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One of the most accomplished third basemen of his era, Matt Williams was a hard-nosed performer. Drafted third overall in the 1986 June MLB Draft, Williams broke into the bigs with the Giants the following April at age 21.

By 1990 he was an All Star for the first time. That season he slugged 33 home runs with a league-leading 122 RBI. The performance earned him a Silver Slugger Award and the first of four top-6 MVP finishes.

Williams was one of the National League’s most feared sluggers during the 1990s. Over the decade Williams slashed 241 doubles, drove in 962 runs and had a .508 slugging percentage. Among Senior Circuit sluggers, only Barry Bonds and  Sammy Sosa hit more home runs than Williams.

After ten years in San Francisco, Williams played one season in Cleveland where he tallied 32 homers, 105 RBI. He returned the the NL in 1998 with the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks. In 1999 he drove in a team record 142 runs, a mark he still shares today with Luis Gonzalez. Williams retired after the 1993 season.

The third baseman’s postseason exploits are many. In 1989 with the Giants he slammed a home run off of eventual World Series Most Valuable Player Dave Stewart in Game 2. He returned to the Fall Classic with the ’97 Indians. Williams went 10-for-26 with a double, a homer, and a .515 on-base percentage. His final World Series performance came in a winning cause for the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks. Williams’ Game 4 home run made him the first man to hit a World Series homer for three different teams.

By the time he retired in 2003, Williams had 1,878 hits, 338 doubles, 378 homers, 1,218 RBI. His 46.6 career WAR puts him ahead of Cooperstown men Pie Traynor and George Kell.

Williams’ trophy case overflows. In addition to his five rings – four from the All Star Game and one as World Series champ – Williams earned four Silver Slugger and four Gold Glove Awards.

In the collection is this Matt Williams autographed Strat-O-Matic card from 1987. Bucknell University math major Hal Richman originated the Strat-O-Matic game in 1961. Advertised in Sports Illustrated and sold out of Richman’s basement, Strat-O-Matic gave its players the ability to make managerial decisions based on MLB statistics.

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After retiring as a player in 2003, Matt Williams turned to coaching. By 2010 he ascended to the position of first-base coach in Arizona. The following season he moved across the diamond as third-base coach.

The Washington Nationals came calling in 2014 and hired Williams as their manager.  He led them to the Easter Division title and was named the National League Manager of the Year. The same season Buck Showalter got the nod in the AL after leading the Orioles to their first Eastern Division title in 17 years.

Shown here is a document signed by Buck in 1977, fifteen years prior to his managerial debut. Before Showalter became a successful Major League manager he had big league dreams as a player. This questionnaire was filled out and signed by a 21-year Showalter after the conclusion of his first season as a professional player.

Near the bottom of the questionnaire Showalter is asked to identify what was then his greatest thrill in baseball. In the reply he references the Cape Cod League, the premier summer college league in the United States.

His words reveal serious accomplishments, “Being named 1st team All American for major universities in 1977 and breaking Thurman Munson batting average record in the Cape Cod League”.

Forty years later 1 in 7 of all 2017 Major Leaguers played in the Cape Cod League.