Hoornstra: Dodgers great Maury Wills gets another shot at Cooperstown

3 years ago 264

Funny happening astir getting a Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. The person it gets to your mailbox, the much it starts to talk. The careers of the men – their numbers, their legacies – often talk for themselves. Then determination are the quality beings, the men the players go erstwhile their uniforms are removed.

I called 1 Wednesday. Maury Wills is not connected the wide predetermination ballot. He is 1 of 10 players listed connected the “Golden Days Era” ballot whose destiny volition soon beryllium decided by a 16-person committee. Three players connected this ballot are inactive alive: Wills, Jim Kaat, and Tony Oliva.

When helium was past connected the ballot successful 2014, Wills received 9 votes. Kaat received 10. Oliva and Dick Allen each received 11. Twelve votes are required for induction. The Golden Days Era Committee was scheduled to ballot again connected Dec. 6, 2020, but their conclave was postponed a twelvemonth due to the fact that of the coronavirus pandemic. Allen died 1 time later.

Wills is 89. I don’t cognize however galore much chances helium volition person to summation induction. I don’t cognize however galore much chances I’ll person to telephone him. So it was that I caught him connected his sofa astatine location successful Arizona. He was watching tv – specifically the MLB Network, which coincidentally volition uncover the ballot results connected Dec. 5.

The trouble successful catching Maury Wills is precisely wherefore his sanction comes up each six oregon 7 years. For a time, helium could not beryllium caught. In 1962, Wills attempted to bargain 117 bases. He was palmy connected a then-record 104 occasions. I reminded him of this Wednesday. He laughed.

“That makes maine consciousness good,” Wills said. “Not that nary 1 other did that before, but the information that I was that palmy makes maine consciousness good.”

Wills’ 1962 play is casual to underappreciate. We person seen single-season stolen basal totals surpassed six times, archetypal by Lou Brock, past by Rickey Henderson, past by Vince Coleman. A casual glimpse astatine the grounds books reveals a 19th-century subordinate named Billy Hamilton who stole 111 bases connected aggregate occasions. Stolen bases astatine the clip included advancing connected alert balls and taking other bases connected errors, truthful it is close to accidental that nary 1 did what Maury Wills did earlier Maury Wills. This is the crux of his Hall of Fame argument.

Wills arrived successful Los Angeles with nary fanfare. He spent 8 seasons successful the minors first. He ne'er stole much than 40 bases astatine immoderate level, and his batting mean topped .300 – past the golden modular for a subordinate of his skillset – conscionable twice.

The Dodgers fto Wills spell to the Cincinnati Reds for the 1957 season, past again to the Detroit Tigers for outpouring grooming successful 1959. He did not go the mundane shortstop successful Los Angeles until aboriginal successful the 1959 season, erstwhile Don Zimmer broke his toe. Wills was 26 astatine that time. To that constituent successful his career, helium was not accustomed to accelerated success, fto unsocial stardom.

Perhaps this explains wherefore Wills’ 104-steal play appeared to originate retired of nowhere. Wills had ever been fast. He became a switch-hitter successful the minors and yet mastered the creation of utilizing his ft velocity to scope basal – often by hitting the shot connected the ground, oregon bunting for a single. What Wills lacked until 1962 was courage, a accomplishment that cannot beryllium taught.

“So overmuch goes into stealing a base, and the archetypal happening is eliminating the fearfulness of failing,” Wills said. “When you bash that, there’s a bully accidental you volition marque it. I had to destruct the fearfulness of failing, which I did.”

Wills ranked eighth successful the National League successful Wins Above Replacement successful 1962, which contiguous mightiness disqualify him arsenic an MVP candidate. Yet helium won the grant successful the National League that year, beating Willie Mays successful a adjacent vote. He was besides chosen MVP of the All-Star Game. The earthy stolen basal full mightiness person impressed voters most, but it was Wills’ occurrence complaint that would animate awe today.

Everyone knew Wills would effort to run. When the Dodgers played the Giants successful San Francisco precocious successful the season, the Candlestick Park grounds unit reportedly muddied the ungraded astir archetypal basal to effort to forestall him from stealing. Nonetheless, Wills was palmy connected 88.9 percent of his attempts successful 1962. The remainder of the league was palmy 64.4 percent of the time.

“Stealing bases is large if you marque it,” helium said. “If you get thrown out, it’s a bum play. Your teammates and your manager look astatine you existent comic erstwhile you look astatine the dugout due to the fact that you ran them retired of a imaginable large inning. … I knew that erstwhile I took off, that I amended marque this, due to the fact that I knew what I was going to tally into if I got thrown out.”

Wills’ vocation aft 1962 is hard to reconcile with that of a Hall of Famer. The pursuing year, helium published a publication with Steve Gardner titled “It Pays To Steal,” successful which helium predicted helium would ne'er bargain 104 bases again. He was correct. Wills led the NL successful stolen bases 3 times, but helium ne'er led the league successful different category. He finished successful the apical 5 successful MVP voting lone once. His playing vocation ended successful 1972.

By 1 measurement of Hall of Fame worthiness (JAWS, a metric that combines a player’s WAR full implicit his vocation and during his peak), Wills ranks 48th all-time among shortstops. Even astatine his peak, WAR was not benignant to Wills. The question of whether helium belongs successful the Hall of Fame depends connected however overmuch you judge helium changed the game.

From 1932-61, lone 1 subordinate – George Case successful 1943 – stole 60 bases successful a season. By the extremity of the ’60s, 3 much players had reached the people successful summation to Wills. Holding runners adjacent to archetypal basal had go an indispensable instrumentality for a pitcher. The abrupt inferior of velocity elevated the instrumentality successful the eyes of scouts.

I wanted to inquire Wills astir these and different aspects of his bequest connected the field, but his representation is what it is. Before we could get there, each strand of thought reached its terminus. “I don’t cognize what to say,” Wills said connected a fewer occasions. “I deliberation you got it all.”

Fortunately, Wills blessed the satellite with 3 co-bylined books. The past of the three, “On the Run: The Never Dull and Often Shocking Life of Maury Wills,” reveals however agelong helium teetered connected the borderline of losing his beingness to cocaine. (Don Newcombe, his erstwhile Dodgers teammate, was instrumental successful bringing Wills backmost from the edge.) His beingness disconnected the tract was arguably faster successful status than helium was arsenic a player. To beryllium capable to prime his encephalon astatine each is simply a gift.

Before we bent up, the dependable connected the different extremity of my telephone does what each sanction connected a Hall of Fame ballot does successful the imaginativeness of each voter.

“Do you deliberation I belong?” Wills asked.

“You made stolen bases chill again,” I said. “I deliberation that should beryllium capable to get you in.”

Wills’ dependable lights up.

“That makes maine happy,” helium said.