Wills Hoping to Receive That Hall of Fame Call

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Maury Wills was determined to focus on other dreams, hoping to maintain peace of mind this time.

But the thought of induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame is too overpowering for Wills to ignore.

The former All-Star shortstop, who helped the Dodgers win three World Series titles after they moved to Los Angeles, will find out today whether the veterans’ committee has made his dream a reality.

“I’ve tried to pretend that it’s not going on, tried to ignore it and tried to keep a low profile, but I’m not doing a very good job of it,” the Dodger baserunning and bunting coordinator said Tuesday at Dodgertown. “I’m very aware of it and I can hardly wait now. I have the best feeling this year that I’ve ever had.”

That feeling is based on the revamped voting process.

Instead of a 15-person panel meeting behind closed doors, the reconstructed committee now includes all 58 living members of the Hall -- Wills’ peers. Twenty-five Hall of Fame writers and broadcasters and two members from the former veterans committee make up the 85 eligible voters. This year the Hall received 81 ballots. It will take 75% for a candidate to be selected, or 61 of the 81 ballots.

Other former Dodgers on the players’ ballot include first baseman Gil Hodges, reliever Mike Marshall and pitcher Don Newcombe. Former owner Walter O’Malley and general manager Buzzie Bavasi are also under consideration, as are Joe Torre, Ron Santo and former players’ union head Marvin Miller.

“I’ve had several Hall of Famers already come to me and hug me and tell me that I got their vote,” said Wills, 70. “I didn’t have 75% come to me, but I suppose each one of them represents ‘X’ amount of people that’s on the voting committee, and they were players that I played against.”

Wills thrived under manager Walter Alston, leading the league in stolen bases from 1960 to ’65.

A five-time All-Star, Wills was selected the 1962 NL MVP after setting a then-major league record with 104 stolen bases.