By TOM MOORE
Roy Hobbs Baseball
“God put me here to help people and maybe make a better place for everybody.”
That’s William Michael Dillon’s outlook on life today, despite spending more than 27 years of his life in jail before finally being exonerated and set free in November of 2008.
You would think that someone in his shoes would be bitter and sour on life … but not Bill.
He looks on his release as giving him a brand new start and hopefully help others
“like a baby born in a new world.”And his new start includes getting back to his love of baseball.
When he was 20, he had the prospect of a career in the Detroit Tigers organization as a pitcher. Then his world fell in and he was arrested for the stabbing death of a man in a park in Broward County, Florida.
He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
This week he is playing competitive baseball for the first time in 30 years as a member of the Tallahassee Bombers in the Masters Division of the Roy Hobbs World Series.
Gary Yordon, who along with Chip Campbell and Scott Hamilton organizes the Bombers, produces a syndicated political talk show, “Usual Suspects,” in Tallahassee, and he invited Bill to be a guest and to tell his story.
When Bill talked about loving baseball on the show, Yordon was struck with the idea that perhaps Bill, now 52, could play with the Bombers, a veteran Roy Hobbs team in the 48+ division.
Gary and Bill became friends and when visiting Bill’s family, Gary recalls Bill’s father talking about what a good ball player Bill was and about Bill’s love of baseball.
Gary went to his teammates and pitched the idea of Bill joining the Bombers. It was unanimous and Gary was tasked with inviting Bill to become a Bomber.
“I asked if he would be interested in playing ball again in a structured league with all the trimmings of the real thing as a member of our team,” Gary said. “He said it would be ‘unbelievable’.
“He was like a 9-year-old,” Gary said, “calling me about details, including if he had a right shade of gray on his pants.”
So you’ll see him this week wearing No. 27 for the Bombers. He played his first game Sunday and was 0-for-3 with 3 ground balls, hitting into a double play in his first at bat. And the Bombers lost to the Maine Indians 5-2. But the bad start hasn’t fazed him one bit.
“I love baseball,” he said.
Bill’s first baseball game since 1981 Sunday was played in Lee County Stadium and was accompanied by pre- and post-game interviews, cameras and video-taping by independent producers who are building a program about him and his experiences for ESPN, CNN, CBS and others.
“The Bombers are about family,” Gary said before the game. “This is amateur baseball and our dugout is like a family. We thought this was the right thing to do.”
And, as for Bill’s first game performance, “He told me he doesn’t remember his first time at bat – he was just numb,” Gary said.
Bill is a songwriter and country singer and is usually booked to perform or talk about his experience most of the year. In fact, he cancelled one such gig to play ball.
He has a professionally produced CD containing songs he wrote while in prison. It’s called Black Robes and Lawyers, and his favorite is the last song, Brand New Start, which he feels he now has. Bill is unabashedly a country singer, and according to Roy Hobbs resident music expert (and umpire assignor) Bob Spangler … “Yeah, this is kinda dark but with hope. I really sense some David Allan Coe influence here, as well as some reggae. I am enjoying listening to this.”
The title cut starts … “My name is William Michael Dillon. I was arrested for murder on August 26, 1981 for a crime I didn’t commit. I was released November 18, 2008. Thank you for the keepers of justice … ”
Baseball was never far from his thoughts in prison. “Yes, I thought about playing baseball all the time,” he said, “usually before I fell asleep each night I would think about what might have been.
“My life has been a lot about never giving up on your dreams,” he said. And there is a song on his CD, Chasing a Dream, in reference to his dreams of justice and freedom.
Bill was cleared by DNA evidence, perjury by a witness and when the owner of a dog that linked his scent to a piece of evidence was discredited. Three other cases involving the dog were also dismissed and the suspects set free ahead of Bill.
Bill says this year 4 suspects have been arrested and charged with the crime he was sent to prison for. They haven’t gone to trial yet and Bill thinks it’s because no agreement has been reached for his compensation.
“But no amount of money can pay for the years I’ve lost.” He said.
Bill’s life is looking up. He lives with a girlfriend in North Carolina. They met in Houston while attending a conference to help people unlawfully jailed.
Bill has founded an organization “The William Dillon Freedom Foundation” dedicated to such efforts.
His father had hoped to see his son play in the Series, but his mother had eye surgery so Dad couldn’t be here.
