Stoney Briggs

William Percell Briggs

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 215 lb.
• School Delaware Technical Community College
• High School Seaford (DE) High School

• Born December 26, 1971 in Seaford, DE USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Stoney Briggs was a long-time minor league outfielder.

Briggs began his career when the Toronto Blue Jays took him in the 8th round of the 1991 amateur draft. He was assigned to the Medicine Hat Blue Jays, for whom he batted .297/~.346/.432 with a team-high 8 homers, three behind Pioneer League leader Rick Hirtensteiner. In 1992, Stoney batted .239/~.303/.358 for the Myrtle Beach Hurricanes. He stole 33 bases in 47 tries and scored 75 runs but struck out 156 times, most in the Jays chain. He did not lead the South Atlantic League as Shane Andrews topped 170.

In 1993, Briggs was traded with Derek Bell to the San Diego Padres for Darrin Jackson. He was assigned to the Waterloo Diamonds and hit .257/~.306/.380 with 21 steals in 29 tries, forming a fleet outfield with Bobby Bonds Jr. and John Roberts. Briggs hit .269/.359/.453 for the 1994 High Desert Mavericks with 17 homers and 76 RBI, but was only 14-for-27 in steal attempts.

Briggs made it to AA in 1995 with the Memphis Chicks, hitting .247/.331/.382 with 17 steals (in 25 tries) and 133 strikeouts in 385 AB. In 1996, he returned to Memphis and batted .274/.365/.434 with 28 stolen bases in 39 attempts. He drove in 80 and drew 62 walks, while striking out 123 times. He also had 15 outfield assists. It was a solid year.

William had his only complete year at AAA in 1997 when he hit .269/.319/.416 for the Las Vegas Stars. He stole 18 bases but was thrown out 12 times and fanned 122 times while only drawing 28 walks. He also made 14 errors, leading Pacific Coast League outfielders.

Let go by San Diego, Briggs signed on with the independent Newburgh Black Diamonds and hit .333 with 8 homers in only 87 AB in 1998. He was also one for four that year with the Iowa Cubs. Despite his short time with Newburgh, he tied for third on the club in home runs.

In 1999, Briggs came to the Korea Baseball Organization's Haitai Tigers. He hit .283/~.309/.546 with 23 home runs and 74 RBI in 361 AB; the 2000 Baseball Almanac credits him with 21 steals for a 20-20 season, but the KBO website only lists him with 6 steals in 9 tries. He was 8th among import players in homers in a power-heavy year.

Briggs' play in Korea got him another look in the US. He signed with the Detroit Tigers for 2000 and spent the season with their Jacksonville Suns club. He hit .254/.339/.444 with 39 doubles, 17 homers, 60 walks, 145 strikeouts and 17 steals (in 23 tries). He led the entire Detroit minor league chain in doubles. The veteran also paced the Southern League in doubles and tied Jay Gibbons for the most extra-base hits in the circuit.

Stoney ended his Organized Baseball career in 2001 with the Bowie Baysox, batting .244/.349/.433 with 8 homers in 55 games.

In 2003, Briggs was back in the indies with the Camden Riversharks, hitting .254 and slugging .433. With the 2004 Riversharks, Stoney batted .259/.343/.435 to wrap up a long and productive career in baseball.

Sources

• 1992-2005 Baseball Almanacs
• KBO player page