Devin Williams

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Devin Terran Williams

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Biographical Information[edit]

Devin Williams won the 2020 National League Rookie of the Year Award and also won the Trevor Hoffman Award as the best relief pitcher in the National League. Incredibly, he was not even the closer for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2020: that was the job of Josh Hader. But he did so well in a set-up role, putting up an ERA of 0.33 in 27 innings, allowing just 8 hits and striking out 53 against 9 walks, that he cleaned up when it came time to mete out postseason hardware. He went 4-1 and did not have a save. The low number of innings was a result of the season being shortened to 60 games by the Coronavirus pandemic, and they were barely double the amount he pitched over the last two months of the 2019 season after making his debut on August 7th. He did not appear in the postseason either year.

In 2021, he had his first complete season in the majors and while he was not as unhittable as in his rookie year, he still did quite well, as he went 8-2, 2.50 in 58 games. He picked up his first 3 career saves, and struck out 87 batters in 54 innings. The Brewers returned to the postseason for a fourth straight year, but when Devin joined in the celebrations in the team's clubhouse on September 26th, he broke his pitching hand, resulting in his being unavailable for the next few weeks. He apparently punched a wall after imbibing too much. He did not immediately realize the extent of the injury but when he felt discomfort trying to throw a couple of days later, he underwent x-rays, which led to his having surgery immediately. There was still an outside chance for him to be back if the Brewers went very deep in the postseason, but it wasn't to be, as his absence was one of the factors in their loss to the Atlanta Braves at the Division Series stage.

In 2022, he went 6-4, 1.93 in 65 games, showing no after-effects from the previous season's injury. He made the All-Star team for the first time and after the Brewers traded Hader at the trading deadline, he became the team's closer for the final to months and picked up 15 saves. In 2023, he repeated as an All-Star and given the chance to be the team's closer from the outset, he racked up 36 saves, the fourth-highest total in the National League that season. His other numbers were all outstanding, with an ERA of 1.53, a mere 26 hits allowed in 58 2/3 innings, with 87 strikeouts and 28 walks. He was named the recipient of the Trevor Hoffman Award for a second time, but things went sour in the Wild Card Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks: in Game 1 on October 3rd, he made his belated postseason debut by coming into the top of the 9th with the Brewers trailing 4-3, with the mission to keep the game close to give his team a chance to come back in the bottom of the inning. It was an abject failure as he walked Geraldo Perdomo and Corbin Carroll to start the inning; still, he almost managed to escape when he struck out Ketel Marte and Perdomo was caught stealing third base, but he then threw a wild pitch to advance Carroll to third, walked Tommy Pham who promptly stole second, and gave up a two-run double to Christian Walker that effectively closed the books for Milwaukee.

The Brewers got some bad news in spring training in 2024 as Devin was diagnosed with two stress fractures in his back, shutting him down for at least three months. He had not been himself during his first few outings, and after the Brewers' team doctors failed to find anything wrong, he got a second opinion from a back specialist. As a result of the injury, he did not make his first appearance in the majors until July 28th, but once back he pitched very well, going 1-0, 1.25 with 14 saves in 22 outings. His ratios continued to be top-notch, with just 10 hits allowed in 21 2/3 innings, 11 walks and 38 strikeouts. But then, like a couple of other elite closers, most notably Emmanuel Clase, things completely fell apart when the postseason came around. He was his typical excellent self in nailing down the save in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series against the New York Mets on October 2nd, setting down the side on 10 pitches, but the next night, in Game 3, his performance was a horror show. The Brewers had a 2-0 lead heading into the top of the 9th when he took over for Freddy Peralta, but he completely fell apart, walking lead-off man Francisco Lindor, then giving up a one-out single to Brandon Nimmo and a three-run homer to Pete Alonso that put the Mets ahead. He then hit Jesse Winker with a pitch, allowed him to steal second base, and gave up yet another hit, a single to Starling Marte that scored a fourth run before Joe Ross replaced him and recorded the final out. The Brewers could not climb out of the hole he had dug, going down in order in the bottom of the inning, and they were eliminated from the playoffs.

It turned out that his blown save and loss against the Mets would be the final calling card he would leave for Brewers fans. On December 13th, he was traded to the New York Yankees, who had just lost bullpen mainstay Clay Holmes to free agency, in return for another former All-Star, P Nestor Cortes and minor league IF Caleb Durbin. The plan was for Devin to take over as closer, with Luke Weaver sliding back into the set-up man role.

Most of his success in the majors has been the result of his outstanding change-up that has been dubbed the "airbender". Both the pitch's speed and its location seem to bear no relation to his pitching motion, making it extremely difficult for hitters to hit solidly.

Notable Achievements[edit]


NL Rookie of the Year
2019 2020 2021
Pete Alonso Devin Williams Jonathan India

Further Reading[edit]

  • David Adler: "Home plate can't contain the 'airbender' pitch", mlb.com, July 4, 2023. [1]
  • Paul Casella: "Strikeout artists Bautista, Williams named Relievers of the Year", mlb.com, November 29, 2023. [2]
  • Tom Haudricourt: "Historic season earns Brewers relief pitcher Devin Williams NL Rookie of the Year", USA Today, November 9, 2020. [3]
  • Bryan Hoch: "Yanks trade for closer Williams from Brewers", mlb.com, December 13, 2024. [4]
  • Bryan Hoch: "Equipped with nasty pitch mix, Williams 'honored' to join Yanks' 'pen", mlb.com, December 17, 2024. [5]
  • Bryan Hoch: "'Airbender' wielder accepts mantle of closer", mlb.com, January 20, 2025. [6]
  • Adam McCalvy: "Williams first reliever to win ROY since 2011", mlb.com, November 9, 2020. [7]
  • Adam McCalvy: "'I've grown as a person': Williams moves on from disappointing end to 2021 season", mlb.com, March 15, 2022. [8]
  • Mike Petriello: "Yankees just added a 1-of-a-kind pitch to their 'pen: Devin Williams brings his 'Airbender' to the Bronx", mlb.com, December 13, 2024. [9]

Related Sites[edit]

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