Jerome Williams’ perseverance pays off for Angels

Bring it Jerome!

Last June, Jerome Williams was ready to give up baseball.

Players have those kinds of thoughts when their careers fall into a tailspin, as Williams’ had in 2011. All the promise he showed as a 21-year-old kid dissolved into one last chance with an independent league team, the Lancaster Barnstormers.

“I was basically one game away from calling it quits,” said Williams, 30. “I just took the time to say, I’ve got to do it.”

His comeback is nothing short of amazing. Now a starter in the Angels’ rotation, Williams pitched a three-hit shutout against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday at Angel Stadium — his first shutout since 2003 when he was a phenom with the San Francisco Giants.

...“I learned the game. Instead of relying on stuff, now I’m relying on what I need to do to be a pitcher: location, the strike zone, different pitches, different mindset. Back then, I was young. I didn’t want to listen to nobody, I wanted to throw the ball by everybody. But now I’m a pitcher.”