The Unsung Career of Bill Mueller

One of the best baseball players you’ve never heard of

He played a quiet game. He had talent, worked hard, and kept his head down. His exploits on the field rarely appeared on SportsCenter. His teammates — superstars like Barry Bonds and David Ortiz — got the limelight, not him. Though he never appeared in an All-Star Game, his eleven-year career from 1996 to 2006 included historic highlights. He earned a World Series ring, was instrumental in the greatest comeback in sports history, and set a record that put him in Cooperstown. Yet few baseball fans recall the name Bill Mueller.

After the end of the 1996 Major League Baseball season, the San Francisco Giants’ General Manager Brian Sabean made a wildly unpopular trade. Fans had grown to love third baseman Matt Williams. But the Giants were a losing team, and the new GM Sabean needed to shake things up. He traded the four-time All-Star to Cleveland for a lesser known second baseman named Jeff Kent, among others. Barry Bonds was already a Giant at the time, and the Bonds-Kent era began. But the Williams trade left a roster spot at third base.

Enter Bill Mueller.

Few predicted lofty baseball achievements for Mueller. Not even him. He was a 15th round draft pick in 1993 who toiled in the minors for three years. Baseball announcers initially couldn’t even say his name correctly. Though spelled Mueller, his family pronounced it Miller. In time, though, baseball insiders knew all about him.

In his rookie season, the 25-year-old switch-hitter appeared in only 55 games. When called up in April of ’96, he platooned with Matt Williams at third base. In that limited role, however, he hit an eye-opening .330. He also posted a .401 on-base percentage. Williams, who was still in his prime, also hit for high average. But he was growing older. The Cleveland trade for Kent, on paper, made sense. In 1997, Bill Mueller took over third base for the Giants. He had big shoes to fill.

Prototypical third basemen are seen as sluggers. Think of Mike Schmidt, Chipper Jones, Brooks Robinson, Adrian Beltre, and David Wright. Not Bill Mueller.

He hit 0 home runs in his first season. Unlike most men at his position, Mueller was a switch-hitter who was known for singles and doubles. He had a keen eye for the strike zone, walked often, and was a difficult batter to strike out. But while wearing a Giants uniform he was not known for power.

Mueller was an accomplished fielder. He worked hard on his defense and it showed. His consistency at the plate and his ability to switch hit were boons for the team. Batting second in the lineup suited Mueller. He got on base, and his teammates — most notably Kent and Bonds — drove him in. From 1997 through 1999, Mueller hit over .290 with two dozen doubles each year.

He was never flashy on or off the field. He rarely gave interviews. Mueller seemed to shy away from the spotlight. Most of the focus went to Bonds, Kent, and others. Mueller was consistent, steady, and quiet. Professional. Workmanlike.

When the Giants moved from Candlestick Park to the newly-built Pac Bell Park in 2000 (later named AT&T Park), Mueller recorded the first Giants hit in the first home game. His numbers dropped off as the season progressed, however. He hit only .268 for the year, despite having more plate appearances than in any other season of his young career. His OBP fell to .333. Oddly enough, though, he hit 10 home runs that season. During the 2000–2001 off-season he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Todd Worrell.

Mueller’s two years in Chicago did not go as hoped. While trying to catch a pop foul ball, he banged into one of Wrigley’s brick walls and injured his knee. That sidelined him for the remainder of the season. In his second year with Chicago his numbers dipped again. His career seemed to have stalled. Near the end of the 2002 season, he was sent back to the Giants briefly, though he was left off the World Series roster, and fans sensed that the 31-year-old ballplayer’s career might be over.

Not by a long shot. Boston signed him as a free agent in 2003. During his tenure with the Red Sox, Bill Mueller made baseball history.

He seemed reborn in Boston. Fenway Park suited him. The plan was to platoon him at third base with Shea Hillenbrand. But at the end of May that year the Red Sox traded Hillenbrand to Arizona for closer Byung-Hyun Kim. Mueller became the everyday third baseman, and he went on to set personal career highs in hits (171), doubles (45), and home runs (19). Though batting eighth or ninth in the lineup most games, he hit .326 for the year.

By the end of the 2003 season, Mueller quietly claimed the American League batting crown.

His feats in one game in Texas on July 29 that year put him in Cooperstown. On a steamy hot Tuesday night in Arlington, Mueller did something that had never been done and may never be seen again.

In the third inning, while batting eighth in Boston’s powerful lineup, Mueller hit a solo homer off Texas pitcher R.A. Dickey. That started the scoring for the Sox and made the score 2–1 in favor of the Rangers. At the end of six innings, Texas led 4–2. Then the wheels fell off for the home team as the Red Sox bats woke up.

In the 7th, the switch-hitting Mueller came up to bat right-handed against lefty reliever Aaron Fultz. He and Mueller had briefly been teammates in 2000 with the Giants. The bases were loaded, and Mueller hit one over the left field fence for a grand slam.

In the 8th, during Mueller’s very next at-bat, the bases were once again loaded with Red Sox. Right-handed reliever Jay Powell had two outs, and Mueller batted left-handed against him. Then Mueller did it again — another grand slam that went over the right-center field wall.

