Bill Travers (baseball)

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Bill Travers

|position=Pitcher

|image=Bill Travers - Milwaukee Brewers.jpg

|bats=Left

|throws=Left

|birth_date={{birth date and age|1952|10|27}}

|birth_place=Norwood, Massachusetts, U.S.

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=May 19

|debutyear=1974

|debutteam=Milwaukee Brewers

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=July 17

|finalyear=1983

|finalteam=California Angels

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Win–loss record

|stat1value=65–71

|stat2label=Earned run average

|stat2value=4.10

|stat3label=Strikeouts

|stat3value=488

|teams=

Milwaukee Brewers ({{mlby|1974}}–{{mlby|1980}})
California Angels ({{mlby|1981}}, {{mlby|1983}})

|highlights=

}}

William Edward Travers (born October 27, 1952) is an American former professional baseball pitcher.

Early years

Travers attended Norwood High School, where he pitched three no-hitters, and was 13-0 with one save as a senior.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1368&dat=19760618&id=p4tRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3REEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2232,2757866|last=Chapman|first=Lou|date=June 18, 1976|title=Young Bill Travers Grows up Fast|newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel|pages=1&4|access-date=September 19, 2016|archive-date=January 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126223037/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1368&dat=19760618&id=p4tRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3REEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2232,2757866|url-status=dead}} He also played for the Norwood Post 70 American Legion team. The southpaw was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the sixth round of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft five months shy of his 18th birthday.

His minor league career started off poorly (1-6, 5.62 ERA with the Midwest League's Clinton Pilots in {{baseball year|1970}}), and only got worse when he started to develop arm trouble in {{baseball year|1972}}. Following operations to remove bone chips from his elbow and reroute an ulnar nerve which almost saw his career end (an operation which later became known as Tommy John surgery),{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1842&dat=19760606&id=rRcsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=psgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3193,841186|title=A Sore Arm Helps Bill Travers|newspaper=TimesDaily|date=June 6, 1976|pages=32}} Travers received his first call up to the majors in {{baseball year|1974}}. Used primarily as a long reliever in manager Del Crandall's bullpen, Travers went 2-3 with a 4.92 earned run average.

He started the following season with the triple A Sacramento Solons, however, in desperate need of starting pitching, the Brewers called Travers up in June (Travers was one of 13 different starting pitchers Crandall used in {{baseball year|1975}}). Travers went 6-11 with a 4.48 ERA as a starter. He also made five relief appearances, and collected the only save of his career on June 21 against the Cleveland Indians.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CLE/CLE197506210.shtml|title=Milwaukee Brewers 11, Cleveland Indians 9|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=June 21, 1975}}

All-Star

His career took off in {{baseball year|1976}}, when he went 10-6 with a 1.91 ERA in the first half of the season. The highlight of his first half was a pitchers' duel against the New York Yankees' Dock Ellis at Yankee Stadium. Ellis held the Brewers to one run on four hits. Travers, meanwhile, pitched a four-hit shutout, in which he also collected a season high eight strikeouts.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA197605250.shtml|title=Milwaukee Brewers 1, New York Yankees 0|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=May 25, 1976}} He also pitched shutouts against the Chicago White Sox{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL197606080.shtml|title=Milwaukee Brewers 2, Chicago White Sox 0|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=June 8, 1976}} & California Angels{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CAL/CAL197606160.shtml|title=Milwaukee Brewers 9, California Angels 0|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=June 16, 1976}} on his way to the only All-Star nod of his career. He sputtered in the second half, however, going 5-10 with a 3.92 ERA. For the season, he led his team with 15 victories and a 2.81 ERA. His 240 innings pitched were a career high.

Injuries

Travers was named the {{baseball year|1977}} Opening Day starter, and started the season 3-4 with a 3.23 ERA, until injuries once again derailed his career.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8MUVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6xEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3532,5652672&dq|last=Chapman|first=Lou|date=May 30, 1977|title=Painful Loss for Travers|newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel|pages=1&7}} After nearly two months on the disabled list, Travers returned in late July, but was highly ineffective. He went 1-8 with a 6.82 ERA over the remainder of the season. The low point of his season came on August 14 in the second game of a doubleheader with the Indians. Regardless of his ineffectiveness and history of arm trouble, Brewers manager Alex Grammas left Travers in the game for 155 pitches.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1368&dat=19770815&id=hI5QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5BEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4913,2623210|last=Chapman|first=Lou|date=August 15, 1977|title=Travers Endures, but Brewers Don't|newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel|pages=1&6}} He finally left the game in the eighth inning, having surrendered 14 earned runs.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CLE/CLE197708142.shtml|title=Cleveland Indians 14, Milwaukee Brewers 5|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=August 14, 1977}}

