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Houma native and professional baseball player Justin Williams hopes 2019 is his breakout year in professional baseball after getting a taste of life in the big leagues last year.
But to do that, he first has to get 100 percent healthy after a lapse in judgment this offseason.
Williams remains out of action after fracturing his hand and dislocating several fingers after punching and breaking a TV during an incident in December.
Williams was cleared to swing a bat this past week. He hopes to return to action soon — though a lot of spring training has now come and passed.
He admits the incident occurred and was a mistake. He said it was a “personal issue” that he’s since gotten situated as he shifts his focus on baseball.
“It was a personal issue,” Williams told the St. Louis Post Dispatch. “I just made a silly mistake and I’m just moving forward.”
Williams hopes the injury is just a small blip on the radar in his quest to keep moving up the ranks in the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
Last year was the most memorable season of Williams’ career — a year which consisted of a cup of tea in the Major Leagues, a trade and then a PCL Championship.
Williams started the season as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays’ organization with the Durham Bulls — the Triple A affiliate of the team.
Williams bit .258 in 94 games with the Bulls with 8 home runs and 46 RBI.
In the summer, the Rays had an unexpected injury and called up the prospect for one game in Tampa — his MLB debut.
Williams did not start the game, but he did play in the late innings as a defensive replacement. He also recorded one at-bat.
He said the entire experience was surreal.
“It’s something I’m going to remember for the rest of my life,” he told The Times last summer. “It was something that was just unforgettable.”
But Williams’ future with Tampa was short lived.
Near the trade deadline last summer, the Rays packaged Williams to the St. Louis Cardinals in a trade, which meant that instead of finishing his season in Durham, he was off to Memphis to play for the Redbirds — the Cardinals’ Triple A affiliate.
With Memphis, Williams struggled to adjust, hitting .217 with 3 home runs and 11 RBI. But it was a small sample size — just 21 games and 76 official at-bats.
Williams’ most memorable moment as a Cardinal likely came in a reunion game in New Orleans against the Baby Cakes.
In the second game of the series, he smashed a mammoth home run deep to right-center field — a blast that ignited a Houma-heavy crowd that turned out to watch him play.
“It meant a lot to me,” Williams said after that game.
The offseason was supposed to be a time for Williams to settle into his role with the Cardinals, but the injury derailed those plans.
Williams said the incident was a stupid mistake — one he regrets. He said nothing more than it was personal, but confirmed it wasn’t over a sporting event or anything relating to baseball.
“I just got really upset and I just made a silly mistake — I just hit a television,” Williams said. “And it won, obviously. … It was just something I’ve been dealing with for a while and it just accumulated over time, honestly.”
With clearance to swing, Williams said his focus is on putting the issue behind him and getting his best foot forward going into the new season.
If he were healthy, there was an outside shot at making the MLB roster during Spring Training, but that’s likely no longer in the cards because of the injury.
Instead, Williams said he wants to battle back to 100 percent, then work on being as good as he can be so that the next time he makes it to the Bigs, it’s a permanent change.
He said the Cardinals’ organization is first-class and he believes the best days of his career are in front of him.
“I would like to polish my game up more,” Williams said. “That’s another thing that I’ve learned. It’s just less is more at the higher level — less is more.”
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