Willie James Wilson (born July 9, 1955) is a former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

player. He played 19 seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

, and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

. He was an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

known for his speed and ability as an effective leadoff hitter. Wilson's career total of 668 stolen bases currently ranks him in 12th place all-time among major leaguers.

Early life

Wilson was born in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County, Alabama, Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the Gulf Coastal Plain, coas ...

, but moved to

Summit, New Jersey Summit is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The city is located on a ridge in northern-central New Jersey, within the Raritan Valley and Rahway Valley regions in the New York metropolitan area. At the 2010 United State ...

, at seven years old. He was a highly regarded high school baseball, football, and basketball player at Summit High School. In his senior year, he

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

.436 and stole 28 bases in 28 attempts.

Professional career

Early years

Wilson was drafted out of high school after signing a letter of intent to play

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

. The Kansas City Royals picked him in the first round of the 1974 draft. He started his professional career with the Gulf Coast Royals. He moved up to class-A in 1975 for the

Waterloo Royals Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

, leading the 1975 Midwest League champions in both RBIs and stolen bases, and in 1976 played for the Double-A Jacksonville Suns. He earned a September call-up in 1976, playing in 12 games. He was mostly used as a

pinch runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been subs ...

or defensive replacement, but did start one game on the penultimate day of the season. He had just six

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s, getting one

and stealing two bases. Wilson began the 1977 season at Triple-A

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest c ...

. In what turned out to be his last minor league action (not counting a stunt appearance in 2009), he batted .281 with 74 stolen bases. He was again called up in September, this time receiving more substantial playing time,

batting Batting may refer to: *Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs *Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ru ...

.324 in 34 at bats with 6 steals. 1978 was Wilson's first full season in the majors. He split the

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

job with Tom Poquette, Clint Hurdle and Joe Zdeb, getting the most playing time at the position among the four, while also backing up Amos Otis in

center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ce ...

. Overall, he played in 127 games, but had just 198 at bats while batting .217. Despite his limited playing time, he finished fifth in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

with 46 stolen bases. He also appeared in three games in the 1978 American League Championship Series against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

, starting Game Four.

Getting established

1979

Wilson started the 1979 season as the Royals' fourth outfielder, but by mid-May he had established himself as the team's starting left fielder. He batted .315 and led the league in stolen bases with 83 and singles with 148, while also finishing seventh in hits and third in triples. On defense, he led the league in range factor and

putout In baseball statistics, a putout (denoted by ''PO'' or '' fly out'' when appropriate) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner wi ...

s and finished second in assists among left fielders.

1980

In 1980, Wilson started the year as the starting center fielder when Amos Otis opened the season on the disabled list, and acquitted himself well, posting an above-average range factor and making just one

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

in 195 total chances for the year in center. He moved back to left when Otis returned in late May, and wound up leading the league in several categories. His 705 official at bats were a major league record until it was surpassed by

Jimmy Rollins James Calvin Rollins (born November 27, 1978), nicknamed "J-Roll", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (–), Los Angeles Dodgers (), and Chicago White S ...

in 2007. He also led the league in hits,

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted bal ...

, triples, and singles, finished second in steals with 79, and had at least 100 hits from both sides of the plate. He won both the

Gold Glove The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in b ...

and

Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters ...

s, and was fourth in the AL MVP voting, his best finish. During Game 2 of the 1980 ALCS, the Yankees' Willie Randolph was on second base in the top of the eighth with two outs and the Royals up by just one run.

Bob Watson Robert José Watson (April 10, 1946May 14, 2020) was an American professional baseball player, coach and general manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and left fielder from 1966 to 1984, most prominently as a membe ...

hit a ball to the left field corner of Royals Stadium. The ball bounced right to Wilson, but Yankee third base coach

Mike Ferraro Michael Dennis Ferraro (born August 18, 1944) is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. He played for the New York Yankees (; ) and the Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers (; ). Ferraro threw and batted right-handed, stood tall an ...

waved Randolph home. Wilson overthrew

U L Washington U L Washington (born October 27, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1977 to 1987 for the Kansas City Royals, Montreal Expos, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Washington play ...

, the

cut-off man This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. ...

, but

George Brett George Howard Brett (born May 15, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player who played all of his 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hits are second- ...

was in position behind him to catch the ball, then throw to

Darrell Porter Darrell Ray Porter (January 17, 1952 – August 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1971 to 1987 for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, and Texas Range ...

