Bump Wills---1979
Bump Wills may not have achieved
the same level of success that his
dad, Maury, did in the big leagues,
but the scrappy Texas second
baseman was a productive player for
most of his five seasons with the
Rangers.
Drafted out of Arizona State
University in the first round of the
January 1975 draft, Wills reached the
game’s top level in less than two
years. The switch-hitter earned an
everyday job in first season in 1977
and batted .287, a norm that proved
to be the highest of his major league
career. He was named to the TOPPS
and Baseball Digest All-Rookie teams
and also appeared in an oddity. On
August 27 at Yankee Stadium, Toby
Harrah drilled an inside-the-park
home run off Ken Clay. On the next
pitch, Wills repeated the feat, his first
of three inside-the-park
roundtrippers in his career.
Wills established a franchise record
with 52 stolen bases in 1978. He then
put together nearly identical seasons
in 1979 and 1980, hitting .273 with
five homers, 46 RBIs, 90 runs and 35
steals during the first campaign
before batting .263 with five home
runs, 58 RBIs, 102 runs and 34
swipes. In 1981, the leadoff hitter got
off to impressive start by collecting
22 RBIs in the Rangers’ first 27
games. Making the feat even more
remarkable was the fact that nobody
was on base in 61 of his 121 plate
appearances during that stretch. He
finished the strike-scarred season
with 41 RBIs in 102 games and led
the American League’s second
basemen with 268 putouts.
Traded to the Cubs for pitcher Paul
Mirabella, Wills spent one season
with Chicago , hitting .272 with 35
stolen bases in 128 games. He was
granted free agency at the end of the
slate, yet did not return to the big
leagues. Wills retired with a stolen
base success rate of 75 percent,
which was a hair higher than the old
man's norm.
(10/23/08)
the same level of success that his
dad, Maury, did in the big leagues,
but the scrappy Texas second
baseman was a productive player for
most of his five seasons with the
Rangers.
Drafted out of Arizona State
University in the first round of the
January 1975 draft, Wills reached the
game’s top level in less than two
years. The switch-hitter earned an
everyday job in first season in 1977
and batted .287, a norm that proved
to be the highest of his major league
career. He was named to the TOPPS
and Baseball Digest All-Rookie teams
and also appeared in an oddity. On
August 27 at Yankee Stadium, Toby
Harrah drilled an inside-the-park
home run off Ken Clay. On the next
pitch, Wills repeated the feat, his first
of three inside-the-park
roundtrippers in his career.
Wills established a franchise record
with 52 stolen bases in 1978. He then
put together nearly identical seasons
in 1979 and 1980, hitting .273 with
five homers, 46 RBIs, 90 runs and 35
steals during the first campaign
before batting .263 with five home
runs, 58 RBIs, 102 runs and 34
swipes. In 1981, the leadoff hitter got
off to impressive start by collecting
22 RBIs in the Rangers’ first 27
games. Making the feat even more
remarkable was the fact that nobody
was on base in 61 of his 121 plate
appearances during that stretch. He
finished the strike-scarred season
with 41 RBIs in 102 games and led
the American League’s second
basemen with 268 putouts.
Traded to the Cubs for pitcher Paul
Mirabella, Wills spent one season
with Chicago , hitting .272 with 35
stolen bases in 128 games. He was
granted free agency at the end of the
slate, yet did not return to the big
leagues. Wills retired with a stolen
base success rate of 75 percent,
which was a hair higher than the old
man's norm.
(10/23/08)
