Happy Birthday to the greatest Centerfielder ever playing the game, Willie Mays, “The Say Hey Kid.” Not only is Willie Mays in the Hall of Fame, but he’s also in what I like to call “The Small Room Hall of Fame.” If you grew up in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, even if you didn’t follow baseball, you’d have to live in an Underground Cave not to know who Willie Mays is. 

Willie Mays Career Statistics/Accolades (1948; 51-52; 54-73):

.301 BA, 3,293 HITS, 660 HR, 1,909 RBIS, .384 OBP, 2,068 RUNS

  • 2x MVP (1954 & 1965)
  • 24x All-Star
  • 12x Gold-Glove
  • 1951 Rookie of the Year
  • 1954 Batting Champion
  • 1954 World Series Champion
  • Major League Baseball All-Century Team
  • Major League Baseball All-Time Team

Willie Mays is your perfect example of the 5-tool player hitting for Average, hitting for Power, running the bases well, throwing, and fielding. He led the Majors multiple times in Statistical Categories such as Runs, Triples, Home Runs, Stolen Bases, and On Base Percentage. He also led the league in Hits, RBIs, Walks, and Average in his long career.  

It took until 1954 for Mays to take over the game of baseball, missing most of 1952 and the entire 1953 season due to being drafted by the United States Army to serve in the Korean War. But in 1954, Mays would go on to lead the majors in Average and win the MVP while making “the greatest catch in baseball history” in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series as he and the Giants would go on to win the World Series. In 1958, Mays would go to San Francisco as the Giants would become the San Francisco Giants; entering his age 27 season, he’d go on to have his best years in San Francisco, where he’d go on to win another MVP in 1965 as well as finishing in the top-5, six times. When the Giants moved to San Francisco, Mays himself discovered that pulling the ball worked better at home, but hitting to the right and center field worked better on the road, so he’d to adjust his at-the-plate approach depending on where he was playing.

Now for the defensive part of his game, Mays had his signature play, the “basket catch.” Mays held his glove around his belly; he’d keep his palm turned up, enabling the ball to fall right into his glove. There was always a debate about whether his technique made him a better fielder or just made him more exciting to watch. Regardless, Mays had no trouble setting a record of 7,095 outfield putouts. Regarding throwing, “His range was limitless, and his arm so strong that he could make effective throws from the most unlikely locations and the most unlikely body positions.” – Leonard Koppett.

Depending on how Miguel Cabrera finishes his final season, along with Hank Aaron, Mays is one of the three players in baseball history to have a lifetime .300 Average, reach 3,000 Hits, 500 Homeruns, and 1,500 Runs Batted In. Willie Mays made it into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot, but twenty-three knuckleheads didn’t vote for him; needless to say, those twenty-three writers are all dopes. Off the field, he was famous in Harlem during his days in New York, frequently participating with neighborhood kids in stickball games. There is no question that when you think of Centerfield, you think of Willie Mays; when you think of the San Francisco Giants, you think of Willie Mays; when you think of the all-time crown jewel greats of this game, you think of Willie Mays. Whether it was players from before his time like Ty Cobb, players that played with him like Roberto Clemente, players on the Dodgers, and even the average fan in the present day, no one can deny the greatness of Willie Mays.

References:

  1. Willie Mays Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mayswi01.shtml
  2. Willie Mays via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Mays#Player_profile