, who tagged out Randolph in a slide. TV cameras captured Yankee owner

George Steinbrenner George Michael Steinbrenner III (July 4, 1930July 13, 2010) was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1973 until his death in 2010. He was the longest-serving own ...

fuming immediately after the play. The Royals won 3–2. Wilson batted .308 and tied

for the team lead in

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the b ...

with four during the series as the Royals swept the

Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

in three straight games. In the

1980 World Series The 1980 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) season. The 77th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Philadelphia Phillies and the Amer ...

, Wilson batted just .154 and struck out against

Tug McGraw Frank Edwin "Tug" McGraw Jr. (August 30, 1944 – January 5, 2004) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher and long-time Major League Baseball (MLB) player, often remembered for coining the phrase "Ya Gotta Believe", which became th ...

for the final out of the Royals' Game 6 loss to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. This strikeout was Wilson's 12th of the Series, breaking the record of 11 held jointly by

Eddie Mathews Edwin Lee Mathews (October 13, 1931 – February 18, 2001) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman. He played 17 seasons for Boston / Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1952–1966); Houston Astros (1967) and Detroit Tigers (1967� ...

and

Wayne Garrett Ronald Wayne Garrett (born December 3, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) and in the Nippon Professional Baseball league as a third baseman from 1969 to 1980, most prominently as a me ...

in the

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

and 1973 World Series, respectively.

Ryan Howard Ryan James Howard (born November 19, 1979), nicknamed "the Big Piece", is an American former professional baseball first baseman. Howard spent his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, from to . He is ...

would break Wilson's record by striking out 13 times in the 2009 World Series.

1981–83

Wilson's batting average slipped to .303 in the strike-shortened 1981 season, and most of his other numbers were off from the previous two seasons as well. In the

1981 American League Division Series The 1981 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the 1981 American League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 6, and ended on Sunday, October 11. The Division Series were approved by team owners on August 6 in response to the ...

against the Oakland A's, he batted .308, but failed to score a run, steal a base, or get an extra-base hit in the three-game sweep. In 1982, Wilson bounced back to bat .332 and win the AL batting title, the first

switch hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers. Characteristics Right-handed batters generally hit better ag ...

to do so since

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Commerce Comet" and "the Mick", was an American professional baseball player. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

in 1956. Although the Royals missed the playoffs for the first time since 1979, Wilson made his first American League All-Star team that year and winning his second Silver Slugger Award. He led the league in singles for the fourth year in a row and in triples for the second time in three seasons. In 1983, Wilson moved to center field in June when the club decided to shuffle their outfield, moving long-time center fielder Otis to

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

, and moving

Pat Sheridan Patrick Arthur Sheridan (born December 4, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four different teams, primarily as an outfielder, between 1981 and 1991. Biography Sheridan grew up i ...

and

Leon Roberts Leon Kauffman Roberts (born January 22, 1951) is a former corner outfielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1974 through 1984 for the Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City R ...

, who had been sharing right field, over to left. In the midst of the shuffle, Wilson had his worst season at the plate to date, batting just .276. Although he still finished third in the league with 59 stolen bases and made the All-Star Team for the second time, his

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

and

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

also hit what were to that point career lows at .316 and .352 respectively. However, Wilson's problems in 1983 were not limited to on-field issues.

Drug scandal

After the end of the 1983 season, Wilson found himself in a drug scandal along with teammates

Willie Aikens Willie Mays Aikens (born October 14, 1954) is an American professional baseball first baseman who played in Major League Baseball for the California Angels, Kansas City Royals, and Toronto Blue Jays between 1977 and 1985. He had established ...

Vida Blue Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (born July 28, 1949) is a former American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between and , most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...

, and Jerry Martin. All four pleaded guilty to misdemeanor drug charges (attempting to purchase

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Am ...

) on November 17. They became the first active major leaguers to serve jail time, serving 81 days at the Fort Worth, Texas, Federal Correctional Institution. He was suspended by commissioner

Bowie Kuhn Bowie Kent Kuhn (; October 28, 1926 – March 15, 2007) was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, 1969, to September 30, 1984. He served as legal counsel for M ...

for the entire 1984 season, but the suspension was reduced on appeal and he was able to return on May 15. The Royals traded or released the other three, with only Wilson returning to the Royals, and he hit .301 and stole 47 bases after his return.

Remaining Royals career

In 1985, Wilson batted .278 and led the league in triples for the third time with a career-high 21. He also gained a measure of redemption from his 1980 World Series performance, hitting .310 against Toronto in the 1985 ALCS and .367 against the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1985 World Series, helping the Royals to their first World Championship. Wilson remained a fixture in the outfield for the Royals over the next five seasons. Although his hitting was not what it once was, he still hit a career-high nine home runs in 1986, led the league twice more in triples and continued to finish in the top ten in steals, a run of 11 seasons that lasted until 1988, and may have continued had he not missed chunks of the 1989 and 1990 seasons to injuries. He also continued to play well defensively, leading the league in fielding percentage among center fielders in 1987, and among all outfielders in 1990, when he finished the year without a single error.

