Inside the Park

Willie Wilson

Description

Willie Wilson played baseball with the mentality of a football player-a grimace, on his face. Totally unprepared for the spotlight of being in the major leagues, Wilson experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, sometimes unable to tell them apart. He helped lead the Kansas City Royals to their rst World Series in only his second full season in the Major Leagues. His 1983 arrest on a cocaine charge could have been the defining moment of his life and sent him spiraling downward. Instead, he responded by helping the Royals to the World Series championship in 1985, playing a key role in the Series by batting.367 and scoring two runs and three RBIs in the Royals' win over the St. Louis Cardinals. On his way to winning the 1982 batting title, Wilson was the first switch hitter since Mickey Mantle to get 100 hits from each side of the plate, and his 13 inside-the-park home runs are the most of any modern day player in history. Willie tells his story of growing up a son of the south, displaced to New Jersey at age 7 when he met his mother for the first time. He was a shy child, seeking acceptance in athletics where he was a three-sport star at Summit (N.J.) High School. Drafted by the Royals in the first round of the 1974 amateur draft, Wilson turned down a football scholarship offer from Maryland to sign with the Royals. He quickly made his way through KC's minor league system, making his first appearance with the major league team just two years later. But Wilson's story transcends baseball. His life was rocked by the unexpected results of stardom and its demands and pitfalls. He tells a cautionary tale of how a shy young man who never even dated until the 11th grade can survive a post-career bankruptcy and turn his life around to help others with his inspirational tale. He now leads the Willie Wilson Baseball Foundation, hoping to share his experiences with inner-city youth so they can avoid the same missteps he made along the way.

Sujets

• Béisbol
• Baseball

Informations

• Publié par: Ascend Books
• Date de parution: 01 septembre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780988996434
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Willie played each and every game like it was his last. A great center fielder and leadoff hitter and one of the best base runners I ever played with. He turned singles to doubles doubles to triples and triples into inside-the-park home runs.
-George Brett, former Royals third baseman, Hall of Fame 1999
I am proud of Willie s revitalization in Kansas City! His current involvement with underserved sectors of the community incorporated with years of experience on the ball field, provide inspirational life lessons.
-Helen Mohr, Event Director, Willie Wilson Baseball Foundation
Willie and I were teammates for over 10 years with the Kansas City Royals. We had the opportunity to play in numerous championships including being a part of the Royals World Series winning team in 1985. Willie was a great teammate and player and is a very good friend of mine.
-Frank White, former Royals second baseman, member Royals Hall of Fame
Willie Wilson was simply the fastest man in the game and his play electrified Royals baseball for many years. His life is full of cherished triumphs and a few struggles overcome - and in Inside the Park he tells the tales of both. Willie was a joy to watch and his story is a joy to read.
-Curt Nelson, Director, Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame
Having Willie Wilson in center field is like having four outfielders, which says something about the range and speed right there.
-Billy Scripture, Wilson s first minor league manager
I think he could have made it in pro football directly out of high school as a wide receiver or a defensive back, but not as a running back.
-Howie Anderson, Wilson s football coach at Summit High School
He s a walking double. When I m in right field I hope he doesn t get a hit in my area because he ll be running around the bases laughing while I m juggling the ball.
-Reggie Jackson, former Yankee right fielder, Hall of Fame 1993
There s no question Wilson is the best No. 1 draft pick we ve signed. He could be the next Willie Mays.
-Royals GM Lou Gorman after signing Wilson
Men grow as trees, through many phases of life. Some trees wilt and die in the face of adversity, some thrive as they grow older and stronger. Willie Wilson has grown into a towering, strong oak one resilient to the seasons of life, providing shade and protection to all.
-George H. Richter, President and Chief Operating Officer, Smithfield Foods, Inc.
Few athletes have ever electrified a crowd the way Willie Wilson did when he ran the bases and patrolled the outfield at Kauffman Stadium. It was simply a thing of beauty!
-Bob Kendrick, President, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
Inside the Park
Running the Base Path of Life
Willie Wilson
with Kent Pulliam
Copyright 2013 by Willie Wilson
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED . No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the publisher.
All names, logos, and symbols that appear in this book are trademarks of their individual organizations and institutions and have been reproduced with permission. This notice is for the protection of trademark rights only, and in no way represents the approval or disapproval of the text of this book by those organizations or institutions.
Requests for permission should be addressed Ascend Books, LLC, Attn: Rights and Permissions Department, 12710 Pflumm Rd., Suite 200, Olathe, KS. 66062.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN-978-0-9889964-2-7
ISBN: e-book 978-0-9889964-3-4
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publications Data Available Upon Request
Publisher: Bob Snodgrass
Publication Coordinator: Beth Brown
Editor: Jim Bradford
Dust Jacket and Book Design: Rob Peters
Sales and Marketing: Lenny Cohen, Dylan Tucker
All photos courtesy of Willie Wilson unless otherwise indicated.
Every reasonable attempt has been made to determine the ownership of copyright. Please notify the publisher of any erroneous credits or omissions, and corrections will be made to subsequent editions/future printings. The goal of the entire staff of Ascend Books is to publish quality works. With that in mind, we are proud to offer this book to our readers. Please note, however, that the story, the experiences and the words are those of the author alone.
Printed in the United States of America

