Astros

Greif graduated from John H. Reagan High School (Austin, Texas). He was drafted in the 3rd round of the 1968 Major League Baseball Draft by the Astros, making his major league debut with them three years later. He was traded to the Padres after the 1971 season along with Mark Schaeffer and Derrel Thomas for pitcher Dave Roberts.

Padres

Greif pitched four full seasons and part of a fifth with the Padres. A knuckle-curve specialist, he was the team's Opening Day starter in 1974, then in 1975 he was moved full-time to the bullpen. After moving back to the starting rotation to start the 1976 season, he made five starts for the Padres before being traded to the Cardinals for outfielder Luis Meléndez.

Remaining career

The Cardinals moved Greif back to the bullpen once again, and he appeared in 47 games. After the 1976 season, he was traded from the Cardinals to the Montreal Expos after the 1976 season with Ángel Torres and Sam Mejías for Tony Scott, Steve Dunning and Pat Scanlon. The Expos did not re-sign him for the 1977 season, and he was released on March 30. After sitting out the 1977 season, Greif signed with the New York Mets organization in 1978. He appeared in three games for the Tidewater Tides that year, his final professional season.

Personal life

Bill Greif currently lives in Spokane, WA and is the father of Jacob, Ben, and Emily Greif.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]