Jason Williams

Jason Gerald Williams

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 185 lb.
• School Louisiana State University
• High School St. Amant High School
• Born December 18, 1973 in Baton Rouge, LA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Infielder Jason Williams was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 16th round of the 1996 amateur draft and won a bronze medal for the United States at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. For LSU that year, Williams scored 79 runs in 67 games and hit .340 for the top team in the nation. In the Olympics, he hit .367, slugged .667, scored 10 and drove in 9 in the 7 games the US played.

Williams began his professional career with the 1997 Burlington Bees, batting .324/~.373/.480 in 68 games, then was promoted to the Chattanooga Lookouts and chugged right along, with a .310/~.353/.451 line for that club. In AAA in 1998, Jason batted .266/~.374/.347, though he made 44 errors. Barry Larkin was holding down shortstop for Cincinnati so Williams was kept on the farm.

In 1999, Williams split the year between Chattanooga (.319/~.402/.476) and the Indianapolis Indians (.381/~.431/.557) while moving to second base, where he cut his error total down to 7. With the Louisville RiverBats in 2000, Jason slumped to .261/.347/.332, though he led International League second baseman with 363 assists.

Let go by the Reds, he signed on with the 2001 Baton Rouge Blue Marlins and was the MVP of the only season of the All-American Association, leading the association in average (.376) and producing 95 runs in his club's 72 contests.

Williams presumably remained with Baton Rouge in the Southeastern League in 2002 and in 2003 hit .346 for the Baton Rouge River Bats in the SEL, winning the batting title. He slugged .586, scored 35 and drove in 35 with 162 AB. Moving up to the Allentown Ambassadors of the Northeast League, Williams only hit .212.

Sources: 1997-2004 Baseball Almanacs