Maury Wills

Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1959-1972)

Maury Wills was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1959 to 1972 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Montreal Expos, a span of 14 seasons. In 1,942 career games, he hit .281 with 2,134 hits, 20 home runs, and 458 RBI. Maury Wills was a 5-time All-Star, an MVP, an All-Star Game MVP, and a 2-time Gold Glove.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .281
HR 20
RBI 458
H 2,134
OPS .661
PIV -3,726
Position
Shortstop
Bats / Throws
B / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 170 lb
Born
10/2/1932 in Washington, DC, USA
Died
9/19/2022 in Sedona, AZ, USA
MLB Debut
1959-06-06
Last Game
1972-10-04
Awards
5× All-Star · MVP · All-Star Game MVP · 2× Gold Glove

Full name: Maurice Morning Wills

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Career Batting Statistics

Maury Wills — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,942 7,588 1,067 2,134 177 71 20 458 586 552 684 .281 .330 .331 .661 -3,726

Career AVG .281 vs. league average .249 across their career seasons — +12.8% above league average.

Career OBP .330 vs. league average .316 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .331 vs. league average .374 across their career seasons — 11.3% below league average.

Career OPS .661 vs. league average .689 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Maury Wills Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1959 LAN NL 83 242 27 63 5 2 0 7 7 13 27 .260 .256 (+1%) .323 (-8%) .392 (-24%) .715 (-17%) -626.4
1960 LAN NL 148 516 75 152 15 2 0 27 50 35 47 .295 .255 (+15%) .323 (+6%) .387 (-15%) .711 (-5%) -344.6
1961 LAN NL 148 613 105 173 12 10 1 31 35 59 50 .282 .258 (+9%) .328 (+5%) .399 (-15%) .727 (-6%) -445.6
1962 LAN NL 165 695 130 208 13 10 6 48 104 51 57 .299 .257 (+16%) .326 (+6%) .393 (-5%) .719 (avg) 60.9
1963 LAN NL 134 527 83 159 19 3 0 34 40 44 48 .302 .246 (+23%) .308 (+15%) .371 (-6%) .680 (+3%) 483.9
1964 LAN NL 158 630 81 173 15 5 2 34 53 41 73 .275 .250 (+10%) .312 (+2%) .377 (-14%) .690 (-7%) -634.4
1965 LAN NL 158 650 92 186 14 7 0 33 94 40 64 .286 .245 (+17%) .310 (+6%) .371 (-11%) .682 (-3%) -257.8
1966 LAN NL 143 594 60 162 14 2 1 39 38 34 60 .273 .248 (+10%) .309 (+2%) .376 (-18%) .685 (-9%) -733.0
1967 PIT NL 149 616 92 186 12 9 3 45 29 31 44 .302 .242 (+25%) .306 (+9%) .357 (+2%) .663 (+5%) 561.2
1968 PIT NL 153 627 76 174 12 6 0 31 52 45 57 .278 .236 (+17%) .298 (+9%) .340 (-7%) .638 (+1%) 163.9
1969 MON NL 47 189 23 42 3 0 0 8 15 20 21 .222 .248 (-10%) .320 (-8%) .369 (-36%) .689 (-23%) -606.8
1969 LAN NL 104 434 57 129 7 8 4 39 25 39 40 .297 .248 (+20%) .320 (+11%) .369 (+2%) .689 (+6%) -606.8
1970 LAN NL 132 522 77 141 19 3 0 34 28 50 34 .270 .253 (+6%) .325 (+2%) .385 (-17%) .711 (-8%) -594.3
1971 LAN NL 149 601 73 169 14 3 3 44 15 40 44 .281 .249 (+13%) .316 (+2%) .365 (-10%) .682 (-4%) -394.3
1972 LAN NL 71 132 16 17 3 1 0 4 1 10 18 .129 .243 (-47%) .310 (-39%) .353 (-53%) .664 (-46%) -906.9
Career · 15 seasons 1,942 7,588 1,067 2,134 177 71 20 458 586 552 684 .281 — — — — -4,881

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Maury Wills — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
21 78 6 19 3 0 0 4 5 12 .244

Playoff Batting by Year

Maury Wills — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1966 WS LAN 4 13 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 3 .077
1965 WS LAN 7 30 3 11 3 0 0 3 1 3 .367
1963 WS LAN 4 15 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 .133
1959 WS LAN 6 20 2 5 0 0 0 1 0 3 .250

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1937 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Maury Wills — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home965367349410366200.282
Away9723893571109314258.281

Last 10 Games — Batting

Maury Wills — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1972-10-04 LADATLW 010000000
1972-09-30 LADCINW 010000000
1972-09-25 LADSDPL 110000001
1972-09-20 LADSDPW 000000000
1972-09-18 LADSDPW 010000010
1972-09-16 LADHOUW 302100201
1972-09-15 LADHOUW 000000000
1972-09-11 LADHOUL 000000000
1972-09-10 LADHOUW 000000000
1972-09-09 LADHOUW 000000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Maury Wills — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
3B 362 320 236 708 47 69
SS 1555 1512 2550 4804 284 859

