1982 Sports Illustrated feature story During the 1980's there wasn't much to cheer about at ballgames. However, there were a few characters that stand out from the crowd. Reliever Bill Caudill was one of them. Known as The Inspector or Cuffs, he would not only shut down American League batters but also kept the Seattle Mariners in the news with his antics. Manager Rene Lachemann said of his pitcher "I've had players on my teams as goofy as Caudill,....as outgoing....? No, outgoing isn't the word, goofy's the word, but none that were also as important to the team." Along with his repertoire of pitches, Caudill possessed a genuine customs inspectors badge, a pair of handcuffs, two pink panters, a calabash pipe, a Sherlock Holmes hat, two magnifying glasses, and a Beldar the Conhead mask. The Inspector with his equipment Starting his career pitching as the set-up man for Bruce Sutter with the Cubs, Caudill was traded to the Yankees on April 1st of 1982. Just 22 minutes later he was traded to Seattle with outfielder Bobby Brown and pitcher Gene Nelson for M's reliever Shane Rawley. It was a deal George Steinbrenner later called "The worst we've made this year." With Anderson on the "Tug" Gaylord Perry in a head-lock Great pitches and a reliever's attitude made Caudill the ace of the bullpen. "The few times that he's gotten hit hard it hasn't bothered him. He knows he'll do the job the next day", says ex-Mariner pitcher Jim Beattie. One such instance came in a game against the Yankees, when Bill relieved Ed Vande Berg with Seattle holding a 5-1 8th inning lead. After John Mayberry hit a run-scoring single, Craig Nettles hit a 3 run homer to tie the game, but Seattle - and Caudill - went on to win in the 9th, 6-5. "Hey, even Betty Crocker burns a cake once in a while", Caudill told Beattie. The next night Bill came back and pitched 4 2/3 innings of one hit ball to beat the Yankees 6-5. Looking for hits A call for "Cuffs" Those nicknames! How could any Mariner fan from the '80's forget them. Caudill was dubbed the Inspector after the Mariners went 2-7 on their first road trip. "It could have been 7-2 if we'd had some timely hitting," said the reliever. So when the team returned to the Kingdome, Caudill put on his Sherlock Holmes cap and inspected the bat rack for the missing hits. He would pull out a bat, thump it like a watermelon, then throw it away. Inspector Clouseau, they called him. The name stuck, and pretty soon fans were sending him magnifying glasses. During the game when he would get the call from the 'pen, the Dome organist would play the Pink Panther theme. The other name, "Cuff's", came in Cleveland, during a the second road trip. Caudill closed the bar at the team hotel and was hanging around the lobby at 2:30 a.m., when two hotel security guards ordered him to his room. The guards put him on the elevator 3 times, and 3 times he ended up in the lobby again. The 3rd time one of the guards slapped a pair of handcuffs on him. "The guy wanted to take me downtown, but Lach talked him out of it," Caudill said. To commemorate the event, Richie Zisk bought a pair of handcuffs for Bill to personally own. That was a big mistake. Soon after that players and clubhouse personnel found themselves handcuffed in bizarre locations for a variety of offenses. One was even the manager's son, Britt Lachemann, who was 'cuffed to a Nautilus machine in the pitch dark after calling Caudill "blimpy". He was able pick himself free with a paperclip. Bill with Coneheaded Anderson On the mound No one escaped his pranks. In a June rain delay in Detroit, Caudill walked out to the field wearing Anderson's Conhead mask and Gaylord Perry's jersey with a pillow stuffed inside. Then he went into his impression - wiping grease from behind the ears and eyebrows. "Next thing I knew this big body was tackling me, saying "I'm going to kill you, sucker.' 'Gaylord, Gaylord! It was a just a joke!' ". Bill was not alone in all his jokes. One day Perry and Caudill collaborated to steal the keys to the fireboat, which was originally intended to carry Mariner relief pitchers to the mound. "I'll be #$%& if anybody's going to come in and pitch for me riding a tugboat," Perry said. He instituted a $100 fine for any reliever who rode in. No one did. Years with the Mariners Year W L PCT. G GS CG SHO SV IP H HR SO BB ERA 1982 12 9 .571 70 0 0 0 26 96 65 9 111 35 2.34 1983 2 8 .200 63 0 0 0 26 73 70 10 73 38 4.68 [Back] [Home]
During the 1980's there wasn't much to cheer about at ballgames. However, there were a few characters that stand out from the crowd. Reliever Bill Caudill was one of them. Known as The Inspector or Cuffs, he would not only shut down American League batters but also kept the Seattle Mariners in the news with his antics. Manager Rene Lachemann said of his pitcher "I've had players on my teams as goofy as Caudill,....as outgoing....? No, outgoing isn't the word, goofy's the word, but none that were also as important to the team." Along with his repertoire of pitches, Caudill possessed a genuine customs inspectors badge, a pair of handcuffs, two pink panters, a calabash pipe, a Sherlock Holmes hat, two magnifying glasses, and a Beldar the Conhead mask.
