Maury Wills might be known first in any baseball reference guide as the winner of the National League MVP award in 1962, but his real contribution was how he changed the perception on how runs could be scored. Wills was not the first man to be a star on the base paths, but he did usher in its renaissance. Wills was the first to steal over 100 bases and it wasn’t long before teams across the country looked for a Wills type player to leadoff their lineup. Wills would go on to lead the NL in steals on six occasions.
Maury Wills however was not the perfect leadoff man. Wills did not walk enough and his overall On Base Percentage was not ideal. He also suffered from a post playing career where his managing stint with Seattle is considered the worst in baseball history and he often rubbed baseball writers the wrong way. Maury Wills may not have been the best base stealer in history but he did change the way the game was played for awhile and that is certainly a huge pro on his Hall of Fame ledger.
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