Growing up in Galveston, Texas, Nick Williams spent a lot of time in his backyard hitting golf balls without a golf club.
He was a kid who loved baseball, and kids who love baseball often love hitting home runs, and Williams savored the chance to track how far a baseball would go once his bat struck it. His father might throw him 200 pitches during a batting-practice session, Williams said, and he'd swing from his heels at every one. But he particularly relished being alone in the yard with his bat, tossing golf balls up to himself so he could smack them greater distances, as if he were a combination of Tiger Woods and Barry Bonds.