running stranglehold on the division championship.

Enter Williams.

He had been a key member of the Braves’ productive bench last season after being acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers on Dec. 11, 1997. In only 226 at-bats, Williams batted .305 with 10 home runs and 44 runs batted in.

But Williams, 32, had been considered nothing more than a fourth outfielder during his seven-plus seasons in the major leagues. That is, until the Braves had holes to fill.

Williams batted .280 with eight homers, 30 RBIs and a .339 on-base percentage after being promoted. Moreover, the Braves finished 39-14 with Williams stirring things atop the order, and earned an eighth consecutive division title.

Overall, he batted .275 with 17 homers and 68 RBIs. He scored 76 runs and had 19 stolen bases.

“When we got Gerald, we looked at him as a fourth outfielder, but he’s a much better player than that,” Cox said. “You can’t imagine what it does for your ballclub to have Gerald leading off. Once he got into the lineup and stayed there, I left him in there.

“He’s a much better player than just a platoon-type guy, and we don’t ever pinch-hit for him anymore. Since he got in the lineup and started playing every day, we are a different ballclub. He got us going. We talk about Chipper [Jones] and [Brian] Jordan a lot, and some of the other guys, but Gerald Williams is the guy that really got the club moving.”

The Yankees selected Williams during the 14th round of the 1987 free-agent draft. After playing parts of five seasons in the Big Apple, Williams was traded to the Brewers during the ’96 season in the multiplayer deal that brought left-handed specialist Graeme Lloyd to the Bronx.

Yankee officials were reluctant to trade Williams, but they needed an effective left-handed reliever. Lloyd played a key role in the Yankees’ 1996 World Series victory over the Braves.

“We had a $60-million house with a hole in the roof; we needed a left-handed reliever,” said second-year Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman, part of owner George Steinbrenner’s front-office team when the deal was made.

“We felt we had to pay a lot. We gave up a good player in Gerald Williams, but we had to have one [a left-hander]. He [Lloyd] was the missing piece to the puzzle.”

Williams did not fare as well with the Brewers.

He struggled against left-handers in his first stint as an everyday player, batting .253 with 10 homers, 41 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. The Brewers traded him to the Braves for pitcher Chad Fox.

Williams improved offensively under batting instructor Don Baylor, making adjustments that have made him productive everyday.

“People put labels on you, but I think labels are just what they are,” Williams said. “You have to have opportunities to play. I’ve been granted that, and I’ve made good on those opportunities.”

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Leading Men

How Gerald Williams compares to Atlanta’s other primary leadoff batters in 1999 (statistics from leadoff spot only):

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Player Avg. OB% HR RBI R SB Gerald Williams .282 .342 14 53 63 12 Otis Nixon .219 .323 0 7 18 11 Walt Weiss .193 .287 1 9 13 4

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Times staff writer Mike DiGiovanna contributed to this story.