Bill McNulty

William Francis McNulty (born August 29, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player. He played for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball for parts of two seasons, in and . He also played one season for the Lotte Orions of Nippon Professional Baseball in . During his major league career, he played in the outfield and at third base.

Early life McNulty was born on August 29, 1946, in Roseville, California. His father, Ray, played professional baseball in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and his uncle, Gene, played in the farm system of the New York Yankees. in which he had a .355 batting average with six home runs. McNulty also played for the basketball team and American football team as a quarterback.

Professional career McNulty signed with the Kansas City Athletics in February 1965. Don Pries, the scout who signed him, had informed him that the Athletics would be moving to Oakland, California, in two years. McNulty split the 1967 and 1968 seasons between the Peninsula Grays of the Single-A Carolina League and the Birmingham A's of the Southern League. struggling with Birmingham in both seasons.

On July 9, 1969, Tommie Reynolds went on the disabled list with a broken finger and the Athletics promoted McNulty to the major leagues. The Athletics demoted him to the Iowa Oaks of the Triple-A American Association on July 14.

McNulty batted .295 with 22 home runs for Iowa in 1970. McNulty thought that he had hit well enough to make the Brewers' roster for the 1971 season, but manager Dave Bristol thought he was a poor and lackadaisical fielder. Milwaukee's general manager, Frank Lane, approached McNulty about becoming a pitcher, which he refused. The Athletics purchased McNulty's contract back from Milwaukee before the start of the season and returned him to Iowa. He hit 27 home runs for Iowa in 1971, which led the American Association. He played for the Tacoma Rainiers in the PCL playoffs and hit four home runs.

Having too many outfielders and wanting to prioritize the development of Terry Hughes as a third baseman, the Cubs loaned McNulty to the Brewers for the 1972 season. McNulty batted 1-for-10 for the Athletics in three games as a third baseman. His only hit came off of Nolan Ryan. The Athletics sent Brant Alyea to the Rangers to complete the trade. McNulty attended spring training with Texas in 1973. He did not make the team and the Rangers traded him to the New York Mets for Bill Sudakis. He hit 25 home runs for the Tidewater Tides of the Triple-A International League in 1973.

Before the 1974 season, the Brewers purchased McNulty's contract from the Mets and assigned him to the Sacramento Solons of the PCL. In 1974, McNulty hit 55 home runs, leading all of professional baseball. He also batted .330 and set PCL records with 134 runs scored and 135 RBIs. However, Sacramento's home stadium, Hughes Stadium, was a converted football field that went only to left field, an unusually short distance. He returned to Sacramento for the 1975 season. However, the Brewers attempted to cut his salary, and he signed with the Lotte Orions of Nippon Professional Baseball for $70,000 ($ in current dollar terms) one month into the 1975 season. He batted .190 for Lotte and was released after spending six weeks with the team.