2016 WCC Tournament

  A native of McMinnville, Bill Krueger was recruited to play baseball the University of Portland, but he was awarded a basketball scholarship. A two-sport athlete with the Pilots, Krueger hit .301 in 1977 to earn the team's MVP award as a rookie. Primarily a first baseman, Krueger still ranks seventh all-time at UP with 869 career putouts. Krueger also pitched for UP and he played with the 1980 squad that won a program record 36 games. He boasts a career batting average of .286, while on the hardwood he averaged 5.3 points and 1.8 rebounds per game in 105 career appearances.

Following graduation, Krueger was signed by the Oakland Athletics as an undrafted amateur free agent in 1981, making the Oakland A's Class A Team in Medford. Krueger became primarily a pitcher as a professional and he made his Major League Baseball debut with the A's in 1983 against the California Angels in front of 40,000 fans.

Krueger spent 13 years (1983-95) in Major League Baseball, and he also pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners (twice), Minnesota Twins, Montreal Expos, Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres. He compiled 66 career wins, including three seasons of double-digit wins, pitched more than 1,100 innings, registered 639 strikeouts and boasted a career-low 3.40 ERA with the Tigers in 1993.