William Van Landingham

Infobox MLB retired
bgcolor1=#F9461C
bgcolor2=#181818
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
name=William Van Landingham
position=Pitcher
bats=Right
throws=Right
debutdate=May 21
debutyear=1994
debutteam=San Francisco Giants
finaldate=July 27
finalyear=1997
finalteam=San Francisco Giants
stat1label=Wins
stat1value=27
stat2label=Losses
stat2value=26
stat3label=ERA
stat3value=4.54
teams=
* San Francisco Giants (1994-97)
highlights=

William Joseph Van Landingham (born July 16, 1970 in Columbia, Tennessee) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played his entire Major League career with the San Francisco Giants (1994-1997).

On May 29, 1996, Van Landingham started against Jason Isringhausen, then a starter for the New York Mets. They tied a record for the longest combined names of two starting pitchers. Van Landingham also set the record for longest complete name in Major League Baseball, at twenty characters. The record has since been tied by Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

He played his final Major League Baseball game on July 27, 1997. After being affiliated with the Angels, Expos, and Brewers in the minor leagues, he moved to Athens, Georgia, to live with his family.

Nickname

San Francisco fans, often frustrated by the Giants lack of experienced pitching often took out these frustrations on Van Landingham, dubbing him "Van Launching Pad" on sports talk radio showsFact|date=June 2008.

External links

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/v/vanlawi01.shtml Baseball Reference]