"Elected to the Hall by the Veterans Committee in 2001, he was, by some measures, no superstar. Mazeroski had the lowest batting average, on-base percentage and stolen base total of any second baseman in Cooperstown. He hit just .260 lifetime, with 138 homers and 27 stolen bases in 17 years, and had an on-base percentage of .299. He never batted .300, never approached 100 runs batted or 100 runs scored and only once finished in the top 10 for Most Valuable Player."
"His best qualities were both tangible and beyond the box score. His Hall of Fame plaque praises him as a "defensive wizard" with "hard-nosed hustle" and a "quiet work ethic." A 10-time All-Star, he turned a major league record 1,706 double plays, earning the nickname "No Hands" for how quickly he fielded grounders and relayed them. He led the National League nine times in assists for second basemen and has been cited by statistician Bill James as the game's greatest defensive player at his position."
Bill Mazeroski died at age 89 in Lansdale, Pennsylvania; no cause of death was given. He won eight Gold Glove awards and was celebrated for his historic walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series. Elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 2001, he compiled a .260 lifetime average with 138 homers and a .299 on-base percentage over 17 seasons. He turned a major league record 1,706 double plays, earned the nickname "No Hands," was a 10-time All-Star, and has been lauded as the greatest defensive second baseman by some analysts. Pirates owner Bob Nutting remembered him as humble, gracious and proud to be a Pirate, and Mazeroski emphasized that defense deserves Hall of Fame recognition.
Read at ABC7 Los Angeles
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