Astros Legends Series: Bill Spiers

Q: What positions did Bill Spiers play during his MLB career?

Bill Spiers played multiple positions throughout his MLB career, primarily as a utility player.

Q: What was Bill Spiers' experience like during the 1998 National League Division Playoff Series?

Spiers recalled the excitement of the series, noting a game-winning hit and the electric atmosphere with 64,000 fans.

Q: How did Bill Spiers contribute to the Houston Astros despite not being an everyday starter?

Spiers thrived as a utility player, learning to play all infield positions, which made him a valuable asset to the team.

Q: Who did Bill Spiers consider the toughest pitcher he faced in his career?

Spiers identified Pat Hentgen as the toughest pitcher he faced, stating he struggled significantly against him.

1 Oct 1998: Infielder Bill Spiers #28 of the Houston Astros in action during the National League Division Playoff Series Game 2 against the San Diego Padres at The Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The Astros defeated the Padres 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport | Getty Images Our eighth installment of our ongoing Legend Series features Bill Spiers, who played multiple positions during his MLB Career. Spiers was also a two-sport player at Clemson, where he played baseball and football. He was a member of the coaching staff with Clemson Football from 2016 until his retirement at the end of the 2023 season. **Q: What’s a better atmosphere? Playoff baseball at the Astrodome back in the day or a Saturday Night in Death Valley?** *A: Come on now! That’s pretty tough!* *I have vivid memories of the Padres series. We had the best record in baseball that year with Randy Johnson and we were supposed to go to the World Series, but they wound up beating us.* *I had a game winning hit and some 64,000 fans sent me goosebumps and chills.* *Then there’s that night game in Death Valley, where I’m there and it’s Deshaun Watson against Lamar Jackson the first year I started coaching. I had never run down the hill in a night game as a coach, and I turned the corner on the bus and you get off that thing, you feel the electricity. I had the same exact feeling that I had that moment when I was a player back in the Dome. They were very comparable. Both of them gave me chills.* **Q: You mentioned Randy Johnson, what a roll he was on going 10-1 that summer down the stretch. What was it like finding out you were about to land one of the best pitchers in baseball for the stretch run?** *A: The rumor got out when we were in Pittsburgh. The trade deadline was coming up and we heard it and we all stayed up like it was Christmas Eve or something, just waiting with anticipation. I couldn’t hardly sleep. We already had a good team, and then the thought of adding him just made everybody giddy.* **Q: In a 5 year stretch, you found a way to appear in 628 games for the Astros and you weren’t always considered an everyday starter at a set position. How did you do it?** *A: I thrived being a utility player. I learned how to play all the positions, and I tell kids today that’s an important thing to learn to do. That enabled me to be valuable to the team because I knew I could make a contribution. That is honestly what drove me. I didn’t play a ton of outfield, but when I played there, I wanted to act like I had been out there forever, so I worked at it. I was proud that I could play every infield position. The staff had confidence that they could plug me in anywhere.* **Q: Who was the toughest pitcher you ever faced?** *A: Pat Hentgen without a doubt. I was O-for-my-career against him, and he had this cutter and I could never pick up the ball coming out of his hand and he just owned me. He just ate me up.* **Q: What did you like about playing for Larry Dierker?** *A: He was so good with pitchers. He appreciated letting the starting pitchers grind it out and learn how to finish things. Larry wasn’t quick to pull guys. He was a player’s manager. We knew that he didn’t have a strict discipline regiment, he just expected us to be ready to play, and we were.*