Starting his career pitching as the set-up man for Bruce Sutter with the Cubs, Caudill was traded to the Yankees on April 1st of 1982. Just 22 minutes later he was traded to Seattle with outfielder Bobby Brown and pitcher Gene Nelson for M's reliever Shane Rawley. It was a deal George Steinbrenner later called "The worst we've made this year."
Great pitches and a reliever's attitude made Caudill the ace of the bullpen. "The few times that he's gotten hit hard it hasn't bothered him. He knows he'll do the job the next day", says ex-Mariner pitcher Jim Beattie. One such instance came in a game against the Yankees, when Bill relieved Ed Vande Berg with Seattle holding a 5-1 8th inning lead. After John Mayberry hit a run-scoring single, Craig Nettles hit a 3 run homer to tie the game, but Seattle - and Caudill - went on to win in the 9th, 6-5. "Hey, even Betty Crocker burns a cake once in a while", Caudill told Beattie. The next night Bill came back and pitched 4 2/3 innings of one hit ball to beat the Yankees 6-5.
Those nicknames! How could any Mariner fan from the '80's forget them. Caudill was dubbed the Inspector after the Mariners went 2-7 on their first road trip. "It could have been 7-2 if we'd had some timely hitting," said the reliever. So when the team returned to the Kingdome, Caudill put on his Sherlock Holmes cap and inspected the bat rack for the missing hits. He would pull out a bat, thump it like a watermelon, then throw it away. Inspector Clouseau, they called him. The name stuck, and pretty soon fans were sending him magnifying glasses. During the game when he would get the call from the 'pen, the Dome organist would play the Pink Panther theme.
The other name, "Cuff's", came in Cleveland, during a the second road trip. Caudill closed the bar at the team hotel and was hanging around the lobby at 2:30 a.m., when two hotel security guards ordered him to his room. The guards put him on the elevator 3 times, and 3 times he ended up in the lobby again. The 3rd time one of the guards slapped a pair of handcuffs on him. "The guy wanted to take me downtown, but Lach talked him out of it," Caudill said. To commemorate the event, Richie Zisk bought a pair of handcuffs for Bill to personally own. That was a big mistake. Soon after that players and clubhouse personnel found themselves handcuffed in bizarre locations for a variety of offenses. One was even the manager's son, Britt Lachemann, who was 'cuffed to a Nautilus machine in the pitch dark after calling Caudill "blimpy". He was able pick himself free with a paperclip.
No one escaped his pranks. In a June rain delay in Detroit, Caudill walked out to the field wearing Anderson's Conhead mask and Gaylord Perry's jersey with a pillow stuffed inside. Then he went into his impression - wiping grease from behind the ears and eyebrows. "Next thing I knew this big body was tackling me, saying "I'm going to kill you, sucker.' 'Gaylord, Gaylord! It was a just a joke!' ". Bill was not alone in all his jokes. One day Perry and Caudill collaborated to steal the keys to the fireboat, which was originally intended to carry Mariner relief pitchers to the mound. "I'll be #$%& if anybody's going to come in and pitch for me riding a tugboat," Perry said. He instituted a $100 fine for any reliever who rode in. No one did.