William John Petrick III (born April 29, 1984 in Kankakee, Illinois

Kankakee, Illinois

Kankakee is a city in Kankakee County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 25,561, and 26,840 as of a 2009 estimate. It is the county seat of Kankakee County...

) is a former 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...

 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...

 who is currently with the Joliet Slammers

Joliet Slammers

The Joliet Slammers are a professional baseball team based in Joliet, Illinois, that play in the independent Frontier League. They play their home games at Silver Cross Field in Joliet. They replaced the Joliet JackHammers of the Northern League after the franchise was crippled by numerous...

.

Petrick made his major league debut on June 27, for the Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

, against the Colorado Rockies

Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1991, they started play in 1993 and are in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains...

 giving up two earned run

Earned run

In baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable . Any runner who tags his base and reaches home plate is scored against the pitcher as an earned run...

s in two innings.

On February 13, 2009, Petrick signed with the ThunderBolts for their 2009 season.

On April 21, 2010 The Joliet JackHammers acquired former Chicago Cubs reliever, Billy Petrick, from the Windy City ThunderBolts.
Petrick spent last season with Windy City, appearing in 11 games while recovering from an injury. He went 1-0 with a 2.13 ERA in 12.2 innings, racking up three saves and 15 strikeouts while walking only three. Last season was Billy’s first outside the Cubs’ organization as the club selected Petrick in the third round of the 2002 draft right out of high school. He spent the first five seasons as a starter, going 24-19 in 65 games with a 3.80 ERA between the Cubs rookie team, Boise (low A), Lansing (A) and Daytona (high A). Petrick moved to the bullpen in 2007 and saw his journey start in Daytona and end in Wrigley Field later that season. 2010 will be his ninth professional season and his record sits at 28-24 with a 3.75 ERA and five saves in 125 career games.

External links

• Baseball America
• Joliet Jackhammers April 21, 2010 press release.