Maybe honesty really is the best policy.
When Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams gave up that three-run homer to jubilant Joe Carter in game six of the 1993 World Series, a blast that won the championship for the Toronto Blue Jays, deflated fans let the reliever know just how they felt.
And now that the former left-handed hurler is back in the City of Brotherly Love, he has plenty of opinions himself.
Williams now hosts The Wild Pitch on the Big Talker 1210-AM (WPHT) prior to Phillies games.
"I’m really enjoying it. I’m having a great time," said Williams. "Being back around this team is incredible. They’re a bunch of good guys who play the game the way it’s supposed to be played.
"They (the Phillies) know they’ll get an honest opinion of what I think of their performance," he explained. "I’ll never attack any of them personally. I try to keep it to what I saw on the field that night. I think they respect me to the point where they know that I know the game. And I know all of them are out there trying their best."
Williams also has taken to his role as the post-game analyst on Comcast SportsNet, and he accompanies Angelo Cataldi on his SportsRadio 610 WIP morning show.
Yes, things seem to be working out just fine these days for the ex-Phils pitcher. After all, in the course of that memorable ’93 postseason, the "Wild Thing" went from hero to zero, a stature altered by just one pitch.
But it was some pitch.
Bottom of the ninth inning, Phils ahead 6-5, game six of the 1993 World Series, the Blue Jays with a 3-2 lead in games and they’re up to bat for one last time. Williams tosses a fastball, low and inside, and as Joe Carter puts his bat in motion, the Wild Thing’s career is about to change forever.
Carter puts the ball into the leftfield seats, then rounds the bases, jumping, yelping, grinning, a three-run shot that gives his Blue Jays an 8-6 victory and the championship. It gives Phils fans a seismic shock. Plenty of curse words too. And within six weeks it gives Mitch Williams his walking papers, traded away to the Houston Astros.
For the Phillies, it was an unforgettable year with a heartbreaking finish. For Williams, who saved 43 games that season, it was a tough ending magnified by ridicule and the fans’ anguish. Some totally lost it, delivering death threats to Williams. Others lobbed eggs at his house.
Fast-forward almost 15 years. The Wild Thing is making a very impressive comeback in Philly. Looking back on those troublesome times, Mitch Williams says he has no resentment toward Philadelphia.
In fact, he has used the passion of what often is characterized as a crazy sports town for his own inspiration.
"I always appreciated the honesty of the fans," said Williams. "People thought they were hard on me. They were just honest. They always said what they felt. And I truly believed they never booed you as a person, but as a performer."
Williams has embraced that attitude while shaping his own philosophies as a baseball analyst.
"I talk about what I see on the field," he said. "If I see something that I think is wrong, I’ll be the first to point it out. I think you can do that and not attack them on a personal level. I’m not afraid to say what’s on my mind, as long as I’m not doing it maliciously.
"What happens to professional athletes, if they go into the booth, is too many of them forget they played the game," he explained. "The game is not easy. If it were, everyone would do it. They have a tendency to be far too negative about a performance. I don’t believe in ripping the players."
Williams, who grew up in Santa Ana, Calif., broke into the big leagues upon being selected by the San Diego Padres in the eighth round of the 1982 amateur draft. He ended up making his debut with the Texas Rangers on April 9, 1986, pitching in a game against — ironically — the Toronto Blue Jays.
After three solid years with the Rangers, Williams was on the move again, this time to the Chicago Cubs, where he was named an all-star in 1989 and helped the Cubs win the National League East title, saving 36 games. Two years later, the Cubs moved Williams to the Phillies for two minor-league players.
He found a home at Veterans Stadium — until that infamous pitch to Carter.
"That was my best year, as far as saves and getting to the World Series," said Williams, who had 192 career saves. "As far as that last game goes, it wasn’t difficult to get over. I treated every loss the same. I hated losing — whether it was a preseason game or the World Series, I hated losing. I don’t think people realized that."
After his trade to the Astros, Williams struggled, finishing with a 7.65 ERA. He was released the following year.
Williams switched to the American League and signed as a free agent with the California Angels in 1994, only to be released one year later. He gave the major leagues a final shot in 1997, signing as a free agent with the Kansas City Royals, but it didn’t work out.
His final game was May 10, 1997. Williams was 32.
"I have no regrets," he said proudly. "One thing, when I walked away from the game, I knew that every game I went out there and I played as hard as I could. I never wondered if I had more. I left everything out on the field."
After an 11-year career as a relief pitcher, Williams finished with a 45-58 record, 3.65 ERA and 192 saves. He appeared in 619 games.
He settled into his life of retirement from the game.
"I had lived in Texas for a while, so that’s where I called home," said Williams. "In the offseason that’s where I went. So that’s what I did for about four years after retirement. I didn’t play any baseball. I just went down there and hung out and relaxed.
"As a retired anything, you’ll miss the competition of what you did — whether you’re playing baseball, football, or whatever," he continued. "But more than anything you miss the camaraderie with the guys. That was the hardest thing to get used to once I left. You’ll never find another job like that. The hectic-ness of the schedule I didn’t miss, and I knew I was done physically, but I missed the guys."
Like any true athlete, though, Williams couldn’t stay away from the game for long. In 2001 he sold his ranch in Texas and headed back to Philadelphia.
"I was too young to be retired completely, and that’s when I decided to come back," he said. "I was living in Texas and the opportunity wasn’t there. Up here I could do more. So I hired Ellen Barkann as my agent, then the radio and TV gigs came along. It’s all been a whirlwind since."
Williams even decided to spice things up a little more by marketing his homemade recipe for salsa dip, appropriately called "Wild Thing Southpaw Salsa."
"I made it at home for like five years, and people always told me to bottle it," Williams said. "Then Ellen told me to take it on the radio one morning, and I did. A food broker called within the hour. I knew if I could get it into people’s mouths, they’d like it."
These days the 43-year-old Williams lives in New Jersey — about 15 minutes from his former teammate and longtime friend John Kruk — with his wife and five children, Damien, Mitch Jr., Nicola, Dallas and Declan.
He is proving his staying power and extensive knowledge of the game every day through his radio and television gigs. And above all else, Mitch Williams is grateful to be back in Philadelphia’s good graces.
"People found out I actually knew the game and could talk about it," Williams said with a laugh. "I think what I’m doing now is what I’m best at. I’m really enjoying what I’m doing. It gives me an opportunity to voice my opinion, and it got me back in touch with game." ••
Sports editor Melissa Yerkov can be reached at 215-354-3035 or myerkov@phillynews.com