We’re going in a bit of a different direction with MCM this week. He doesn’t have a lot of EBH numbers. He just has two 0s. You won’t find any 7s on his card either. As a matter of fact, he’s cursed with a 33-8. Nope, this week, it’s 1962 Maury Wills and all his beloved 11s.
Like his ‘62 card, Wills was a bit of an aberration in the majors. He and his AL counterpart, Luis Aparacio were the only two base runners in baseball who would surpass 50 stolen bases in a season during 50s and early 60s. Then when Wills stole 104 in 1962, it ushered in a new era in baseball and made apparent a new strategy for teams to embrace (or not in some team’s cases… see Boston Red Sox).
Not only that, it most likely caused headaches for then APBA President and chief cardmaker Dick Seitz. How to give Wills his projected stolen bases without making him TOO strong of a hitter? As you can see, 1962 Wills, was given 0-0-8-8-9-9 with four 11s and a 10. He was also spotted two 14s and two 31s. If the four 11s and that bad boy 10 at 55 in the first column weren’t enough, he also was granted eleven 11s in the second column behind the two 0s.
For those new to APBA, there WAS a time when the 14* didn’t asterisk didn’t exist. I submit that it was performances like Wills’ that prompted APBA to think outside the box and create the asterisk and hence create a stolen base on the card without creating a hit.
Wills did hit a decent .299 for the Dodgers in 1962 so his numbers won’t be too far off as is. I’m figuring out his card’s expected batting average in my head (those years of subscribing to the APBA Journal do pay off). As I figure it, this Wills 1962 card (the one above is the reprint edition put out in 1989) should bat around .297 or so compared to his real life .299. Maybe slightly higher since he has two unusual play numbers.
| Split | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 Totals | 165 | 695 | 130 | 208 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 48 | 104 | 13 | 51 | 57 | .299 | .347 | .373 |
The MLB saw fit to give Maury Wills the NL MVP for his groundbreaking 104 stolen bases in 1962. He won a close ballot over Willie Mays 209 votes to 202. Wills has talked about that even in recent years:
“I won the MVP in 1962 and Willie Mays keeps reminding me that he should have won the MVP that year. This is 2010, and he’s still telling me about it. I told him, ‘Willie get over it, man.’ I always got the Dodgers that one run we needed and especially that season.”
There are those today, I’m sure who can’t see how Wills could beat out a player with 49 HR and 141 rbis for an MVP award but I’ll bet those sportswriters in 1962 saw something they had never seen before. I won’t question their judgment in this case.
With the advent of the 14* (and 42* and 6*), I don’t think we’ll see a steal number dip down into the double numbers very often anymore either.
See other Monster Card Monday selections
Thanks for this post as always. On the subject of stolen bases, does Herb Washington’s card count as a monster since its sole purpose is to steal bases?
I went to Steve’s card computer (different Steve!) and it kicks out much the same card–4 11’s in the first column, 9 in the second, just a single 14*. Gives an extra 8 at 44 and takes away the 10 entirely (55-9).
hmm, that makes sense and probably what APBA would do if they made the card today.
love that card computer!
I remember Wills’ card well. My best friend loved the Dodgers and we both began playing APBA back in the mid-sixties. He used to terrorize me with that card. I can still hear him say “Single and Swipe” with that big grin on his face!!
The Willie Mays comment reminds me:
From one of the Bill James Historical Baseball Abstracts:
“Let’s face facts here: Maury Wills is a creep. He was a lousy father, a lousy teammate, a horrible husband, and likely is the worst manager in the history of baseball. He’s vulgar and trashy. He doesn’t have the sense God gave a cockroach. And he blames other people for problems that he has meticulously created for himself. He’s a drug addict with an inflated opinion of his own intelligence. He had an affair with Doris Day 35 years ago, and has never stopped bragging about it.”
So, THERE !!
Good APBA card, though.
I wonder if Dee Gordon will someday have a card like that.
Yes, James never was a fan of Maury Wills. It’s my feeling that Wills didn’t fit his model of what a leadoff man should be and he took his criticism to a different level.
James has a quite sardonic sense of humor so maybe this was done for the benefit of the Giants fans.
By the way, any baseball history fan who hasn’t checked out James’ Baseball History Abstract, really should. It’s a real gem.
Whether you’re a Bill James fan or not (I don’t always agree with him but do enjoy his writings), you’ll get something out of it.
Wills stolen base count was printed on the front page of newspapers every day starting in Sept. It captured the country’s attention. MVP? Hell yeah.