Birthday profile

Billy Koch

Billy Koch, American baseball player

Born
December 14, 1974
Age in 2026
52
Zodiac sign
Sagittarius
Birth year
1974

About Billy Koch

William Christopher Koch (born December 14, 1974) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He was born in Rockville Centre, New York and went to West Babylon High School. He debuted in the majors with the Toronto Blue Jays and last pitched in MLB with the Florida Marlins in 2004. == Baseball career == Koch played college baseball for Clemson University from 1994 to 1996. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round (fourth pick) of the 1996 amateur draft and made his debut in 1999. He made an instant impression by regularly hitting 100 MPH with his fastball. Koch won a bronze medal with the United States national baseball team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He was groomed for the role of closer, and had mixed success at the role over the next three seasons. While he was regarded as one of the most dominating pitchers in the league when he was at his best, at times he battled with his control and composure on the mound. Nevertheless, he continued to post improving save numbers (31, 33 and 36) from 1999 to 2001.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

Billy Koch timeline

  1. Koch played college baseball for Clemson University from 1994 to 1996.
  2. Koch won a bronze medal with the United States national baseball team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
  3. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round (fourth pick) of the 1996 amateur draft and made his debut in 1999.
  4. On December 7, 2001, the Blue Jays, now under new management, traded Koch to the Oakland Athletics for Eric Hinske and Justin Miller.

The world when Billy Koch was born

Billy Koch was born in 1974. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1974

  • #1 song"The Way We Were" – Barbra Streisand
  • Top movieThe Godfather Part II
  • Top TV showAll in the Family
  • Best-selling bookJaws – Peter Benchley

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentHank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth's all-time home run record (715)
  • Top headlinePresident Nixon resigns from office
  • Technology milestoneUniversal Product Code (UPC barcode) scanned for the first time
  • Defining fadStreaking
  • Notable inventionPost-it Note bookmark prototype
  • World population4.01 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderRichard Nixon / Gerald Ford
  • Sports championOakland Athletics (World Series)
  • Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
  • U.S. population213.9M

1974 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Billy Koch's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19742026
Gas$0.53$3.45/gal
Average home$25,200$435,000
Average income$14,200$67,500
Minimum wage$2.00$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$1.87$11.95
Postage stamp$0.10$0.73
Population213.9M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MLB. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.