William Briley Greif is a retired professional baseball

Professional baseball

Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....

 pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

. He played all or part of six seasons in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

, from 1971–76, for the Houston Astros

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...

, San Diego Padres

San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...

, and St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

.

Astros

Greif graduated from John H. Reagan High School (Austin, Texas)

John H. Reagan High School (Austin, Texas)

John H. Reagan High School is a public, co-educational secondary school in Austin, Texas. It is part of the Austin Independent School District. Reagan High School opened in 1965 and is named for John Henninger Reagan, a 19th century U.S. Senator from Texas....

. He was drafted in the 3rd round of the 1968 Major League Baseball Draft

1968 Major League Baseball Draft

-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1968 Major League Baseball draft.* Did not sign- Background :The Los Angeles Dodgers laid the groundwork for their championship clubs of the 1970s with an outstanding draft...

 by the Astros, making his major league debut with them three years later. He was traded to the Padres after the 1971 season along with Mark Schaeffer

Mark Schaeffer

Mark Philip Schaeffer is former Major League Baseball pitcher. Schaeffer played for the San Diego Padres in . He batted and threw left-handed.-External links:*...

 and Derrel Thomas

Derrel Thomas

Derrel Osborn Thomas is a former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball primarily as a second baseman, center fielder, and shortstop from 1971-85...

 for pitcher Dave Roberts

Dave Roberts (pitcher)

David Arthur Roberts was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for eight teams from 1969 to 1981. He was second in the National League with a 2.10 earned run average in for the San Diego Padres, after which he was traded to the Houston Astros, where he spent the...

.

Padres

Greif pitched four full seasons and part of a fifth with the Padres. He was the team's Opening Day

Opening Day

Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball and most of the minor leagues, this day falls during the first week of April. For baseball fans, Opening Day serves as a symbol of rebirth; writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book...

 starter

Starting pitcher

In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....

 in 1974, then in 1975 he was moved full-time to the bullpen. After moving back to the starting rotation to start the 1976 season, he made five starts for the Padres before being traded to the Cardinals for outfielder

Outfielder

Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...

 Luis Meléndez

Luis Meléndez (baseball)

Luis Antonio Meléndez Santana is a former professional baseball player. He played all or part of eight seasons in Major League Baseball from 1970 until 1977, for the St...

.

Remaining career

The Cardinals moved Greif back to the bullpen once again, and he appeared in 47 games. After the 1976 season, he was traded from the Cardinals to the Montreal Expos

Montreal Expos

The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...

 after the 1976 season with Ángel Torres

Angel Torres

Ángel Rafael Torres Ruiz , is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played in with the Cincinnati Reds. He batted and threw left-handed. Torres had a 0-0 record, with a 2.16 ERA, in five games, in his one year career. He was signed by the St...

 and Sam Mejías

Sam Mejías

Samuel Elías Mejías [may-hee'-ahs] is a former backup outfielder in Major League Baseball who played from through for the St. Louis Cardinals , Montreal Expos , Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds . Listed at 6'0", 170 lb., Mejías batted and threw right-handed...

 for Tony Scott

Tony Scott (baseball)

Anthony Scott is a former Major League Baseball outfielder.-Montreal Expos:Scott was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 71st round of the 1969 Major League Baseball Draft. After five seasons in their farm system, he received a September call-up to the Expos in...

, Steve Dunning

Steve Dunning

Steven John Dunning is a former professional baseball player who played seven seasons for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, California Angels, Montreal Expos, and Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball...

 and Pat Scanlon. The Expos did not re-sign him for the 1977 season, and he was released on March 30. After sitting out the 1977 season, Greif signed with the New York Mets

New York Mets

The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...

 organization in 1978. He appeared in three games for the Tidewater Tides that year, his final professional season.

External links