Bump Wills facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bump Wills |
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Wills in May 2014
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| Second baseman | |||
| Born: July 27, 1952 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
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| Professional debut | |||
| MLB: April 7, 1977, for the Texas Rangers | |||
| NPB: April 9, 1983, for the Hankyu Braves | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| MLB: October 3, 1982, for the Chicago Cubs | |||
| NPB: August 4, 1984, for the Hankyu Braves | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .266 | ||
| Home runs | 36 | ||
| Runs batted in | 302 | ||
| Stolen bases | 196 | ||
| NPB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .259 | ||
| Home runs | 16 | ||
| Runs batted in | 81 | ||
| Stolen bases | 22 | ||
| Teams | |||
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Elliott Taylor "Bump" Wills was born on July 27, 1952. He is a former baseball player from America. He played as a second baseman in the major leagues.
Bump Wills played for the Texas Rangers from 1977 to 1981. He also played for the Chicago Cubs in 1982. After that, he spent two seasons playing in Japan. He played for the Hankyu Braves in 1983 and 1984.
Bump Wills is the son of Maury Wills. His father was also a famous major league shortstop. Maury Wills later became a manager for the Seattle Mariners.
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Playing Baseball
Bump Wills was a switch hitter. This means he could hit the baseball with both his left and right hands. He played college baseball at Arizona State University. His coach there was Jim Brock, a very famous college baseball coach.
In 1977, when Bump was a rookie, he was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine. This was a big deal for a new player.
Memorable Moments on the Field
In 1977, something very rare happened at Yankee Stadium. Bump Wills and his teammate Toby Harrah hit back-to-back inside-the-park home runs. This means they hit the ball and ran all the way around the bases to score. It was only the second time this had ever happened in a major league game. What made it even more special was that it happened on consecutive pitches.
Harrah's home run was a hit to the right-center field. The Yankee outfielder Lou Piniella got hurt trying to catch it. By the time another player got the ball, Harrah had already scored. Wills' home run was hit to center field, over the head of Mickey Rivers. Both home runs were hit off the pitcher Ken Clay.
Earlier that year, during spring training, Bump Wills took over the second base position from Lenny Randle. This change caused some trouble.
Speed on the Bases
Just like his father Maury, Bump Wills was known for his amazing speed. In 1978, Wills stole 52 bases. A stolen base is when a player runs to the next base while the pitcher is throwing the ball. This broke the record for the most stolen bases in a single season for the Texas Rangers. The record was previously held by Dave Nelson. Bump Wills' 52 stolen bases in 1978 is still a record for the Rangers today.
After playing for the Chicago Cubs in 1982, Wills played in Japan for two seasons. He then retired from professional baseball. His career batting average in MLB was .266. He hit 36 home runs and had 302 RBI (Runs Batted In).
Life After Baseball
Bump Wills was born in Washington, D.C.. He grew up in Spokane, Washington. He went to Central Valley High School and graduated in 1970. He was a great athlete in high school, playing three different sports. He even coached there later.
He went to college at Arizona State University. While there, he was part of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He also often helped manage baseball clinics for younger players in the area.
Today, Bump Wills lives in Garland, Texas. He coaches for the Dallas Mustangs, which is a youth baseball club. He was supposed to manage a team called the Royse City Griffins in a new league in 2019. However, that league did not end up playing any games.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders
- List of second-generation Major League Baseball players
