William Dale Goodman (March 22, 1926 - October 1, 1984) was an infielder and left-handed batter who played Major League Baseball with the Boston Red Sox (1947-57), Baltimore Orioles (1957), Chicago White Sox (1958-61) and Houston Colt .45's (1962).
Born in Concord, North Carolina, Goodman was an extremely versatile player capable of playing at almost every position. In 1950 he led the American League in batting average with a .354 mark (one of five times he hit over .300), and was runner-up behind Phil Rizzuto in voting for the MVP Award. He also hit .290 or better 11 straight years (1948-58).
In his career, Goodman batted exactly .300, with 19 home runs, 591 RBI, 807 runs, 1691 hits, 299 doubles, 44 triples, 37 stolen bases, and 669 walks for a .376 on base percentage.
A twice All-Star, Billy Goodman died in Sarasota, Florida, at age of 58. He was inducted to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in November 2004.
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