Dee Gordon reminds some of Maury Wills and that’s good for Dodgers

PHOENIX — Maury Wills looks at Dee Gordon and sees someone he recognizes.

“That’s me all the way,” he said.

Considering that Wills is a former National League most valuable player and Gold Glove winner who set a stolen base record and made seven All-Star teams, that’s a pretty good compliment.

But Wills wasn’t talking about any of that. What he sees of himself in Gordon is far more fundamental.

“I had two things: speed and a strong arm. Dee Gordon has that,” said Wills, an instructor who has taken the young player under his wing. “Those are two things they can’t teach you. They’re God given.

“So we are bold enough to think that we can take those two attributes and make him a major league baseball player.”

Just like the man who now mentors him, Gordon has long been told he’s too small and too raw to be an everyday player.

And like Wills, he is proving his detractors wrong by refusing to believe them.

“Just persevere. That’s it,” Gordon, 25, said Monday as he slumped, exhausted, in front of his locker. “Practice, practice, practice. If you want to be good, you’ve got to practice at it.

“I’m practicing hard every day. I’m still not getting the results I want. But you know what, it’s early. And I feel like it’s going to click here soon.”

That may already be happening. Although Gordon is only hitting .185 in Cactus League play, he has proven a disruptive force on the basepaths, stealing a spring-training-high eight bases and legging out two triples.

That, too, is reminiscent of Wills.

“I realized that I couldn’t make the big leagues trying to be a slugger. I just needed to get on base any way I could,” Wills said. “I think Dee’s finally getting that. He’s not going to hit his way to the big leagues. He’s got to play his way. And the best way to play his way is to get on base.”

Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said it’s been a matter of Gordon’s learning who he is as a hitter. But he’s also had to learn who — or what — he is as a fielder, an education the Dodgers have complicated.

Two years ago Gordon was the team’s opening day shortstop. But he missed 58 games in the middle of the season after tearing a ligament in his right thumb and by the time he came off the disabled list, the Dodgers had traded for Hanley Ramirez.

So Gordon spent much of last season in the minors leaning to play second base — only to see the Dodgers sign Cuban shortstop Alex Guerrero to a $28-million contract in October with the intention of making him their everyday second baseman.

“I’m sure he’s had some difficult times,” Mattingly said. “We looked at him as a shortstop then and that kind of went haywire. Then we get Hanley and the whole thing changes.”

Gordon said his father, former big league closer Tom Gordon, refused to let him back away from the challenge.

“The biggest thing my dad told me is, the greatest hitters and the greatest players are going to go through a tough time early or late,” said Gordon, who has hit .256 — and stolen 66 bases — in 181 big league games over parts of three seasons. “I’m glad I’m going through mine early. Get it over with.”

The tough times continued this winter, with Gordon giving up his off-season, first trying the outfield in the Dominican Republic and then playing second base in Puerto Rico.

“He wants it really bad,” Wills said. “He’s willing to do anything to make the team.”

Much to Wills’ delight, it looks as if Gordon may have succeeded.

Guerrero has the higher batting average, .250, but while he hit a grand slam in a game last week, some of his six hits have been bloopers. He’s also looked uncomfortable in his transition to second base.

Mattingly’s lineup on Monday suggested Gordon, who has made a seamless transition defensively, may have won the position battle. While Gordon was batting leadoff in the Dodgers’ Cactus League game with Oakland, Guerrero was on a back field participating in a minor league scrimmage.

Mattingly then dropped a bigger hint — as well as compliment — after Gordon’s game.

“We’ll take that, right?” he said. “We have Maury Wills at second.”

kevin.baxter@latimes.com

Twitter: @kbaxter11