Billy Best (minors02)

William N. Best

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1"

• School East Carolina University

• Born ~1958

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Billy Best reached AA as a player then became a scout. His father Nelson Best has been a scout as well.

Best set a Cape Cod League record with a 32-game hitting streak for the 1979 Falmouth Commodores. He would be inducted into the Cape Cod League Hall of Fame in 2012. He hit .297 in college, setting a school record for career steals (54) and fewest career strikeouts (20). was picked by the Kansas City Royals in the 27th round of the 1980 amateur draft. He hit .310/.429/.361 with 35 runs and 36 walks in 46 games that summer for the GCL Royals Blue. With the 1981 Charleston Royals, Billy batted .275/.377/.380 and drew 74 walks. He tied Tom Dunbar for 8th in the South Atlantic League in walks. He was a backup outfielder for the 1982 Fort Myers Royals, putting up a .294/.394/.416 line and stealing 27 bases in 32 tries. Despite being a bench player, he missed the Florida State League top 10 in steals by one and was second on his club behind Bill Pecota.

Best had 13 outfield assists for the 1983 Jacksonville Suns, hitting .247/.353/.421 with a career-high 12 home runs and 55 RBI. He finished his playing career in 1984 as a backup for the Memphis Chicks, hitting .269/.421/.387 with 83 walks. He was 11th in the Southern League in walks; of players with fewer than 100 games, no one else made the top 30.

Overall, the East Carolina alumnus had batted .273/.389/.395 in 441 minor league games, with 286 walks, 230 runs, 190 RBI and 70 steals in 92 tries. He had fielded .977.

He was assistant coach at East Carolina from 1985-1989 then was at Auburn University from 1990-1993.

Best coached Elon University from 1994-1996, working with future major leaguer Joe Winkelsas his last year. Billy then became a scout, signing Paul Bennett, Paul Clemens, Braxton Davidson, Joey Devine, Philip Gosselin, Matt Harrison, Deunte Heath, Nate Hyatt, Tommy La Stella, and Jacob Thompson.

Sources include Star News Online, ECU