Bill McGuire (baseball)

William Patrick McGuire (born February 14, 1964) is an American former professional baseball catcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Bill McGuire
McGuire in 1988
Catcher
Born: (1964-02-14) February 14, 1964 (age 60)
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Batted: left
Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 2, 1988, for the Seattle Mariners
Last MLB appearance
September 22, 1989, for the Seattle Mariners
MLB statistics
Batting average.182
Home runs1
Runs batted in6
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

McGuire attended Creighton Preparatory School in Omaha where he was regarded as one of the best high school catchers in the country.[1] He was named to the ABCA/Rawlings High School All-America Baseball Team in both 1981 and 1982.[2][3] He committed to playing college baseball at Nebraska over competing offers from Arizona, Arizona State, USC, Miami and Mississippi State among others.[1] Although selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 25th round of the 1982 Major League Baseball draft, he chose to honor his commitment and enroll at Nebraska.[4]

McGuire thrived at Nebraska as both a catcher and a pitcher. He received Second and Third Team All-America honors from Baseball America as a sophomore and junior respectively. He was also named to the All-Big Eight Conference team as a junior.[5]

McGuire was drafted by the Seattle Mariners out of the University of Nebraska in the 1st round (27th overall) of the 1985 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 1988 and also played in MLB in 1989. He played his final professional season in 1992 for the Single-A Peoria Chiefs in the Chicago Cubs organization.

After the end of his playing career, McGuire began working as a college baseball umpire. Through his work as an umpire, he drew the attention of Wichita State Shockers baseball recruiters to Conor Gillaspie and A. J. Ladwig among other Nebraskan baseball players.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b Babcock, Mike (April 15, 1982). "Prep catcher McGuire inks with NU". The Lincoln Star. p. 23. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  2. ^ "1981 ABCA/Rawlings High School All-America Teams". American Baseball Coaches Association. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  3. ^ "1982 ABCA/Rawlings High School All-America Teams". American Baseball Coaches Association. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  4. ^ Babcock, Mike (June 12, 1982). "McGuire to forego pro pact to attend NU". The Lincoln Star. p. 13. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  5. ^ "Bill McGuire - 1985 - Baseball". University of Nebraska. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  6. ^ Suellen, Paul (August 8, 2014). "One umpire's calls have gone the Shockers' way". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
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