Oakland Athletics

Wilson left the Royals following the 1990 season as a free agent, and he was signed by the Oakland Athletics. There, he replaced

Félix José Domingo Félix Andújar José (born May 2, 1965 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, New York Y ...

, who had been traded late in 1990, as the fourth outfielder behind

Rickey Henderson Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson (born December 25, 1958) is an American retired professional baseball left fielder who played his 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four separate tenures with hi ...

Dave Henderson David Lee Henderson (July 21, 1958 – December 27, 2015), nicknamed "Hendu", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athleti ...

and

Jose Canseco José Canseco Capas Jr. (born July 2, 1964), nicknamed Parkway Jose, Mr. 40-40 and El Cañonero Cubano (The Cuban Cannon), is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and designated hitter. During his time with the Oakla ...

. He played 113 games, including at least 19 at all three outfield positions, and batted .238. In 1992, Dave Henderson missed most of the season with a hamstring injury, leaving Wilson as the starting center fielder. He played in 132 games, his most since 1988, and batted .270. In his first playoff action since the 1985 World Series, he stole seven bases in the 1992 ALCS against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

, tying

Lou Brock Louis Clark Brock (June 18, 1939September 6, 2020) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He began his 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the 1961 Chicago Cubs but spent most of it as a left fielder for the St. Louis ...

's record for steals in one post-season (Brock stole seven bases each in the

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

and

1968 World Series The 1968 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1968 season. The 65th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the National Leag ...

). He batted just .227, however, and the A's lost the series in six games.

Chicago Cubs

Wilson became a free agent again after the 1992 season, and he signed with the Chicago Cubs. He started 1993 in a center field

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may rang ...

with Dwight Smith, later splitting time with

Sammy Sosa Samuel Peralta Sosa (born November 12, 1968) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs. After playing for the Texas Rangers and C ...

when the latter wasn't playing in right field. He batted .258, but managed just seven stolen bases—a career-low for a full season—and he began the 1994 season on the bench behind

Tuffy Rhodes Karl Derrick "Tuffy" Rhodes (born August 21, 1968) is a retired American professional baseball player. He played six years in Major League Baseball in the US, and thirteen years in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in Japan. Rhodes is the all-ti ...

. After playing just 17 games that year, he was released on May 16, ending his major league career. Wilson retired with a .285 career batting average and 668 stolen bases, which ranks 12th all-time. For his career, Wilson hit 13

inside-the-park home run In baseball, an inside-the-park home run is a play where a batter hits a home run without hitting the ball out of the field of play. It is also known as an "inside-the-parker", "in-the-park home run", or "in-the-park homer". Discussion To score ...

s, the most of any major league player playing after 1950. He topped a .300 batting average five times and also led the league in triples five times, being one of only four players to accomplish the feat. Wilson posted a .987 fielding percentage as an outfielder in the majors.

Post-playing career and honors

Wilson coached in the

system in 1995 and 1997. He was elected to the Royals Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2003, Wilson was named

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

of the

London Monarchs The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league, the World League of American Football (WLAF). The Monarchs played their final season in 1998 as the England Monarchs. In 1999, they were re ...

of the fledgling

Canadian Baseball League The Canadian Baseball League was an independent minor league that operated in 2003. The league's only Commissioner was Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame member Ferguson Jenkins. The league featured former ...

, but the league folded halfway through the season. Wilson also came out of retirement in 2009, signing a one-day contract with the Kansas City T-Bones, a team playing in the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

. He currently runs the Willie Wilson Baseball Foundation in Kansas City, Missouri.

References

External links

Willie Wilson Baseball Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Willie American sportspeople convicted of crimes Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball left fielders Kansas City Royals players Oakland Athletics players Chicago Cubs players American League All-Stars American League batting champions American League stolen base champions Gold Glove Award winners Gulf Coast Royals players Waterloo Royals players Jacksonville Suns players Omaha Royals players Kansas City T-Bones players Baseball players from Montgomery, Alabama African-American baseball players Sportspeople from Summit, New Jersey Summit High School (New Jersey) alumni Baseball players from New Jersey 1955 births Living people Major League Baseball players suspended for drug offenses Silver Slugger Award winners 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople