Celebrating Black History Month: Highlighting Collier, Westbrook & Williams

In celebration of Black History Month, throughout February, teams across Minor League Baseball are looking back at some of the best Black players to suit up for their club.

While some of these standout performers from across the sport went on to long and illustrious Major League careers, others simply had great Minor League careers. Some were notable for their presence, both on and off the field. And, in a few cases, some had that one incredible season that went down as “a year for the ages.”

Over the month, we will highlight some of the best Black baseball players to ever suit up for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

In the past, we have highlighted greats like Marlon Anderson, Ryan Howard, Aaron Judge, Wendell Magee and Jimmy Rollins.

This month, we have highlighted - Tony Barron, DJ Mitchell and Floyd Rayford as well as Austin Jackson, Kevin Jordan and Billy McMillon.

Lou Collier

Collier was signed by Philadelphia in early 2004 and appeared in 32 games for the Phillies that season, though the bulk of his campaign was spent hitting for the Red Barons. The versatile 30-year-old played 45 games at third base, 51 in the outfield and even made two appearances at first for Marc Bombard’s club. Collier excelled at the plate, posting a team-best .326 average over 101 games, with a team-high 14 home runs and 66 runs batted in. That .326 batting average remains tied for second-best in any single SWB season.

Jamie Westbrook

Westbrook was signed by the Yankees as a Minor League free agent for the 2023 season and became a fixture on Shelley Duncan’s lineup card last year. He appeared in 117 games and hit .294, the second-highest mark in his 10-year professional career. Westbrook also hit 21 home runs, setting a new career-best tally. He was widely regarded as a top clubhouse presence in 2023 and the field staff spoke often of his contributions on and off the field. Westbrook has since signed with Boston on a Minor League agreement.

Mason Williams

Williams was selected by the Yankees in the fourth round of the 2010 Draft and reached Triple-A in 2015 at age 23. He hit .296 for the 2016 club over 31 games, helping them secure a playoff spot before spending the final few weeks of the season in the Majors. Williams appeared in 157 regular season games for the RailRiders over part of three seasons, closing his SWB career with a .306 average while never committing an error in the field.