Billy Werber
| Billy Werber | |||
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| Third baseman | |||
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Born: June 20, 1908 Berwyn Heights, Maryland |
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Died: January 22, 2009 (aged 100) Charlotte, North Carolina |
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| MLB debut | |||
| June 25, 1930, for the New York Yankees | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 5, 1942, for the New York Giants | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .271 | ||
| Home runs | 78 | ||
| Runs batted in | 539 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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William Murray Werber (June 20, 1908 – January 22, 2009) was a third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees (1930, 1933), Boston Red Sox (1933–1936), Philadelphia Athletics (1937–1938), Cincinnati Reds (1939–1941) and New York Giants (1942). He led American League third basemen in putouts and assists once each, and also led National League third basemen in assists, double plays and fielding percentage once each. A strong baserunner, he led the AL in stolen bases three times and led the NL in runs in 1939 as the Reds won the pennant. He was born in Berwyn Heights, Maryland and batted and threw right-handed.
A 5'10", 170-pound infielder, Werber was at spring training and toured for several weeks in July with the Yankees in 1927. He returned to North Carolina to attend school at Duke University, where he was the first Duke basketball player to earn All-America honors. He was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, and a recipient of the Significant Sig Award. He played with Duke in spring and semi-pro ball in summers until 1930 when he officially becoming a Yankee rookie in 1930. He appeared in only four games that season, and was sent to the minors. In his first game, he reached base five times including his first at bat where, according to Ford Frick (then a sportswriter, later commissioner of baseball): "Werber, in his first time at bat in big league competition, with two strikes on him watched the next four balls with the coolness of a veteran." Decades later, Werber enjoyed admitting that he was so frozen by fear that he was unable to move his arms to make a swing at the ball. In 1933, Frankie Crosetti was the obvious choice as the Yankees' shortstop, and with Tony Lazzeri at second base and Joe Sewell on third, Werber was expendable. Then, after playing only three games he was sold to the Boston Red Sox. The rest of the year he appeared in 108 games with Boston as a utility infielder at shortstop, second and third bases.
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