Tuesdays With Maury
Wills, that is. It’s not everyday you have a chance to learn the art of base stealing from a man that stole 586 of them, but 2009 BlueClaws OF Anthony Gose did. Through a connection from his agent, Gose was able to spend time last offseason with Dodgers legend Maury Wills. We spoke with Gose last week about that (among other topics).
“It’s truly and honor,” said Gose. “You could say that he is a legend in baseball for what he did when he played.”
Wills, the 1962 National League MVP, stole at least 35 bases nine times, 104 bases in his MVP season and 92 bases in 1965. Gose stole 76, a BlueClaws record in 2009, and his work with Wills obviously paid off.
“It’s some instinct, but it’s also a little trial and error, who you can run on, who you can’t,” he said.
“[Wills] knows what it’s like to be in the minors. He talked to us about that, and staying positive. It was a lot more than just the physical part of the game.”
This year, Gose said “I’d like to steal 100 bases.” A bold claim for sure, especially considering the higher level means that pitchers will be better at holding him on and catchers will have better arms. But remember, he had just a .323 on-base percentage this year. If he can get that up to say, .375 (realizing that is hard in the tougher league), Gose would have an extra 45 or so chances. 100 is awfully ambitious, but he’s on the right track.
More with Gose later this week…next, enjoy The Dodgers Song:
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