Season-by-Season Fielding

Maury Wills — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1959 LAN SS 82 70 121 220 12 39
1960 LAN SS 145 141 260 431 40 78
1961 LAN SS 148 146 253 428 29 104
1962 LAN SS 165 164 295 493 36 86
1963 LAN 3B 33 27 26 59 5 7
1963 LAN SS 109 104 171 322 21 47
1964 LAN 3B 6 4 2 6 0 0
1964 LAN SS 149 147 273 422 27 77
1965 LAN SS 155 154 267 535 25 89
1966 LAN 3B 4 4 4 7 0 1
1966 LAN SS 139 137 227 453 23 79
1967 PIT 3B 144 142 98 343 24 31
1967 PIT SS 2 1 4 3 0 1
1968 PIT 3B 141 140 105 276 17 27
1968 PIT SS 10 9 10 32 1 5
1969 MON 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1969 MON SS 46 46 72 139 11 31
1969 LAN SS 104 103 168 357 17 61
1970 LAN 3B 4 0 0 1 0 0
1970 LAN SS 126 124 171 396 24 58
1971 LAN 3B 4 0 0 2 1 1
1971 LAN SS 144 139 220 484 16 86
1972 LAN 3B 26 3 1 14 0 2
1972 LAN SS 31 27 38 89 2 18

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Maury Wills Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Second Base 1
Third Base 364
Shortstop 1555

Awards & Honors

Maury Wills — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1965 TSN All-Star SS
1962 All-Star Game MVP 2nd Game
1962 Gold Glove SS
1962 Most Valuable Player
1962 TSN All-Star SS
1962 TSN Major League Player of the Year
1962 TSN Player of the Year
1961 Gold Glove SS
1961 TSN All-Star SS

Award Voting History

Maury Wills — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1971 Most Valuable Player NL 6th 74.0 336 0
1969 Most Valuable Player NL 11th 17.0 336 0
1966 Most Valuable Player NL 21th 5.0 280 0
1965 Most Valuable Player NL 3rd 164.0 280 5
1963 Most Valuable Player NL 17th 9.0 280 0
1962 Most Valuable Player NL 1st 209.0 280 8
1961 Most Valuable Player NL 9th 36.0 224 0
1960 Most Valuable Player NL 17th 7.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Maury Wills (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Steve Sax
    .281 avg, 54 HR
  2. 97
    John Ward HOF
    .275 avg, 26 HR
  3. 95
    Arlie Latham
    .269 avg, 27 HR
  4. 87
    Bert Campaneris
    .259 avg, 79 HR
  5. 78
    Delino DeShields
    .268 avg, 80 HR
  6. 78
    Luis Castillo
    .290 avg, 28 HR

Maury Wills: the record in brief

The profile opens with Maury Wills's first major league game on June 6, 1959; the last one listed came on October 4, 1972. The team column moves through the Los Angeles Dodgers (1959 to 1972), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1967 through 1968), and the Montreal Expos (1969). Born on October 2, 1932, in Washington, DC, USA, Wills is listed as a shortstop and batted from both sides and threw right-handed. Wills's listed size is 170 pounds on a 5-foot-11 frame. The bio records the death on September 19, 2022, in Sedona, AZ, USA. The given name on file is Maurice Morning Wills.

Across 1,942 games at the plate, Wills's career line reads 2,134 hits in 7,588 at bats for a .281 average; the totals also include 20 homers, 458 runs batted in, and 586 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .330 clip and slugging .331, Wills finished with a .661 OPS. Over the seasons Wills played, league hitters batted .249; the .281 career figure is 12.8% above that.

Frequently Asked Questions about Maury Wills

What years did Maury Wills play?
Maury Wills played in Major League Baseball from 1959 to 1972.
Was Maury Wills a pitcher?
No. Maury Wills was a position player (Shortstop).
How many home runs did Maury Wills hit?
Maury Wills hit 20 career home runs with 2,134 hits.
What teams did Maury Wills play for?
Maury Wills played for 3 teams: the Los Angeles Dodgers (1959–1966, 1969–1972), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1967–1968), and the Montreal Expos (1969).
How many MVP awards did Maury Wills win?
Maury Wills won 1 MVP award, in 1962.
What awards did Maury Wills win?
Maury Wills won the MVP award (1962) and 2 Gold Gloves (1961 and 1962). He was selected to 5 All-Star Games.
What were Maury Wills's career stats?
In 1,942 games, Maury Wills had 2,134 hits, 20 home runs, 458 RBI, 1,067 runs, and 586 stolen bases, with a .281 batting average.
What position did Maury Wills play?
Maury Wills played primarily as a shortstop, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Maury Wills and how much did he weigh?
Maury Wills was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 170 pounds.
How many home runs did Maury Wills hit each season?
Maury Wills's home runs by season: 0 in 1959, 0 in 1960, 1 in 1961, 6 in 1962, 0 in 1963, 2 in 1964, 0 in 1965, 1 in 1966, 3 in 1967, 0 in 1968, 4 in 1969, 0 in 1970, 3 in 1971, and 0 in 1972. His most in one season was 6, in 1962.
What was Maury Wills's career batting average?
Maury Wills batted .281 over his career, with 2,134 hits in 7,588 at bats.
How many RBI did Maury Wills have?
Maury Wills drove in 458 runs in his career.
Is Maury Wills in the Hall of Fame?
No. Maury Wills has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Maury Wills make?
Maury Wills was selected to 5 All-Star Games.