Photo credit: alchetron.com

By: Tony The Tiger Hayes

HE WAS A GIANT?
BILL BORDLEY — LHP — 1980 — #34

It made national news in 1979 when the Giants won the rights to acquire this strapping, hard-throwing, uber blue-chipper out of USC. Bordley was viewed as a southpaw Tom Seaver with a brilliant college pedigree and a ceiling as high as the moon.

But like a lot of scenarios for the Giants in the early ’80s, Bordley turned out to be more Fools Gold than a Golden Ticket.

Despite all the fanfare he arrived with, Bordley ended pitching in just eight games for the Orange and Black and never made it back to the majors.

Why was he a Giant?
Before the secondary phase of the ’79 draft, Bordley–who had a family medical hardship–stated a desire to play on the West Coast. Cincinnati drafted him anyways. After some legal posturing, Bordley was eventually released from the Reds’ grips and the names of five teams that fit the pitcher’s criteria were dropped in a hat. The Giants won.

Before and after
Bordley was a super star all the way up to joining the Giants. At Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance, the southpaw set school records across the board, leading to a scholarship to USC. Once there He set the college freshman strikeout high watermark – a record that stood until Tim Lincecum broke it in 2004. After two seasons as a Trojan, Bordley’s record stood at 26-2 and led USC to the 1978 College World Series title.

Bordley was signed to a Major League contract and fast tracked through the minors. Within a year he was with the Giants. Two years and two elbow surgeries later, he was out of pro ball.

Bordley went back to USC earned a degree in finance and then began a career with the Secret Service. He was on President Bill Clinton’s detail for several years and was called upon to testify in the Monica Lewinsky mess.

Eventually, Bordley made it back to the big leagues and is now MLB’s Vice President for security.

He was no Tom Seaver. But…
He beat Tom Seaver. In his Giants debut, Bordley out-dueled the Hall of Famer, allowing three runs over six innings in an 8-4 win over the Reds at Candlestick Park (6/30/80). He also collected his lone big league hit that day off Tom Terrific.

Giants’ footprint
As a baseball security chief, Bordley is not only in charge of keeping every MLB player safe from harms way but also every fan, he has visited AT&T Park several times during his time with the commissioner’s office.

Tony The Tiger Hayes does Giants features for http://www.sportsradioservice.com