Sun Photo by Jody Snyder Greeneville Astros pitching coach Jack Billingham waves to the standing-room-only crowd that gave him a standing ovation during a retirement ceremony before Tuesday night’s regular season home finale at Pioneer Park. He was presented with a framed jersey by Tim Purpura, Houston’s Director of Player Development and Assistant General Manager. Beside Purpura, from left, are Appalachian League President Lee Landers, Greeneville businessman and local philanthropist Scott Niswonger, and Dr. Dolph Henry, president of Tusculum College.

By: By JOE BYRD/Sports Writer Source: The Greeneville Sun 08-18-2004

Greeneville Astros pitching coach Jack Billingham came out to bid farewell to the home fans a final time Tuesday night, but a standing ovation by more than 3,400 people let an emotional Billingham know just how much he means to them.

Top brass from the parent club in Houston flew in for the pregame ceremonies to honor Billingham, who is retiring after more than 30 years in baseball.

“It’s going to be awfully tough walking away,” Billingham said. “Everybody is saying ‘Why are you retiring?’ Well, I’m not retiring because I have lost my love for the game. I’m retiring because I have a beautiful family. I’ve got grandkids. Baseball has given me the opportunity to retire. I’m not rich like the players today, but I played in the big leagues. I’ve got a good pension plan. I’m going to go home and enjoy life. I’m going to see if I can live with that life. If I can’t, hopefully somebody will give me a job.”

Billingham might not be in Cooperstown, but he has a storied baseball career. He began his career in the Dodger organization and became a solid starter for Houston before being traded to Cincinnati, where he was a favorite in the pitching rotation of the famed “Big Red Machine” where he won World Series titles in 1975 and 1976.

Billingham won 19 games in back-to-back seasons in 1973 and 1974. In 1973 he led the National League with 40 starts, 293 innings pitched and seven shutouts. In three World Series, he allowed just one earned run in more than 25 innings of work. He was also on the delivering end of Hank Aaron’s record-tying 714th home run.

Through all that, does Billingham have one specific memory that stands out above the rest?

“Not really,” he said. “I was in the World Series. I’ve played with Hall of Famers. I was in an All-Star Game. I tell these kids in the Minor Leagues, when you play in Greeneville, Tenn., it’s fun, but that’s not where you want to be. You want to be in the big leagues. It took me seven years to get to the big leagues, and when I did I think that was probably the most excited I’ve ever been in my life.”

His life the past few years has been centered around helping prepare youngsters in the Astros’ farm system for the big leagues.

“That’s my life now, trying to teach these kids,” he said. “We can’t do it for them. We can maybe show them a few things that can maybe help them along the way, but these kids have to do it themselves. It’s very satisfying to turn the TV on and see these kids that maybe you might have had something to do with. There are only five percent of these kids that will get to the big leagues. I feel like you prepare them for life. Life is not simple sometimes, and they have to get out there in the real world. We try to prepare them for everything. The first thing is to be Major League ball players.”

This year Billingham has not only helped prepare young players, he has helped Greeneville’s young first-year manager Tim Bogar.

“It’s been fantastic for me to have Jack’s experience to teach me the pitching game,” Bogar said. “I was a position player my whole life. I understand pitching, but I really don’t have a grasp on how to use guys in the right situation, when to put guys in. Over the course of the season he has really guided me in that direction.”

The direction Billingham is headed when the Astros’ season is over is home. He said when winter air begins to warm and the pitchers and catchers report to training camp, he fully expects to feel that familiar tug he has felt all these years.

“I live in Florida. I won’t disappear,” Billingham said. “I’m going to go down to Spring Training. I’ve got a lot of good friends on the field, off the field, in the front office, field staff, players and everything else. I’m going to visit, go down and talk to them and things like that.”