Hitting three home runs in one game is surprisingly not that rare. Collecting nine RBI in one game, as Mueller did that night, is rarer. Only 13 players in MLB history (as of 2018) hit two grand slams in one game. But Bill Mueller is the only player in MLB history to hit two grand slams in one game from each side of the plate. And he did it in consecutive at-bats.

Consider the luck of that situation. A batter has to be incredibly fortunate to be at the plate with bases loaded once in a game, let alone twice. A batter also has to be very good to hit the ball in both at-bats. To hit two grand slams in one game is a remarkable feat in and of itself. But Mueller hit one slam as a right-handed batter and the other left-handed. The odds of that occurring in a single game are incalculable and unlikely to ever be repeated.

Mueller didn’t gloat. He didn’t flail his arms while rounding the bases. He was modest about the accomplishment. He was quiet.

His memorable games as a member of the Red Sox were just beginning, though.

The rivalry between the Red Sox and the Yankees needs no explanation to any sports fan. Every regular season contest between the two teams seemed like a playoff game. The 2004 Red Sox were scuffling through midseason, and some believe the team turned a corner in a July contest at Fenway Park against New York.

That game featured an infamous brawl between Yankee Alex Rodriguez and Boston catcher Jason Varitek that led to a bench-clearing melee. Punches were thrown. But once order was restored, the game continued. In the bottom of the ninth inning, with a man on base and one out, Mueller knocked in a game-winning home run. He hit it off Mariano Rivera, inarguably the greatest closer in MLB history.

Was that luck or achievement? Consider this. Mueller’s lifetime batting average against the Yankee closer was an astonishing .455!

That unique ability to hit Mariano Rivera’s famously unhitable cut fastball immortalized Bill Mueller in the greatest comeback in sports history.

Even casual baseball fans must surely be aware of the miracle of the 2004 American League Championship Series between the Yankees and the Red Sox. But here’s a recap.

New York had home-field advantage during the seven-game series, and they had won Games 1 and 2 at Yankee Stadium. Game 3 was played at Fenway Park, and Boston’s knuckleballer Tim Wakefield got shelled. The humiliating final score was 19–8. The Yankees had a 3–0 lead in the best of seven series, and all they had to do was win one more contest against their rivals. No team in baseball history — in fact, no team in the history of any sport — had ever comeback from such a seemingly insurmountable deficit.

By the ninth inning, New York held a 4–3 lead over Boston. The Red Sox had one last chance in the bottom of the inning to salvage what remained of the series and their season. In came relief pitcher extraordinaire Mariano Rivera to close out the contest for the Yankees.

The mood of the Red Sox fans in the ballpark at that moment was magical. Sports fans in other cities might’ve packed it in, called it a night, and headed for the exits rather than seeing their beloved team lose in such an ignominious fashion. Not in Boston. Though nervous, the Fenway Faithful kept cheering on the Sox.

The bottom of the 9th inning began with Boston first baseman Kevin Millar taking a walk. Manager Terry Francona then pinch-ran for Millar. He sent in the speedy Dave Roberts.

Roberts had been brought to Boston midseason for one reason: to steal bases. The 2004 Red Sox were not a base-stealing team. They were sluggers and hitters but not speedsters. Roberts knew his role. He needed to steal second base.

Bill Mueller was at the plate when Roberts made the successful steal.

With nobody out, the conventional baseball wisdom called for Mueller to bunt Roberts over to third base. That would’ve set up an outfield sacrifice fly ball situation to score the runner. But Mueller usually put the ball in play, rarely struck out, and had great success against Mariano Rivera. He was given the green light to swing away.

And he did. Mueller singled up the middle against the great Yankee closer. Roberts scored to tie the game.

Three innings later, David Ortiz slugged a walk-off two-run homer into the bullpen to win it.

The Red Sox won the next game, too, also in extra innings. Then the series returned to New York, and the Sox kept winning. They came from behind 0–3 to win the American League title by defeating the Yankees 4 games to 3, a miracle comeback never before or since accomplished in any seven game series in any sport.

Boston also then swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. They rattled off 8 straight wins in total, and became the first Red Sox team in generations to bring home a championship.

In the 4-game World Series, Mueller batted .321 with an OBP of .409. He walked 4 times and never struck out.

Bill Mueller’s clutch hit in the bottom of the 9th of ALCS Game 4, however, helped change everything for Red Sox Nation.

After the ball went into centerfield and Roberts scored, Mueller stood at first base. He didn’t grandstand. He didn’t wave his arms in the air to encourage the crowd or to exhort his teammates to rally. He showed little emotion at all. At best, he chewed his gum and gave a nod to the dugout. Then he casually removed his batting gloves and shin guard. Professional. Workmanlike.

That was Bill Mueller’s game. No flash. No appearance of ego. Yet reliable. Clutch.

He spent one more season in Boston. Then, in 2006, the Dodgers signed him to a one-year deal. But Mueller’s knee acted up again, and he went on the DL. He played in only 32 games. When the season finished, his career ended at age 35.

His career batting average was .291. He collected 85 home runs, mostly as an American Leaguer. He won a Silver Slugger Award, a batting title, and a World Series ring. The Cardinals later signed him as a batting coach but released him a few years later. His career has begun to fade from memory, as so often happens.

Though never a superstar, Bill Mueller had a fine major league career with some brilliant highlights. Perhaps his finest quality as a ballplayer was the quiet, workmanlike way he played the game.