Travers underwent a second ulnar transfer operation during the off-season, this time under Dr. Frank Jobe, the doctor who became famous for performing Tommy John's successful surgery.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1917&dat=19780428&id=HO4wAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2eAFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6188,9756592|title=Brewers Nor Hurrying Travers|newspaper=Schenectady Gazette|date=April 28, 1978|pages=18}} He returned to the Brewers under new manager George Bamberger in May {{baseball year|1978}}, and went 12-11 with a 4.41 ERA in 28 starts.

Travers returned to ace form in {{baseball year|1979}}, going 14-8 with a 3.89 ERA to help the Brewers to a second-place finish in the American League East for the first time in franchise history. He repeated this success in {{baseball year|1980}}, going 12-6 with a 3.91 ERA.

California Angels

Travers signed a four-year free agent contract with the California Angels on January 26, {{baseball year|1981}}.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1368&dat=19810127&id=8IBQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DRIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3134,4785659|title=Travers Signs with California|newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel|date=January 27, 1981|pages=1}} He faced just one batter in his fourth start with his new club, walking Yankees second baseman Willie Randolph on four pitches before he needed to be pulled from the game.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CAL/CAL198105050.shtml|title=California Angels 6, New York Yankees 2|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=May 5, 1981}} Calcium deposits were found in his pitching elbow. He sat out the remainder of the season in an unsuccessful attempt to let the injury heal. He had surgery during the off season to have the calcium deposits removed, causing him to miss the entire {{baseball year|1982}} season in which the Angels captured the American League West.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19830605&id=VmoaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KSoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3932,2255859|last=Aschburner|first=Steve|date=June 5, 1983|title=Comeback Trail|newspaper=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|pages=3}}

Travers returned to the mound for the Angels on May 10, {{baseball year|1983}}.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1368&dat=19830604&id=P4FQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KBIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1965,741697|last=Hoffmann|first=Dale|date=June 4, 1983|title=Travers Tries for Big Comeback|newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel|pages=1&5}} He made ten appearances, going 0-3 with a 5.91 ERA before he was released.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1368&dat=19830720&id=AYdRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PBIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4322,3381070|title=Angels Release Travers, Then Call Up Steirer|newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel|date=July 20, 1983|pages=3}}

Career stats

class=wikitable style="text-align:center"

|Pct

|ERA

|GS

|CG

|SHO

|SV

|IP

|ER

|HR

|BB

|WP

|HBP

|BAA

|Fld%

|71

|{{winning percentage|65|71}}

|4.10

|205

|168

|46

|10

|1120.2

|1139

|511

|575

|134

|415

|488

|44

|.265

|.947

His only career plate appearance came against the New York Yankees on July 29, 1979. He successfully sacrificed Jim Wohlford over to second.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL197907290.shtml|title=Milwaukee Brewers 5, New York Yankees 3|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=July 29, 1979}} He pitched for the Senior Professional Baseball Association's St. Lucie Legends in {{baseball year|1989}}. He was an inaugural inductee into the Milwaukee Brewers "Wall of Honor" in {{baseball year|2014}}.{{cite web|url=http://www.thesunchronicle.com/sports/local_sports/gobis-travers-to-be-honored-by-brewers/article_dc0bc755-c1db-5d15-8ddf-df5ac9063476.html|last=Gobis|first=Peter|date=March 13, 2014|title=GOBIS: Travers to be honored by Brewers|newspaper=The Sun Chronicle}}

Personal life

Travers married his high school sweetheart, Linda, and had a daughter named Tiffany. His father was a semi-pro catcher, who later served as a police officer in Norwood for 38 years.{{cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/07/25/his_fastball_is_gone_but_his_quips_still_have_zip?pg=full|last=Carroll|first=Robert|date=July 25, 2004|title=His fastball is gone, but his quips still have zip|newspaper=The Boston Globe}}

Travers is also a very good candlepin bowler, He's made appearances on Channel 5's Candlepin Bowling show in Boston,{{cite web|url=http://1980toppsbaseball.blogspot.com/2009/08/109-bill-travers.html|author=Dean Family|date=August 7, 2009|title=#109 Bill Travers|publisher=1980 Topps Baseball Card Project}} and was on the {{baseball year|1998}} USA team that won the World Championships.