Roberto Clemente won his only MVP Award, leading the Pirates to a third place finish. The runner-up was pitcher Sandy Koufax, who led the Dodgers to the pennant with 27 wins.

         This was Willie Stargell's first big season; he and Clemente gave the Pirates a lot of punch in the outfield. The same can be said of teammates Hank Aaron and Felipe Alou. This was Felipe's best season; it may also have been his brother Matty's best season. And who knows, it may also have been Jesus Alou's best season, except that Jesus didn't have any good seasons. Felipe was the best player of the three Alou brothers; he recorded over 2100 hits in his career, spiked by 206 homers. Matty was strictly a singles hitter, though a good one; the three brothers combined for 5094 hits.
         Willie Mays finished third in the vote, behind Clemente and Koufax. I think Mays and Clemente were the best outfielders in the league; they had big seasons at the plate, and were peerless defensively. Clemente had the most feared arm in the National League, and led all outfielders in assists.
        Oh, and Felipe Alou is also the best manager of the three brothers as well. That one, you can take to the bank.
         Joe Torre finished 16th in the vote, with only 18 points; Johnny Roseboro had more votes. Torre was not a good defensive catcher, and he played 36 games at first base... but I still think he was one of the top players in the league. He had a huge season at the plate, and, if nothing else, was durable behind home plate.

        Bill Mazeroski was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, but grew up not far from Pittsburgh. His father had been a semi-pro baseball player, but had his career ruined by an accident in a coal mine. In high school, Mazeroski was taken under the wing of his coach, Al Burazio, who promised to make a major leaguer out of him. Maz played shortstop and pitched for his school, and also starred in basketball during the winter.
        At age 17, he signed with the Pirates, and made his professional debut with Williamsport in the Eastern League. A year later, he debuted with the Hollywood Stars in the PCL, but was sent back to Williamsport when he hit only .170. Over the winter, he grew bigger, and played in the Dominican Republic. In 1956, he returned to the Stars; this time, he hit .300, and in July was called up to the majors, only 19 years old and midway through his third professional season.
        He never went back to the minors. Mazeroski was a sensation in 1957 with both his bat and his glove. He hit .283 that season; that would prove to be his career high. In the field he displayed great range and an accurate arm, but most famously he was incredibly fast when turning the double play. In 1958, he started the All-Star Game, and won his first Gold Glove. A wonderful season was capped when he married Milene Ruth Nicholson, whom he had been introduced to by his new manager, Danny Murtaugh.
        In 1959, Murtaugh labelled Maz as one of the team's biggest disappointments. Mazeroski was slowed all season by a pulled leg muscle; he hit only .241, and his defence suffered. After the season, the Pirates revealed that Mazeroski had showed up to spring training overweight. During the offseason, Maz worked out with teammate Bob Friend, and stuck to a strict diet. In the spring of 1960, he showed up to camp at his usual weight.
        "Do I think of that home run? Every day of my life I think of that home run. Wouldn't you if you had hit it? People always are reminding me of it. I suppose it must be the most important thing I've ever done."
        Mazeroski's bat rebounded in 1960; he hit .271 with 11 home runs. In the field, he stayed healthy, and was once again the premier defensive second baseman in the league. The Pirates won the pennant easily, and then faced Casey Stengel's mighty Yankees in the World Series. In Game One, Mazeroski hit a key home run, then snuffed out a Yankee rally in the 9th inning by turning a double play.
        The Yankees won the next two games easily, but the Pirates won Game Four to even the series. In Game Five, Maz hit a two-run double (on a high infield chopper) in the second inning that helped the Bucs win 5-2. The Yankees won Game Six, which set the stage for the most dramatic moment of his career. In Game Seven, the score was tied at nine when Maz came to the plate in the bottom of the 9th inning. He lined a game-winning home run off of Ralph Terry, the first time that a World Series had ever ended with a home run.
        It is, of course, one of the most famous home runs in baseball history; it also delivered an unlikely championship to Pittsburgh, the first in 35 years. The Pirates weren't able to repeat, but Mazeroski had his best years in the early 60's; he never developed much as a hitter, but twice drove in more than 80 runs while keeping his average around .260. With the glove, he had no equal; Mazeroski won eight Gold Gloves in his career, and played on seven All-Star teams.
        "They always said I had 'fast hands'. Well, that's sportswriters talking. I'm not fast at all. My feet aren't fast. My legs never were and neither were my hands. I'm just well coordinated. I suspect all athletes are. I can put all the body parts together and function more smoothly than most."
        In 1964, 1966 and 1967, Mazeroski played in every game. In 1965, he broke his foot in spring training and missed the first six weeks of the season. In 1965, the Pirates had a new manager, Harry Walker, and Maz had a new double play partner in Alley. He peaked defensively, turning an incredible 161 double plays while making only eight errors. Curiously, Mazeroski used a small, flat glove, an outdated piece of equipment that was discontinued by the manufacturing company - and yet rarely let anything get by him.
        In his early 30's, Mazeroski's durability began to wane. He missed significant time in 1969 with pulled muscles in his thighs; in 1970, Murtaugh returned as manager, and Maz began to spend significant time mentoring his eventual replacement at second base, Dave Cash. In 1971, the Pirates won another pennant, and defeated the Orioles in the World Series in seven games. Mazeroski batted only twice in the postseason, and retired a year later.
        After his retirement, Mazeroski worked as a coach and infield instructor. A younger generation of fans was introduced to him through Bill Mazeroski's Magazine, a popular preseason annual in the 1980's and 1990's. In 2001, 30 years after his retirement, the Veterans Committee elected him to the Hall of Fame.
        His journey to Cooperstown had been a long one. In his first year on the ballot in 1978, Maz received only 6.07% of the vote. In his last year in 1992, he received 42.33%. Mazeroski is a unique case; he is one of the worst hitters in the Hall of Fame, but is one of the best defensive players in baseball history. He's been in the game a long time, and had one truly historic moment. But the BBWAA probably got it right; he belongs in the Hall of the Very Good, but wasn't quite a Hall-of-Famer.

        So, who was the best infielder this year? Mazeroski set a double play record; Dick Allen was his opposite, had big numbers at the plate but missed 20 games and was also a defensive liability. Pete Rose couldn't really play second base, and was moved to the outfield in 1967. Ron Santo was great with the bat and the glove, but his team lost 103 games.
        The most complete players in the league were Clemente, Mays, and Santo, so they'll be my top three. After that I'll take Torre. The three "A's"   Aaron, Alou and Allen   could also rank among the top four.