Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher, William Jennings Buckner was born August 27, 1983 in Decatur, Georgia. He is a right-handed batter at 6’ 2” tall and weighs 215. Buckner made his Major League Baseball premiere on August 25, 2007.
Graduated from Salem High in Conyers, Ga., earned All-Region and All-State honors in baseball
Played 2 seasons at Young Harris (Ga.) College, named to the 2003 NJCAA All-District team and received 2002 NJCAA All-America honors
Selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the ninth round of the 2003 draft, but did not sign
Attended the University of South Carolina and helped lead the Gamecocks to the 2004 College World Series
Posted a 7-2 record and a 3.32 ERA in 15 games (14 starts) in his junior season for the Gamecocks
Recorded 105 strikeouts vs. just 23 walks.
2007 Career Highlights:
Posted a 1.17 ERA (1 ER in 7.2 IP) in 2 relief outings
1-2 with a 6.49 ERA (19 ER in 26.1 IP) in 5 starts for Royals
Named Omaha Pitcher of the Year
Led all starters with at least 10 starts in ERA and walked 26 while striking out 83
Made his Major League debut on August 25 vs. Cleveland, tossing 5 innings of relief and allowing 1 run on 7 hits
Walked 2 and struck out 1
Suffered his first Major League loss on September 10 vs. Minnesota, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits in 5.1 innings in a 4-2 Kansas City loss
Set career-highs in both walks (5) and strikeouts (4) in the loss
Earned his first Major League win on Sept. 16 at Cleveland, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits through 6 innings...walked 1 and struck out 3 in the Royals 4-3 win...Equaled his career-high with 4 strikeouts in his final start on Sept. 27 at Chicago.
