There are many things most Angel fans already know about current, interim general manager Bill Stoneman, like how he was infamously unwilling to participate in trade deadline deals, how he preferred to hold on to Angel prospects, and how he was the man behind the trade that sent Jim Edmonds to the Cardinals for Kent Bottenfield and Adam Kennedy, the trade that sent Jose Guillen to the Nationals for Maicer Izturis and Juan Rivera, and how he signed superstar free agents Vladimir Guerrero and Bartolo Colon. But there is a lot more to the man’s impressive history besides his work as Angel general manager. Take a look at these ten things you probably didn’t know about William Hambley Stoneman III:
1. He is a local guy. He graduated from West Covina High School and then attended Mount San Antonio College in Walnut before leaving southern California to attend the University of Idaho.
2. In his senior year of college, his team was one win short of earning a trip to the College World Series. Stoneman had a 6-2 record and a 0.45 ERA for the Vandals that year, but he was the losing pitcher in the Division 7 title game, a 3-2 loss to the University of Arizona. Stoneman gave up 9 hits and two walks, and he struck out five, but perhaps the sting of the loss went away a few days later when he was drafted by the Cubs in the 31st round of the 1966 amateur draft.
3. He pitched the first no-hitter in Expos/Nationals franchise history. It happened on April 17, 1969 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia, and it was just the tenth game in Expo history. Stoneman had eight strikeouts and five walks to go with the no-hitter. Only one Phillie made it to second base, Deron Johnson (the future Angel hitting coach), who got there after a fielder’s choice and a stolen base. The Expos won 7-0.
4. The best game of his career was a one-hitter against the Padres. Stoneman dominated in this game, getting 14 strikeouts while giving up only one walk. Bill even hit an RBI-single to help out his own cause in the 2-0 victory over San Diego. The lone hit off of him came in the seventh when center fielder Cito Gaston swatted a one out single. Also of note to Angel fans, Scott Spezio’s father, Ed Spezio played third base for the Padres that day.
5. Bill Stoneman owns the second best single-season strikeout total in Expos/Nationals franchise history. The future Angel general manager had 251 strikeouts for the Expos in the 1971 season. Neither Steve Rogers, Stephen Strasburg, nor Max Scherzer can touch Stoneman in this category. The only pitcher to have amassed more strikeouts in a single season for this franchise is Pedro Martinez, who had a whopping 305 for the Expos in 1997.
6. He was an All-Star in 1972. At the break that year, Stoneman had a 3.15 ERA, 104 strikeouts, and two shutouts, which led to his one and only All-Star Game selection. Pirate manager Danny Murtaugh put Bill into the game at the beginning of the seventh inning with the NL leading 2-1. Stoneman had a 1-2-3 inning, getting Dick Allen to ground out, Carl Yastrzemski to strike out, and Bobby Grich to ground out. Then Stoneman went back out for the eighth inning, but things didn’t go so well for him this time. Carlton Fisk hit a one out single, and then two batters later, Victor Rojas’ father, Cookie Rojas, hit a two-run homer. Stoneman got the last out of the inning, but the NL was now losing, 3-2. Luckily for Stoneman, the National Leaguers would tie the game in the ninth and then win it in the tenth on a Joe Morgan RBI-single.
7. He tossed a second no-hitter! This one came on October 2, 1972 at Parc Jerry in Montreal in a game against the Mets and was the first MLB no-hitter ever thrown in Canada. Stoneman had nine strikeouts and seven walks in this one. The last out was dramatic, as it came on a grounder that bad-hopped on a rock and almost shot passed shortstop Tim Foli, but he was able to make the difficult adjustment and throw the runner out at first base. Stoneman’s team, which had been giving him the traditional cold shoulder on the field and in the dugout as the potential no-hitter progressed, mobbed him halfway between the pitcher’s mound and the third base line. Team president John McHale and general manager Jim Fanning rushed to join in the celebration and held up Stoneman’s hands like he was a victorious prizefighter. Stoneman said to the press afterwards, “I’m glad I pitched the no-hitter here because these are the best people in all of baseball. I heard the people yelling. It felt great. Having pitched one on the road, I know that I am happier to have pitched it here!” The next day, in between the games of that day’s doubleheader, a ceremony was held for Bill where he received a $2,000 bonus from the team, his wife received a gold ring, the couple received a voucher for free travel from Air Canada, and Bill’s catcher for the no-hitter, Tim McCarver, received a $500 gift certificate.
8. He ended his career pitching for the Angels. After all of his wild success, Stoneman had a terrible season for the Expos in 1973. In an interview years later with Bill Kirwin, Stoneman acknowledged, “I had hurt my shoulder and never really recovered. The power was gone from my arm. I used to have a good fastball and a good curveball — both were gone.” The Angels purchased Stoneman’s contract from the Expos on April 4, 1974. He threw 58.2 innings for the Angels that season and had a 1-8 record, a 1.89 WHIP, and a 6.14 ERA. He retired that July. The one win Stoneman got for the Angels was a 4-2 victory against the Red Sox on May 1st at Fenway. He went eight innings and had nine strikeouts, fanning Carlton Fisk twice, Dwight Evans twice, and Carl Yastrzemski once.
9. He was one of the worst hitting pitchers in MLB history. He struck out 212 times in 338 career at bats!
10. He became an MLB executive quite by accident. After his baseball career was over, he decided to put the bachelor’s degree in business he had earned at the University of Idaho to use and moved with his wife back to Canada where he got a job at the financial firm, Royal Trust. He worked there for ten years and had no intention of ever getting back into baseball in any capacity until one day, when he and his wife were driving back to Toronto after a vacation at Prince Edward Island. They decided to stop in Montreal as Bill’s wife was French Canadian and wanted to visit. The Expos happened to have a home game that day, so Bill went off to the stadium. He started chatting before the game with Gary Carter and Steve Rogers, whom he knew from his playing days and then decided to go up to the press box and visit with another old friend, Jacques Beauchamp, who wrote for the Journal de Montreal. Well, as the two old friends were talking, who happened to walk by and join in the conversation but John McHale, who was now the general manager of the Expos. McHale was interested to find out that Stoneman was working in the financial business, and he offered Stoneman a front office job with the Expos, which Stoneman accepted. Bill worked in various positions for the Expos, including a stint as their general manager before leaving them in 1999 to work for the Angels, where he has worked as a GM or a senior advisor ever since.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
