In the Outfield with Billy and Jim
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On this edition, we're headed to the outfield for conversations with two Hall of Famers. First, it's Cubs legend Billy Williams, and then we'll hear from the Red Sox Jim Rice. Plus, bikini competitor Lisa Eveleth tells us about her new non-profit LIVEFIT WITH LUPUS.
| Sports and Torts: Lisa Eveleth Lisa Lynn Eveleth is the founder of LIVEFIT WITH LUPUS and a Lupus patient. In 1986, various symptoms presented themselves which led to a battery of hospitalizations, medications and surgeries. Lupus attacked her kidneys, lungs, skin, heart and brain resulting in seizures, kidney failure and bouts of existence in a wheel chair. In realization, she couldn't imagine a future that wasn't dictated by her disease. But rather than give up, she began educating herself about Lupus and other autoimmune diseases. |
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| Sports and Torts: Hall of Famer Billy Williams Soft-spoken Billy Williams let his bat do the talking for 18 seasons. His picture-perfect swing produced 2,711 hits, a .290 career average and 426 home runs. The six-time All-Star was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1961 and The Sporting News Player of the Year in 1972, when he led the league with a .333 batting average while also hitting 37 home runs and driving in 122 runs. |
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| Sports and Torts: Hall of Famer Jim Rice Jim Rice's 16-year big league career in Boston continued a legacy of renowned Red Sox left fielders that included Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski. One of the most feared right-handed hitters of his era, Rice clubbed at least 20 homers in 11 of his first 12 full seasons and led the American League in total bases four times, homers three times and RBI and slugging percentage twice each |
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LIVEFIT With Lupus  LIVEFIT WITH LUPUS is a newly formed, non-profit, filed 501c3 organization formed to provide awareness for lupus and other autoimmune diseases. The organization's Mission Statement is "To promote health and wellness, inspire others to overcome their own obstacles and create autoimmune awareness in the community and eventually around the globe." |
| Guest(s) Appearing on this Episode | ||
| Billy Williams Sweet-swinging Billy Williams quietly carved out a Hall of Fame career. Often overshadowed by flashier players during his heyday, he was a dependable star for 14 full seasons as a Cub. From September 22, 1963 to September 2, 1970, he established a National League record of 1,117 consecutive games played that stood until Steve Garvey broke it in 1983. He also set NL marks for games played by an outfielder in one season (164 in 1965) and consecutive years with 600 or more at-bats (nine, from 1962 to '70, broken by Pete Rose ). He tied major league records with five homers in two consecutive games (September 8 and 10, 1968), and four consecutive doubles in a game (April 9, 1969). Billy's Career Stats |
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| Jim Rice For the better part of 12 season (1975-86), Jim Rice was one of the best hitters in baseball, regularly batting over .300 and driving in 100 or more RBIs while hovering near the lead in hits. At the time of his own retirement, Hank Aaron predicted that if one player was to break his all-time home run record, it likely would be Rice. In the periods of 1977-80 and 1983-86, he was named to eight American League All Star Teams, while in 1978, Rice became the first player since Joe DiMaggio to total more than 400 bases (406) in a season. A the end of the 1978 season, Rice had racked up the home run and RBI titles and had come in third in batting while leading the league in slugging percentage (.600), games (163), at bats (677), hits (213), triples (15), extra-base hits (86) and times-on-base (276). For that prodigious season, he was named the American League's Most Valuable Player. It wasn't until the steroid era that Larry Walker, playing in home-run launching pad Denver in 1997, again surpassed 400 total bases. Rice was part of the Red Sox teams that won A.L. titles in 1975 and 1986, and the 1988 A.L. Eastern Division Championship. During his MVP year, the Red Sox lost a one-game playoff to their hated rivals, the New York Yankees, a game won by Yankees ace Ron Guidry, who racked up his 25th win against three losses. Despite Guidry's phenomenal season that year, Rice beat out "Louisiana Lightning" for MVP, and would finished in the top 10 in voting for A.L. MVP five other times (1975, 1977, 1979, 1983 and 1986). During his career, Rice topped the league three times in home runs, twice in RBIs, four times in total bases, and twice in slugging average. Four times, he had more than 200 hits. Jim's Career Stats |
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