ATLANTA — The baseball world reacted Monday to news of the passing of longtime MLB manager Jimy Williams, who was 80 years old.
Among the many stops for the baseball lifer -- who made his mark as a manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros -- was Atlanta.
Williams was a pivotal figure as third base coach for the early 90s Braves and won a World Series Championship with Atlanta in 1995.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Jimy’s family and friends. Jimy was our 3B coach from 1991-96, and forever a World Series champion," the Braves posted on X.
Williams came to Atlanta in 1991 -- he was a third base coach under Bobby Cox in Toronto and succeeded Bobby Cox as Toronto manager when Cox first came to the Braves. After departing the Blue Jays, Williams reconnected with Cox.
That timing set Williams up for his most famous moment with the Braves.
Game 7, 1992 NLCS, Pittsburgh at Atlanta at the old Fulton County Stadium: Every Braves fan knows about "The Slide," Sid Bream's dash home for a walk-off win that sent the Braves to the World Series.
And Williams, the third base coach, was the man who waved Bream home.
In an essay Bream wrote back in 2017, he said he didn't actually see Williams' wave, but at least one important person did. But the story goes, Williams noticed Barry Bonds was in an awkward position in left field, which was going to make it easier for Bream to beat the throw.
According to legend, none other than noted Braves fan and former President Jimmy Carter was sitting in a box in the third base line, and when Bream slid in safely to send Atlanta to the World Series, Carter jumped out of his seats and ran straight to Williams.
"We all rushed on the field afterward," Carter told MLB.com in 2013. "It was the most exciting moment of my experience with sports."
So overcome with emotion at the moment, Carter said he actually gave Williams a kiss ("I kissed one of the coaches. I hate to admit it now. But I did," the former president said back in 2013).
Williams stayed on with the Braves one more season, through 1996, before he got his chance at a manager's role again in 1997 with the Red Sox -- having safely secured his place in Braves lore.
