Jimy Williams, who spent nine seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1980s, has died at age 80.
Spent nine seasons with Toronto as coach and manager in 1980s
Former Toronto Blue Jays manager Jimy Williams has died.
The Blue Jays confirmed Williams’s death Monday on social media but did not provide a cause of death. He was 80.
Williams joined the Blue Jays in 1980 as third-base coach.
He was promoted to manager in 1986 to replace Bobby Cox, who left to join the Atlanta Braves. He had a 281-241 record over 522 games with the Blue Jays before being fired in 1989 after Toronto got off to a 12-24 start.
Cito Gaston took over and helped Toronto win the American League East title.
Williams returned to managing in 1997 with Boston and led the Red Sox to the playoffs in 1998 and 1999, when he was named American League manager of the year.
We are saddened to learn of the passing of former Blue Jays Manager Jimy Williams. His impact on our organization will forever be remembered. ⁰⁰Our hearts go out to Jimy’s family and friends during this difficult time 💙 <a href=”https://t.co/7jQovwPqhm”>pic.twitter.com/7jQovwPqhm</a>
—@BlueJays
He was fired by Boston in the 2001 season despite the team holding a 65-53 record at the time. He took over as manager of the Houston Astros in 2002 and was fired 88 games into the 2004 season.
Williams finished with a winning percentage of .535 (910-790) over 1,700 games as a Major League manager.