Bill Caudill

William Holland Caudill (born July 13, 1956) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Caudill was one of the top closers in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to .

Early years Caudill attended Aviation High School in Redondo Beach, California, and graduated in 1974. He was selected in the eighth round of the 1974 Major League Baseball draft by the St. Louis Cardinals.

After three seasons in the Cardinals' farm system, in which he went with a 3.57 earned run average, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Joel Youngblood just before the start of the season. He went with a 4.04 ERA his only season in the Reds' farm system, after which he and Woodie Fryman were traded to the Chicago Cubs for Bill Bonham.

Chicago Cubs Caudill spent the season with the Wichita Aeros of the American Association. He split the 1979 season between Wichita and the Cubs, making his major league debut on May 12. Though he had been used almost exclusively as a starter in the minors, he made his major league debut in relief. Already down to the Houston Astros, Caudill was called upon for mop up duty. He pitched the rest of the game, giving up only one unearned run. Splitting his time between the bullpen and the starting rotation, Caudill went with a 4.80 ERA and 104 strikeouts his rookie season. He recorded his first MLB win on September 29, his last appearance that season.

In 1980, Caudill went with a 2.19 ERA and 112 strikeouts. He earned his first major league save on September 28 against the Pittsburgh Pirates and was second only to Dick Tidrow with 72 games pitched for the Cubs. His numbers dipped to with a 5.83 ERA in 1981.

Seattle Mariners On April 1, 1982, Caudill was one of two players to be named later from a 1981 mid-season deal in which the Cubs received Pat Tabler from the New York Yankees. The Cubs later sent Jay Howell to the Yankees to complete that trade. The Yankees immediately sent Caudill, Gene Nelson, and a player to be named later to the Seattle Mariners for Shane Rawley. The Mariners later also received Bobby Brown from the Yankees. On another occasion, when brought in to pitch in a one-sided game, Caudill appeared from the bullpen sporting a half-shaved beard. He acquired the nickname "the Inspector" after inspecting the Mariners bats for unused hits and discarding those he deemed empty. The team began playing the Pink Panther Theme over the Kingdome loudspeakers when he was summoned from the Mariners' bullpen.

Despite his antics, Caudill emerged as one of the American League's top relievers his first season in Seattle. He felt snubbed when All-Star manager Billy Martin of Oakland left him off the AL squad, which had eight His record stood with a 1.95 ERA and a team record 17 saves when selections For the season, he went with a 2.35 ERA, 26 saves, and 111 strikeouts.

Caudill's 26 saves in 1983 mirrored his previous season's production, however, his record dipped while his ERA ballooned to 4.71.

Oakland Athletics On November 21, 1983, Caudill and Darrel Akerfelds were dealt to the Oakland Athletics for Dave Beard and Bob Kearney.

Caudill returned to form with the A's in the first half of 1984. His record stood with a 1.97 ERA and 18 saves when AL manager Joe Altobelli of Baltimore named him to his AL All-Star squad. With the NL leading Caudill was brought in to pitch the seventh inning, and he struck out all three batters he faced, Tim Raines, Ryne Sandberg, and Keith Hernandez.

That proved to be the high point of Caudill's season. He went in the second half with a 3.60 ERA and blew four saves. He finished 1984 with a career-high 36 saves, which was second in the American League only to the 44 of Kansas City Royals' Dan Quisenberry.

Toronto Blue Jays Oakland traded Caudill to the Toronto Blue Jays on December 8, 1984 for Dave Collins and Alfredo Griffin.

A shoulder injury limited Caudill to 40 appearances in 1986. He went with a 6.19 ERA and just two saves as the Blue Jays fell and fourth place in their division under new manager Jimy Williams. He was released during spring training the following season, and shortly afterwards, he signed with the A's.

Oakland Athletics (second stint) Trying to rebound from a subpar season with Toronto in 1986, Caudill began the 1987 season with Oakland's Triple-A affiliate, the Tacoma Tigers of the Pacific Coast League. He pitched effectively enough to earn a call to the majors. However, after just a month with the A's, he suffered a broken hand after punching a man who was reportedly trying to accost his wife in a hotel parking lot in 1987. It effectively ended his big league career at age 30.

After retiring from baseball, Caudill coached baseball at Eastside Catholic High School near Seattle and worked for his former agent, Scott Boras, a former minor league teammate and close friend.