Bill Stein

William Allen Stein (born January 21, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player and manager.

Stein was born on January 21, 1947, in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Stein attended Cocoa High School in Cocoa, Florida and Brevard Community College, from where he was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles during the 33rd round of the 1968 Major League Baseball draft.

Stein did not sign with the Orioles.

He began attending Southern Illinois University in 1969.

As a member of the school's baseball team, he batted .396 and was named an All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association.

Stein was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals during the fourth round of the 1969 Major League Baseball draft.

In 1969, Stein began his professional baseball career in the St. Louis Cardinals minor league organization.

The Cardinals assigned him to the Tulsa Oilers, who were their Triple-A affiliates at the time.

With the Oilers, Stein batted .295 with 24 runs scored, 54 hits, 11 doubles, five triples, one home run, and 20 runs batted in (RBIs) in 62 games played.

Defensively, Stein played 31 games at second base, 14 games at third base, and five games at shortstop.

During the 1970 season, the Cardinals assigned Stein to the Double-A level to play with the Arkansas Travelers of the Texas League.

In 114 games played that year, he batted .289 with 124 hits, 21 doubles, two triples, and eight home runs.

In the field, Stein played second base and outfield.

In 1971, Stein was promoted to the Triple-A level.

He spent the entire season with the Tulsa Oilers, where he batted .272 with 50 runs scored, 106 hits, 106 hits, 22 doubles, four triples, eight home runs, and 67 RBIs in 103 games played.

Stein pitched a game that season, after Tulsa's starting pitcher was ejected from the game after throwing the ball at the umpire.

In six innings, he gave-up eight hits, and three runs (all earned).

He played the majority of the season in the outfield, but also spent limited time at third base, first base, and shortstop.

His playing career spanned 17 seasons, 14 of which were spent in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the St. Louis Cardinals (1972–1973), the Chicago White Sox (1974–1976), the Seattle Mariners (1977–1980), and the Texas Rangers (1981–1985).

Over his career in the majors Stein batted .267 with 122 doubles, 18 triples, 44 home runs, and 311 runs batted in (RBIs) in 959 games played.

Stein played numerous fielding positions over his major league career, including third base, second base, first base, left field, right field, and shortstop.

He also spent significant time as a pinch hitter.

To start the 1972 season, Stein was a member of the Triple-A Tulsa Oilers.

With Tulsa that year, he batted .278 with 100 hits, 26 doubles, four triples, five home runs, and 36 RBIs in 103 games played.

Stein was a September call-up for the St. Louis cardinals that year.

He made his debut in Major League Baseball (MLB) on September 6, 1972, against the Philadelphia Phillies.

He got his first hit in that game, which was a home run in the ninth inning.

He played 14 games in the majors that year, batting .314 with two runs scored, 11 hits, one triple, two home runs, and three RBIs.

Defensively in the majors, he was positioned at third base, left field, and right field.

During spring training in 1973, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune labeled Stein as the Cardinals candidate for pinch hitting off the bench.

He made the Cardinals Opening Day roster that year.

He made his season debut on April 6 as a pinch hitter, going hitless in one at-bat against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

His first hit of the season came on April 17, against the Pirates.

In August, Stein was sent down to the minor leagues and was replaced on the Cardinals major league roster by outfielder Héctor Cruz.

In the minors, he played with the Triple-A Tulsa Oilers, where he batted .289 with 23 hits, two doubles, and one triple in 21 games played.

While in the majors that season, Stein compiled a .218 batting average with four runs scored, 12 hits, two doubles, and two RBIs in 32 games played.

On defense with the Cardinals, he played right field, left field, third base, and first base.

On September 25, Stein was traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to the California Angels in exchange for Jerry DaVanon.

California then traded Stein to the Chicago White Sox on April 3, 1974, before he made an appearance in the Angels organization.