- As a baseball fan I loved him.
Posted on 09/20/2022 11:34:48 AM PDT by chrisinoc
LOS ANGELES -- Maury Wills, whose daring thievery on the basepaths revolutionized baseball, died on Monday night. He was 89.
“I know he passed peacefully, and I am going to have a heavy heart,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who wears No. 30 because of Wills. “Maury was very impactful to me personally, professionally. He’s going to be missed. This one is tough for me.”
Wills stole 104 bases in 1962, smashing Ty Cobb’s record of 96 set in 1915. Wills that year was named Most Valuable Player of the National League and the All-Star Game, in which he would appear in five seasons. He led the league in stolen bases in six consecutive seasons, won two Gold Gloves at shortstop and still holds the club record with 490 stolen bases, even though he retired in 1972.
(Excerpt) Read more at mlb.com ...
Do they even still steal bases in MLB anymore?
Wills was almost the manager of the SF Giants I do recall. Turns out he may not have been close. Job Went to Joe Altobelli. Next thing you know Wills gets busted for coke.
Do they even still steal bases in MLB anymore?
Until Wills and Aparicio changed the game in the 1960s the stolen base was a lost art. The leader would often win with 25 steals.
Dodger Stadium--Maury Wills, Willie Davis & Stubby Kaye (1964)
Where do the movie people congregate?
Where does the traffic never make you late?
Where did the Yankees come and lose four straight?
If you don't know, I will elaborate:
Dodger Stadium!
Dodgers better win the WS for Maury and Vin.
Regarding the half-brother story: My son went to high school and was teammates with Maury Wills grandson (they graduated in '02). The grandson looked like he was maybe mixed race, but closer to looking white than black.
Because of the Wills connection, I purchased, at a fund raiser, an autographed picture of Maury Wills. He signed it with:
Likely that stems from the waterlogged base paths incident.
The writer should point out that Wills turned 39 that year and made his major league debut in 1959 at the age of 26. He was old for a rookie.
I have never heard of the song or album before and I have been a Dodger fan since 1960. There was a song that Danny Kaye did in 1962 about the Dodgers but can’t find it anywhere.
Davis was faster on the base paths than Wills, but Wills was faster out of the gate and a better reader of the pitchers.
I will never forget one game: Early in the game Davis hit an inside the park home run, a real rarity. Late in the game, 7th or 8th inning, he hit a solid stand up double, But he did not stop at second. His long legs were churning and he as not stopping.
it was obvious he was going for three, but he did not stop at third. he kept going and was thrown out by 30 feet.
Dodgers were well ahead at the time and I am sure Davis was thinking: It will take a perfect throw to get me out. He wanted to be maybe the first player in the modern era to have two inside the park home runs in one game.
As I recall the crowd was roaring with laughter.
Nope. It’s all swing for the fences
Man on 3rd, less than two outs. Swing for the Fences
Bottom of the 9th, Nobody on, down 4 runs, Swing for the Fences.
The rumors in 1960s was when the Dodgers came to SF Alvin Dark ordered the infield be heavily watered down to slow down Wills. But I think the infield at Candlestick was always watered down to keep down the dust.
It is on you tube.
Inning six, Maury Wills
Draws a walk, in the coach's box
Leo Durocher, Leo Durocher
Starts to wiggle and to twitch
A signal? No, an itch
Go Maury, go Maury, go go go!
Maury goes, the catcher throws
Right from the solar plexus
At the bag, he beats the tag
That mighty little waif
And umpire Conlin cries, "Yer out!"
Out? Out?
Not sure If Dark instigated it, but the umpires would not let the game start until they did something. That something was to throw sand on the wet areas. That actually made it worse.
Fun Watching Darryl Strawberry, Dave Kingman, Greg Luzinski, Reggie Jackson, Johnny Bench hit 500 Foot Long Balls
Not fun, watching 140lb Jose Altuve hit 340' wall scrappers.
I actually watched the Dodgers a bit back then.
Was always great when Wills was getting ready to steal a base. Pitcher would know it, and be almost powerless to stop hm.
Will's son (the father of my son's teammate) was a little league umpire in town and took my son under his wing for two years as an umpire. My son was in high school at the time and was working the LL games
Yadi steals second, gets standing ovation: 'Guy's got wheels'
Slowest guy in baseball! Still, you gotta keep an eye on him! He's got two this year!
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