Madlock, Bill
Baseball
b. Jan. 2, 1951, Memphis, TN
A four-time National League batting champion, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Madlock had a brief tryout with the Texas Rangers in 1973 and became the starting third baseman for the Chicago Cubs the following season, when he hit .313. He then won two consecutive batting titles with averages of .354 in 1975 and .339 in 1976.
Madlock was traded to the San Francisco Giants in 1977 and the Giants sent him to the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 1979 season. He hit .328 in 85 games with the Pirates to help them win the NL pennant and he batted .375 in their seven-game victory over the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series.
After hitting .277 in 1978, Madlock won his third batting championship with a .341 average in 1981 and he took his fourth title two years later with a .323 average. Pittsburgh traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers near the end of the 1985 season. In just 34 games with the Dodgers, Madlock hit .360. Los Angeles won the Western Division title but lost the league championship series in six games to the St. Louis Cardinals, despite Madlock's .333 average and 7 RBI.
Madlock hit .280 for the Dodgers in 1986 and played for the Dodgers and the Detroit Tigers in 1987. He then spent one season playing in Japan before his retirement.
Madlock is the only player to win two batting titles with each of two different teams and, from 1971 through 1989, he was the only right-handed hitter to lead the National League in batting.