Billy Sorrell

Billy Lee Sorrell

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 190 lb.
• High School T. Wingate Andrews High School
• Debut September 2, 1965
• Final Game October 1, 1970
• Born October 14, 1940 in Morehead, KY USA
• Died July 22, 2008 in Rancho Bernardo, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Billy Sorrell was a utility player in the major leagues in 1965, when he hit .385 in 10 games as a September call-up with the Philadelphia Phillies, in 1967 when he hit .176 in 18 games for the San Francisco Giants, and in 1970 with the Kansas City Royals. The Royals had purchased him from the New York Mets during the previous season and gave him his longest look in the Show the following year, as he appeared in 57 games and hit .267 with 4 homers and 14 RBIs. He started games at first and third base and in left and right field in the major leagues, with third base being his most frequent position. He also made 47 appearances as a pinch-hitter.

After spending all of 1971 in AAA with the Omaha Royals, Billy moved to Japan in 1972 and 1973, playing those two seasons with the Hankyu Braves of the Pacific League. He hit .290 in 119 games with 16 homers and 63 RBIs in an excellent first season, but slumped to .235 in 64 games the second year. He played mainly second base and third base in Japan.

Billy's son, Greg Sorrell was a 37th round pick in the 1990 amateur draft out of high school, but decided to go on to to college, where an injury ended his career. However, his grandson, Caden Sorrell, was considered a top prospect to be selected in the 2023 amateur draft as a high school player from Texas. What made this highly unusual was that Caden's other grandfather, on the maternal side, was also a former major league player, P Tom Griffin. Caden's parents were unaware that they were both the children of major leaguers when they first met. The two players had never faced one another in the majors, as in the only season when they overlapped, in 1970, Billy was playing in the American League and Tom was in the National League, long before the days of interleague games. Caden was undrafted and went on to attend Texas A&M University.

Further Reading

• Jesús Cano: "Ball in the family for Combine prospect with two (!) MLB grandfathers", mlb.com, June 20, 2023. [1]

Related Sites

• Billy Sorrell at the SABR Bio Project
• San Diego Tribune Listing of Obits