William Van Landingham
{{short description|American baseball player}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=William Van Landingham
|position=Pitcher
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1970|7|16}}
|birth_place=Columbia, Tennessee, U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=May 21
|debutyear=1994
|debutteam=San Francisco Giants
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=July 27
|finalyear=1997
|finalteam=San Francisco Giants
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=Win–loss record
|stat1value=27–26
|stat2label=Earned run average
|stat2value=4.54
|stat3label=Strikeouts
|stat3value=300
|teams=
- San Francisco Giants ({{mlby|1994}}–{{mlby|1997}})
}}
William Joseph Van Landingham (born July 16, 1970) is an American former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire Major League career with the San Francisco Giants.
Career
Van Landingham's rookie season of 1994 was his best, when he posted an 8–2 record with a 3.54 ERA and finished seventh in the balloting for the Rookie of the Year Award. His 1995 season was similar, but as a full-time starting pitcher in 1996, he posted a 9–14 record with a 5.40 ERA.
Van Landingham played his final Major League Baseball game on July 27, 1997. After being affiliated with the Angels, Expos, and Brewers in the minor leagues, he moved to Athens, Georgia, to live with his family.
Name length
Van Landingham was widely considered to have set the record for longest surname in the history of Major League Baseball, at 13 or 14 characters (depending on whether one counts the space), though his record has since been tied or broken (again, depending on the reckoning of the space) by Jarrod Saltalamacchia. When Van Landingham pitched to Todd Hollandsworth in 1995, the two set a record for longest combined pitcher-batter name length (since at least 1957) at 26 letters.Arnold, Bill, [https://web.archive.org/web/20140518120801/http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070816&content_id=2152292&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb Beyond the Box Score], MLB.com. Published 17 August 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2011. On May 29, 1996, Van Landingham started against Jason Isringhausen, then a starter for the New York Mets, tying a record{{citation needed|date=September 2011}} for the longest combined names of two starting pitchers.
Van Landingham also set the record for the longest complete name in Major League Baseball at 20 letters. The record has since been tied by Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
External links
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/v/vanlawi01.shtml Baseball Reference]
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Landingham, William}}
Category:Kentucky Wildcats baseball players
Category:San Francisco Giants players
Category:Major League Baseball pitchers
Category:Baseball players from Tennessee
Category:Sportspeople from Columbia, Tennessee
Category:Clinton Giants players
Category:Everett Giants players
Category:Phoenix Firebirds players
Category:San Jose Giants players
Category:Shreveport Captains players