Willie Glen

William German Glen

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 185 lb.

• School University of Evansville

• Born October 30, 1977 in Indianapolis, IN USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Willie Glen pitched in the minor leagues from 2001 to 2010. Despite being undrafted out of college, he spent parts of three years in AAA.

Glen was 7-3 with 13 saves and a 3.30 ERA in 2000. He tied for 13th in NCAA Division I in saves. The next year, no one picked him in the 2001 amateur draft, but the Toronto Blue Jays signed him after it. He debuted as a pro with the Charleston Alley Cats and went 2-1 with a save and a 3.40 ERA, striking out 50 but walking 26 in 45 innings. The next season, he posted a 8-5, 4.21 record with four saves for the Dunedin Blue Jays, again battling control issues (51 BB in 94 IP).

Moving to the Philadelphia Phillies system in 2003, he was 1-2 with a save and a 1.29 ERA in 7 games for the Clearwater Threshers and 3-6 with a 3.83 ERA for the Reading Phillies; he walked 58 in 117 1/3 IP. His next stop was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays chain, pitching in 2004 for the Montgomery Biscuits (4-4, 4.48) and Durham Bulls (0-1, 5 R in 3 2/3 IP). With his fourth organization in four years, he bombed with the Chicago White Sox' Birmingham Barons affiliate (29 H, 11 BB, 20 R in 19 1/3 IP, 1-0) in 2005.

He then began a stint with the Gary SouthShore RailCats, going 9-3 with a 2.83 ERA in 19 starts in 2005. He was 6th in the Northern League in ERA, just ahead of Greg Bicknell. He remained with Gary in 2006 (11-5, 3.75) and 2007 (12-1, 3.03, 162 K, 36 BB in 139 2/3 IP). He was third in the Northern League in wins in 2006; he then tossed 17 shutout innings in the postseason. In '07, he finished third in ERA behind Brain Forystek and Josh Habel, set the Northern League record for whiffs (previously held by Bobby Madritsch) and tied Habel for third in wins. He was named the league's Pitcher of the Year. Things got even better in the playoffs, though, as he was 4-0 with just 3 runs in 33 innings to pitch Gary to the title. In the last game of the best-of-five finals, he faced the Calgary Vipers, led by batting champion Darryl Brinkley. Glen promptly tossed a 3-hitter for the victory.

His independent league success earned Glen a return ticket to Organized Baseball. The Florida Marlins signed him and he did very well with the 2008 Carolina Mudcats (9-4, 2.01, .180 opponent average); he also appeared in one start for the Albuquerque Isotopes (6 R in 2 IP). He was less effective in '09 with the Jacksonville Suns (2-7, 3.69) and New Orleans Zephyrs (1-3, 6.92, 36 H, 20 BB in 26 IP). Back with Gary for one last go-around, he posted a 11-2, 2.39 record in 2010. He tied for the league lead in wins, ranked third with 110 strikeouts and was second to Casey Hoorelbeke in ERA. He was named Northern League Pitcher of the Year for the second time.

Glen became a pitching coach with the Greensboro Grasshoppers in 2011. He moved to the West Virginia Power in 2012.

Sources: 2001-2011 Baseball Almanacs, 2011 Marlins Media Guide