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CONTENTS

Foreword By Kent Pulliam

1 It s In Your Hands

2 Bobbie Lee

3 Willie James

4 Hilltopper

5 Role Models

6 I m Going to Play Football

7 I Never Played the Outfield

8 My Introduction to the Midwest

9 Playing in Front of My Family

10 Learning to Switch Hit

11 Inside the Park

12 Find a Driver for Your Car

13 Stealing Bases

14 Earning My Spot

15 K K K K K K K K K K K K

16 Player of the Year

17 I Shouldn t Have Sat Out

18 Peer Pressure

19 The Day My Life Changed

20 Jail Time

21 Suspended

22 Comeback Story

23 I Couldn t Handle Being a Celebrity

24 A Lifetime Deal Lasts Two Years

25 Getting Back to the Series

26 Don t Count Us Out

27 Welcome Home World Series Champs

28 Beginning of the End

29 Final Four Years with the Royals

30 My Walking Papers

31 Playing the Game

32 Two Years with the A s

33 The Cubbies

34 What s Next?

35 Losing All My Money

36 How This Affected My Family

37 I Wasn t Ready to Coach

38 Just Lost

39 Getting Into the Royals Hall of Fame

40 Selling My Stuff

41 Finding My Way

42 Foundation for My Life

43 A Good Place Going Forward

Stats

Acknowledgements

Author Bios
Dedicated to the memory of Madear Annie Mae Timothy Ma Dorothy Lynn and Buck Anthony Lynn
FOREWORD BY KENT PULLIAM
W illie Wilson was an integral part of the Royals teams of the 1980s. He, George Brett, Frank White, Amos Otis and Hal McRae were the nucleus of Royals teams that went to the World Series in 1980 and won the World Series in 1985.
Over the next 43 chapters that fit with the year-to-year arc of Willie s career and life, you ll learn how he has met and overcome many challenges in life.
Some would characterize Wilson as a Punch- n -Judy hitter - he ranks second on the team for most singles in a career. But when Wilson reached first base he was in scoring position. Brett knocked him in 321 times - the second highest total of one teammate batting in another since 1950.
In 1980, the first season the Royals reached the World Series, Wilson had the most prolific year ever for a Royals batter, and it went largely unrecognized because Brett was chasing a .400 batting average that season. Wilson had 55 more hits than Brett that year. He had the most hits ever by a Royals player in a single season that year, the most plate appearances, most at bats, most singles and most multi-hit games from that season alone.
He still holds the Royals record for stolen bases with 83 in the 1979 season. He holds the single-season record for triples with 21 in the 1985 season.
In the 80s, Wilson was the Royals hitter, collecting 1,639 hits to Brett s 1,446. His total ranked second in the Major Leagues to Robin Yount, who had 1,731 hits during the 1980s. In the 1980s Wilson scored 865 runs. That s 12.6 percent of the runs the Royals scored in the decade, and nearly 100 more runs than the next closest player.
Brett remains the iconic hitter in Royals history. His Baseball Hall of Fame status reflects that, and Brett is atop virtually every career batting record in Royals history. Wilson ranks in the top 10 of virtually every batting category the Royals keep - save home runs - and is in the top five in most categories.
Twice during the 1980s Wilson was selected as the Royals Player of the year - 1981 and 1984. Ironically, both seasons came after epic failures. The 1981 award followed the dubious record of 12 strikeouts in the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. In 1984, Wilson was coming off a winter in jail following a three-month prison sentence for his part in the drug scandal that rocked the Royals through the latter half of the 1983 season. He missed the first 45 days of the season and still played in more games than all but two other Royals.
He played in two All-Star games, won a Gold Glove and with his speed made catches in center field that other outfielders waved at.
Baseball is the reason people know about Willie Wilson, but the events in his life away from baseball and how he dealt with them are the things that make his story interesting.
-Kent Pulliam
WILSON S SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS
CATEGORY
NO.
YEAR
Most stolen bases
83
1979
Most at bats
705
1980
Most plate appearances
745
1980
Most hits
230
1980
Most hits by switch hitter
230
1980
Most singles
184
1980
Most multi-hit games
71
1980
Most triples
21
1985
WILSON S ROYALS CAREER RANKING
CATEGORY
RANK
NUMBER
Games played
No. 5
1,787
At bats
No. 4
6,799
Runs scored
No. 3
1,060
Career hits
No. 4
1,968
Career doubles
No. 6
241
Career triples
No. 2
133
Runs-batted-in
No. 9
509
Batting average
No. 9
.289
Walks
No. 9
360
Strikeouts
No. 2
990
Hit by pitch
No. 5
54
Stolen bases
No. 1
612
Total bases
No. 5
2,595
Extra-base hits
No. 6
414
Inside-the-park home runs
No. 1
13
CATEGORIES/YEARS IN WHICH WILSON LEAD THE LEAGUE
CATEGORY
YEAR
NUMBER
Batting average
1982
.332
At Bats
1980
705
Plate appearances
1980
745
Runs
1980
133
Hits
1980
230
Triples
1980
15

1982
15

1985
21

1987
15

1988
11
Stolen bases
1979
83
MILESTONE HITS
HIT
DATE
OPPONENT
1
September 10, 1976
At Minnesota
500
May 16, 1981
At Boston
1,000
June 24, 1994
Vs. Oakland
1,500
May 30, 1987
Vs. Texas
2