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Post by Blunashun on Sept 20, 2022 20:22:44 GMT
Dead at 89. He was living in Arizona. He used to live in Playa del Rey. He must have been about 60 when I met him. He came into the bar where I worked. It was hard to tell which one of us was the more excited. Being recognized really seemed to thrill him. He went out to his car & brought back a baseball & autographed a picture. Has my name on it. It's still on my wall.
Next should be the Hall of Fame. The man stole 104 bases, for Christ's sake. How many slap hitters from the dead ball era are already enshrined? Wills played baseball the way it used to be played. Don't penalize him for that.
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Post by Blunashun on Sept 20, 2022 20:30:38 GMT
The year Wills stole 104 bases he got caught just 13 times. Everyone knew he was running. I read the Giants used a lot of sand around first base & then watered it down.
The year Rickey Henderson stole 130 bases, he got caught 42 times. Remember him holding that base aloft after breaking Lou Brock's record?
"Now I am the greatest of all time."
Not even close.
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jrgreene6
Legend
Married . . . With Cats
Posts: 7,438
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Post by jrgreene6 on Sept 20, 2022 20:33:10 GMT
Dead at 89. He was living in Arizona. He used to live in Playa del Rey. He must have been about 60 when I met him. He came into the bar where I worked. It was hard to tell which one of us was the more excited. Being recognized really seemed to thrill him. He went out to his car & brought back a baseball & autographed a picture. Has my name on it. It's still on my wall. Next should be the Hall of Fame. The man stole 104 bases, for Christ's sake. How many slap hitters from the dead ball era are already enshrined? Wills played baseball the way it used to be played. Don't penalize him for that. Hard to believe he’s not already in there. Guess he must’ve pissed someone off on the Veterans Committee although it seems SO unlikely. Every interview or article I’ve seen or read about him painted him in a very favourable light. Always seemed like one of those guys you’d want to sit and have a few cold ones with just to hear the stories from his career. RIP, Mr. Wills. GO DODGERS!!! |
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Post by Blunashun on Sept 20, 2022 20:40:04 GMT
Dead at 89. He was living in Arizona. He used to live in Playa del Rey. He must have been about 60 when I met him. He came into the bar where I worked. It was hard to tell which one of us was the more excited. Being recognized really seemed to thrill him. He went out to his car & brought back a baseball & autographed a picture. Has my name on it. It's still on my wall. Next should be the Hall of Fame. The man stole 104 bases, for Christ's sake. How many slap hitters from the dead ball era are already enshrined? Wills played baseball the way it used to be played. Don't penalize him for that. Hard to believe he’s not already in there. Guess he must’ve pissed someone off on the Veterans Committee although it seems SO unlikely. Every interview or article I’ve seen or read about him painted him in a very favourable light. Always seemed like one of those guys you’d want to sit and have a few cold ones with just to hear the stories from his career. RIP, Mr. Wills. GO DODGERS!!! He had a dependency problem. Might have been heroin. I forget. He was on the wagon when we met. Not that that should have any effect on his credentials. Eddie Matthew's, Mickey Mantle & Don Drysdale were all stumbling drunks. Wills' exclusion is almost as mysterious as Gil Hodges' ghost getting inducted decades after Gil died. |
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Post by Blunashun on Sept 20, 2022 20:52:47 GMT
It was cocaine & alcohol. I just read up on it. He started using in the 1980's. This was long after his playing days were over. He became a recluse. Put sheets over his windows. His neighbors would leave food on his porch. My late brother Dave got the same from his neighbors. The old ladies liked him so much. Maury said Don Newcombe would sit in his parked car for hours, waiting for Wills to appear. Back to rehab for you.
Maury must have been a super nice guy to inspire that kind of loyalty.
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Post by Blunashun on Sept 20, 2022 20:57:07 GMT
Maury is the manager who moved first base closer to home plate, right? At the time I remember thinking who would do that?
Put in the context of his first base days at the beach, playing at Candlestick Park, it actually makes sense. The Dodgers used to push the foul line dirt up to keep his bunts fair too. A lot of shenanigans.
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Post by Blunashun on Sept 20, 2022 21:01:23 GMT
The Cubs were noted for their star-studded infield. Banks, Beckett, Kessinger & Santo. I really liked Santo. But how often did they cut the grass? Balls would just die on their infield.
It must be a lot easier fielding when it takes the ball a second longer to reach you.
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