Bill Masse

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William Masse

BR minors page

Biographical information[edit]

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[edit]

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

Related Sites[edit]