Jimy Williams Dies at Age 80; Managed Red Sox, Blue Jays, Astros

Former MLB manager Jimy Williams died last Friday at age 80, according to baseball writer Peter Gammons.

Williams managed 12 years in the league across spells with the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros. All three franchises honored him on X, formerly known as Twitter:

His best run came in Boston, where the Red Sox had a .540 winning percentage during his five years in charge. He was honored as the American League Manager of the Year in 1999 after they won 94 games, their most since 1986.

In between working in Toronto and Boston, Williams was the third base coach for the Atlanta Braves. He was the person waving Sid Bream home in Game 7 of the 1992 National League Championship Series. He also won a ring with the franchise in 1995.

Williams also had an indirect role in helping lay the foundation for Atlanta's run of success across the 1990s and early 2000s. He was among the personnel who scouted Chipper Jones ahead of the 1990 MLB draft. At the time, many were lobbying for the Braves to take high school pitcher Todd Van Poppel.

Van Poppel had a nondescript career, while Jones became a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest switch-hitters ever.

Williams earned another World Series ring as bench coach for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008.

Before entering the coaching ranks, he made his MLB debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in April 1966. He only made 14 total appearances, and persistent shoulder trouble eventually forced him to retire.