Bill Masse

William Masse

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 190 lb.
• School Wake Forest University, Davidson College

• Born July 6, 1966 in Manchester, CT USA

BR minors page

Biographical information

Outfielder Bill Masse was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the twelfth round of the June 1987 amateur draft out of Davidson College. In the 1987 Intercontinental Cup, Masse hit .317/~.440/.537 for Team USA as they won Silver; his 3 homers led the team but were far shy of Cuban sluggers Omar Linares (11), Alejo O'Reilly (9) and Orestes Kindelan (8). He transferred to Wake Forest University in 1988 and hit .422/~.536/.883 with 24 homers, 35 steals, 83 runs and 77 RBI in 58 games. He was sixth in NCAA Division I in total bases (197), tied for 8th in homers and among the top 25 in many categories and was a first-team All-American. He was a member of the United States National Baseball Team at the 1988 Olympics. Masse hit .314/~.377/.496 with team USA that summer. In the 1988 Baseball World Cup, he hit only .200/.304/.350 as the regular right fielder, but did score 11 runs in 11 games.

He was signed by the New York Yankees and scout Jeff Taylor as the 7th round pick in the June 1988 amateur draft. Assigned to the 1989 Prince William Cannons, Billy batted .239/~.384/.393 with a league-high 89 walks. He split the 1990 season between the Fort Lauderdale Yankees (.274/~.365/.417) and the Albany Yankees (.188/~.339/.292).

Getting a full season with Albany in 1991, Masse solved AA with a .295/.418/.447 year and led the Eastern League in OBP. The next season Bill got promoted to the Columbus Clippers. In 1992 he hit .266/~.358/.415 for the Clippers, but found himself stuck behind International League All-Stars Gerald Williams and Bernie Williams and fellow prospect Mike Humphreys in the outfield and was used at DH often to get his bat into the lineup. Masse did a fine job at AAA in 1993. With Columbus, he hit .316/~.432/.551. He scored 81 runs, drove in 91, hit 19 homers and 35 doubles, stole 17 bases in 24 tries and led the IL with 82 walks. He was fourth in the league in average and presumably second to Jim Thome in OBP. He made the All-Star team as an outfielder but the 27-year-old was stuck at AAA as the New York outfield included Bernie Williams, Paul O'Neill, Danny Tartabull and a red-hot Dion James.

In 1994 Masse slipped to .258/.364/.403 his third year with Columbus and in his fourth year as a Clipper, his decline continued to .224/~.323/.358. Nearing age 30, he was no longer a prospect and was past his prime. Thanks to the franchise's depth, he had missed out on a shot at the major leagues.

After his release, he returned to Wake Forest University for two years as an assistant coach. He then spent four years as a minor league coach and manager in the Montreal Expos system. He was a coach for the Vermont Expos in 1997 and the Ottawa Lynx in 1998. He rejoined the Yankees organization as coach of the Tampa Yankees in 2001. He managed the Greensboro Bats in 2002 and the Tampa Yankees in 2003-2004. In 2005 and 2006, he was manager of the Trenton Thunder. Masse managed the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in 2007 and the San Antonio Missions in 2008. In 2009, Masse was hitting coach of the Binghamton Mets before switching jobs with Luis Natera and moving up to the Buffalo Bisons.

In 2010, Masse was a scout for the Seattle Mariners. In 2011-2013, he moved up to Eastern Supervisor of Pro Scouting. Masse joined the Miami Marlins' organization in 2017 when Derek Jeter did and was Senior Director of Player Personnel when he left the organization in early January 2023.

He portrayed Mike Robinson in the movie For Love of the Game.

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
1999	GCL Expos	Gulf Coast League	29-31	8th (t)	Montreal Expos
2000	Cape Fear Crocs	South Atlantic League	64-74	10th	Montreal Expos
2002	Greensboro Bats	South Atlantic League	75-65	7th	New York Yankees
2003	Tampa Yankees	Florida State League	68-64	6th	New York Yankees
2004	Tampa Yankees	Florida State League	75-58	3rd	New York Yankees	League Champs
2005	Trenton Thunder	Eastern League	74-68	4th (t)	New York Yankees	Lost in 1st round
2006	Trenton Thunder	Eastern League	80-62	2nd	New York Yankees	Lost in 1st round
2007	New Hampshire Fisher Cats	Eastern League	70-73	8th	Toronto Blue Jays
2008	San Antonio Missions	Texas League	75-65	3rd (t)	San Diego Padres	Lost in 1st round