Bill Campbell (baseball)

William Richard Campbell (born August 9, 1948) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played from 1973 to 1987. He played for the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers all of the American League and the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals and the Montreal Expos all of the National League.

Nicknamed "Soup" because of his last name, Campbell was one of the top relief pitchers in all of baseball with the Twins in 1976 and the Red Sox in 1977. He signed with Boston after the 1976 season as one of the first high profile big money free agents in baseball. Campbell was elected to the American League all-star team in 1977. Campbell was awarded both AL Fireman of the Year by The Sporting News and Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award (the first American League winner and first two-time winner of this award) following the 1976 and 1977 campaigns. Campbell is tied for the American League record for wins by a reliever in a single season, as a result of his 17–5 performance in 1976.^[1]

He began experiencing arm trouble in 1978, and never again regained his once dominant status in the game.

Prior life

According to the back of his 1985 Topps baseball card, Campbell saw combat duty in Vietnam as a radio operator.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball annual saves leaders
• List of Major League Baseball all-time saves leaders

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet