The wife of a five-time MLB All-Star and World Series Champion has filed for divorce after 20 years of marriage. TMZ Sports reported back in September that Erika Monroe, the soon-to-be ex-wife of Matt Williams, filed the documents, in Los Angeles County. The documents stated that “irreconcilable differences” are the reason for the divorce. Monroe is asking for spousal support from Williams who reportedly made $80 million in his 17 years as a professional baseball player.
Williams and Monroe married in July 2003 and share one daughter. In 2014, Monroe spoke to The Washington Post about her relationship with Williams “But Matt was persistent,” Monroe said when talking about the early days of their relationship. “And we ended up finally, after a few months, going on a date. After that, it was over. It just took getting to that table.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
The couple got married during Williams’ final season as a player. At the time, Williams played for the Arizona Diamondbacks and helped the team win a World Series in 2001. He was with the team for six seasons after playing for the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) in 1997. Williams began his MLB career with the San Francisco Giants in 1987 and was with the team until the end of the 1996 season. In his career, Williams was named an All-Star five times and won four Gold Glove Awards and four Silver Slugger Awards. Williams also led the National League in Home Runs in 1994. He finished his career with 378 home runs, 1,218 RBIs and a batting average of .268. In 2008, Williams was inducted into the Giants Wall of Fame which also includes Baseball Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and MLB legend Barry Bonds.
In 2014, Williams became the manager of the Washington Nationals after spending time as a coach for four seasons. He was the manager for two seasons and led the team to an NL East title in 2014. In 2015, Williams led the team to an 83-79 record and was fired for a disappointing year. Williams was also a coach for the Oakland Athletics from 2018 to 2019 and was the manager for the Kia Tigers of the KBO League in South Korea from 2020 to 2021. He currently works for the San Diego Padres as a coach.