Gavin Williams, 500 Strikeouts In

Five Hundred

On July 28, Gavin Williams recorded his 500th career strikeout. All of them have come in a Cleveland uniform — 88 appearances, all starts, 474.2 innings, a 3.60 ERA — across four seasons since he debuted on June 21, 2023.

He has never pitched for another organization. Cleveland drafted him 23rd overall in 2021 out of East Carolina and signed him for $2.25 million.

The Long Way Around

Williams grew up in the Autryville area of Sampson County, North Carolina, and pitched at Cape Fear High School in Fayetteville, where he went 18-1 with a 1.06 ERA over his career. After meniscus surgery his senior year, he threw three consecutive no-hitters to open the 2017 season.

The Tampa Bay Rays drafted him in the 30th round that summer. He did not sign. His father, Laurice Williams Jr., emphasized education as the priority, with baseball as the bonus. Williams enrolled at East Carolina, majored in criminal justice, and completed the degree. A late growth spurt and the nutrition program at ECU turned the kid his parents remembered as skinny or chunky into a 6-foot-6, 250-pound right-hander.

His parents recalled that scouts visiting their house in high school felt stressful and almost unbelievable. His mother remains superstitious and avoids pre-game calls; his father still encourages him.

The Level Head

Jose Ramirez has called Williams the most underrated player in baseball. Pitching coach Carl Willis has praised his diligence and maturity in making adjustments.

In the dugout, Williams is a prankster who sneaks up on teammates, coaches, bat boys, and reporters to tap them on the shoulder from behind. He starts throwing sessions by working on a knuckleball he plans to use only late in a long career, and he stays level-headed on start days and after giving up home runs.

Last season at Wrigley Field, after allowing three runs, Williams recorded three outs in one inning without a batter being retired via a plate tag — a wild pitch that bounced off the brick backstop back to the catcher, plus two pickoffs. It was the first such inning for a Cleveland pitcher since at least 1920. He said afterward he did not even know where to set up.

He is 27, in his fourth season, and still with Cleveland.

Reporting: The Athletic, cleveland.com, Sampson Independent, East Carolina University Athletics, MLB.com. Career and biographical data: MLB StatsAPI, via the Fever engine.