Los Angeles Dodgers icon Maury Wills fell short for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame via the Golden Days Era Committee. The Dodgers did have Gil Hodges enshrined, with he and Wills part of 10-person ballot comprised of candidates whose primary contributions were from 1950-69.
Candidates needed to receive votes on 75% of the ballots cast by the 16-member committee in order to be inducted. Hodges garnered 12 votes, which was exactly the threshold to qualify. Wills was named among players who received three or fewer votes.
The 16-member Hall of Fame Board appointed Rod Carew, Fergie Jenkins, Mike Schmidt, John Schuerholz, Bud Selig, Ozzie Smith, Joe Torre Al Avila, Bill DeWitt, Ken Kendrick, Kim Ng, Tony Reagins, Adrian Burgos Jr., Steve Hirdt, Jaime Jarrin and Jack O’Connell to form the Golden Days Era Committee.
Wills played 14 seasons from 1959-72, of which 12 were with the Dodgers. He hit a lifetime .281 and finished with 586 career stolen bases. The 1962 NL MVP was also a seven-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove Award winner at shortstop.
With the Dodgers, Wills batted .281/.331/.332 with 1,732 hits, 876 runs scored, 374 RBI and 490 stolen bases. All seven of his All-Star nominations came while playing for L.A., and Wills is the franchise’s all-time leader in stolen bases.
Wills was part of three World-Series winning teams with Dodgers from 1959-1665, which included the franchise’s first title in Los Angeles in 1959.
Wills active in Spring Training
Over the past several years, Wills has reported to Camelback Ranch during portions of Spring Training to assist with bunting and baserunning drills. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts specifically wanted to involve him after being hired before the 2016 season.
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