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William James Spiers III (born June 5, 1966 in
Orangeburg, South CarolinaOrangeburg, also known as "The Garden City," is the principal city in and the county seat of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city is also the fifth oldest city in the state of South Carolina. The city population was 12,765 at the 2000 census, within a Greater Orangeburg...
) is a former infielder in
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
who played primarily as a
shortstopShortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
and
third basemanA third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
from 1989-2001. He was also a
punterA punter in American or Canadian football is a special teams player who receives the snapped ball directly from the line of scrimmage and then punts the football to the opposing team so as to limit any field position advantage. This generally happens on a fourth down in American football and a...
for
Clemson UniversityClemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....
. He was a first round draft pick (13th overall) in the
1987 amateur draft-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1987 Major League Baseball draft.-Supplemental First Round Selections:-External links:*...
. He debuted in the majors two years later with the
Milwaukee BrewersThe Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
on April 7, 1989.
On September 24, 1999, while playing with the
Houston AstrosThe Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
, Spiers was attacked by a 23 year old man while standing in the outfield before the bottom of the 6th inning. Teammate
Mike HamptonMichael William Hampton is a left-handed former Major League Baseball pitcher. During his career, Hampton was well known for being one of the best hitting pitchers of his time, as well as for his large contract and frequent injuries.-Early career:Mike Hampton was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in...
was first on the scene and delivered several kicks to the attacker. He was later quoted saying "The good thing was he didn't have a weapon... I always check right field before I deliver the first pitch. It's just a habit. I looked out there and saw the guy on Billy's back... It was a scary thing. My instincts just took over. My rage took over. I was pretty furious. I wanted to get him off my teammate." After being arrested the attacker faced two counts of battery and one count of disorderly conduct.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_19990925/ai_n10541322 Spiers wound up with a welt under his left eye, a bloody nose and whiplash.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20020921/ai_n12473064
On May 21, 2007 Spiers was inducted into the South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame. He is now coaching both baseball and football.
http://www.thetandd.com/articles/2007/05/19/sports/doc464fa8091dab9711028683.txt
External links