Keith Williams
Keith Williams is a 1990 graduate of Bedford High School who
broke a 70-year drought of Bedford Countians in the Major Leagues when he played for the San Francisco Giants in 1996.
Williams was an outstanding high school athlete in both football
and baseball for the Bisons.
As a football player, he was a three-time Bedford Gazette All-
Star, rushing for over 1,000 yards in both his junior and senior years, while scoring 124 points his senior year. In 1989, the Bisons went 11-0, and that team is considered one of the best in the history of the area.
But it was in baseball that he made his name.
When he left high school, he held Bedford records with 89 runs,
115 hits, 18 doubles, 28 home runs, 106 RBI, and 39 walks in his
career, as well as single season records with nine home runs and 40
RBI. His senior year, he walked 21 walks and batted .517 with six
doubles, seven home runs, 22 RBI, and 24 runs
Aside from success at the high school level, he went to
Johnstown to play for Pepsi in the AAABA League. He set the league record for home runs with 22, and played in three straight AAABA national tournaments from 1989 to 1991. He won the league MVP in 1990 and then the Harry Helsel Award for the best performance in the Johnstown Junior League playoffs in 1991.
He was inducted into the AAABA Hall of Fame in 2014 along with
Pepsi teammate Mike Sube.
He earned a scholarship to play at Clemson University, which is a
baseball powerhouse in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
He was drafted in the seventh round by the San Francisco Giants
after Williams completed his junior year. He signed and was sent to Everett (Washington), a class A short-season team in the Northwest League. He batted .302 with 12 home runs and 49 RBI in 75 games.
He moved up to the full-season A team in San Jose in 1994,
where he hit .300 with 21 home runs and 97 RBI with 30 doubles.
Williams made a big jump for the 1995 season as he split time
between AA Shreveport and AAA Phoenix. Between the two teams, he batted .304 with 11 home runs and 69 RBI.
He started the 1996 season with the AAA Phoenix team, but he
got his call up to majors on June 7, 1996. He got to pinch hit in his first night with Giants. In his Major League time, he got three starts in the outfield, and he batted .250 with five hits in 20 at-bats. He was sent back to Phoenix on June 23, 1996, and the Bedford native did not get called up again.
He spent the rest of the 1996 season as well as the part of the
next four years at the AAA level with San Francisco (1996 and 1997 at Phoenix and 1998-2000 at Fresno). He spent most of 1997 at AA Shreveport, hitting .320 with 22 home runs and 106 RBI. In 1998 and 1999, he spent both years at Fresno, batting .292 and .282 with a combined 30 home runs and 118 RBI.
Williams was released during the 2000 season and was picked up by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was assigned to Altoona when he played outfield for 36 games batting .256 with three home runs and 17 RBI.
He spent the last two years of his career with St. Paul (Minn.) in
the Independent League. He batted .294 in his two years there with 14 home runs and 64 RBI before deciding to retire after the 2002 season.
In the minors, he had a career batting average of .291 with 117
home runs and 542 RBI.
Williams is a teacher at Gateway High School, an alternative
education school in Clovis, California. He and his wife Jennifer have four children: Josh (14), Rebekah (12), Zach (9), and Hannah (7).
Keith Williams is a 1990 graduate of Bedford High School who
broke a 70-year drought of Bedford Countians in the Major Leagues when he played for the San Francisco Giants in 1996.
Williams was an outstanding high school athlete in both football
and baseball for the Bisons.
As a football player, he was a three-time Bedford Gazette All-
Star, rushing for over 1,000 yards in both his junior and senior years, while scoring 124 points his senior year. In 1989, the Bisons went 11-0, and that team is considered one of the best in the history of the area.
But it was in baseball that he made his name.
When he left high school, he held Bedford records with 89 runs,
115 hits, 18 doubles, 28 home runs, 106 RBI, and 39 walks in his
career, as well as single season records with nine home runs and 40
RBI. His senior year, he walked 21 walks and batted .517 with six
doubles, seven home runs, 22 RBI, and 24 runs
Aside from success at the high school level, he went to
Johnstown to play for Pepsi in the AAABA League. He set the league record for home runs with 22, and played in three straight AAABA national tournaments from 1989 to 1991. He won the league MVP in 1990 and then the Harry Helsel Award for the best performance in the Johnstown Junior League playoffs in 1991.
He was inducted into the AAABA Hall of Fame in 2014 along with
Pepsi teammate Mike Sube.
He earned a scholarship to play at Clemson University, which is a
baseball powerhouse in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
He was drafted in the seventh round by the San Francisco Giants
after Williams completed his junior year. He signed and was sent to Everett (Washington), a class A short-season team in the Northwest League. He batted .302 with 12 home runs and 49 RBI in 75 games.
He moved up to the full-season A team in San Jose in 1994,
where he hit .300 with 21 home runs and 97 RBI with 30 doubles.
Williams made a big jump for the 1995 season as he split time
between AA Shreveport and AAA Phoenix. Between the two teams, he batted .304 with 11 home runs and 69 RBI.
He started the 1996 season with the AAA Phoenix team, but he
got his call up to majors on June 7, 1996. He got to pinch hit in his first night with Giants. In his Major League time, he got three starts in the outfield, and he batted .250 with five hits in 20 at-bats. He was sent back to Phoenix on June 23, 1996, and the Bedford native did not get called up again.
He spent the rest of the 1996 season as well as the part of the
next four years at the AAA level with San Francisco (1996 and 1997 at Phoenix and 1998-2000 at Fresno). He spent most of 1997 at AA Shreveport, hitting .320 with 22 home runs and 106 RBI. In 1998 and 1999, he spent both years at Fresno, batting .292 and .282 with a combined 30 home runs and 118 RBI.
Williams was released during the 2000 season and was picked up by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was assigned to Altoona when he played outfield for 36 games batting .256 with three home runs and 17 RBI.
He spent the last two years of his career with St. Paul (Minn.) in
the Independent League. He batted .294 in his two years there with 14 home runs and 64 RBI before deciding to retire after the 2002 season.
In the minors, he had a career batting average of .291 with 117
home runs and 542 RBI.
Williams is a teacher at Gateway High School, an alternative
education school in Clovis, California. He and his wife Jennifer have four children: Josh (14), Rebekah (12), Zach (9), and Hannah (7).
Class of 2017
Bedford County Sports Hall of Fame
Bedford County Sports Hall of Fame
Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Class of 2017
Bedford County Sports Hall of Fame
Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Bedford County, Pennsylvania