Position:
Center Field
Teams:
New York/San Francisco Giants (1951-1952; 1954-1972)
New York Mets (1972-1973)
Career Statistics:
Batting Average: .302
Home Runs: 660
RBI: 1,903
Slugging Percentage: .557
On-Base Percentage: .384
Hits: 3,283
William Howard Mays, Jr. was born in Westfield, Alabama, which lies just outside of Birmingham. His father was a gifted baseball player who played on a Negro League industrial team for the local iron plant. His mother was a talented basketball and track star in high school. Mays inherited his parents' athletic gifts and excelled in many sports, such as basketball and football, in addition to baseball.
In 1947, while still in high school, Mays played a short time for the Chattanooga Choo-Choo's in Tennessee after school let out for the summer. He then returned home to Alabama to play for the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League. He led the team to the 1948 Negro League World Series, but they ultimately lost to the Homestead Grays. He was a standout defensively and on the base-paths, though his batting average was only .226. Over the next several years, multiple scouts from different Major League Baseball teams came out to watch Willie play. The first team to scout him, the Boston Braves, passed on him. Then the Brooklyn Dodgers rejected him because they felt he couldn't hit the curveball. Finally, the New York Giants took notice and signed Willie to their class-B affiliate in Trenton, New Jersey in 1950.
After posting a .353 batting average in Trenton, Willie was moved up to the class AAA Minneapolis Millers of the American Association. After hitting .477 and playing stellar defense, Mays was called up to the New York Giants on May 24, 1951. He went hitless in his first twelve at-bats, but he rocketed a homer over the fence in his thirteenth against Warren Spahn. He continued to improve throughout the season, though his .274 average, 20 homers, and 68 RBI were the lowest of his career. Despite this, he still managed to win Rookie of the Year. His Giants met the New York Yankees in the World Series that year, though they lost the Series 4-2, with Mays performing poorly.
Mays was drafted by the United States Army in 1952 and ended up missing most of the '52 season and all of the '53 season. He spent most of his service time playing baseball in Fort Eustis, VA.
He returned to the Giants in 1954, leading the league with a .345 batting average and hitting 41 homers. He won the National League MVP that season, and once again led the Giants to the World Series where they swept the Cleveland Indians. This Series is best remembered by what is now referred to as "The Catch," Mays's over-the-shoulder running grab in deep center field of the Polo Grounds. This is one of the most memorable plays in the history of baseball, and it also prevented two Indian runners from scoring, preserving the tied game.
During the last three years the Giants spent in New York, Mays continued to perform at a high level. In 1956, he hit 36 home runs and stole 40 bases. In 1957, he won the first of twelve consecutive Gold Glove Awards (this was the first year the Gold Glove was awarded). In 1957, he became only the fourth person to join the 20-20-20 club (20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs), as well as stealing 38 bases.
In 1958, the Giants relocated to San Francisco. This season, Mays narrowly missed winning the National League batting title, when his .347 average couldn't quite top the Phillie's Richard Ashburn's .350. On April 30, 1961, Mays hit four homers against the Milwaukee Braves. He remains the only Major Leaguer to have both a four homer game and a four triple game. The following season, the Giants made it to the World Series, but Willie struggled, hitting just .250. They lost in seven games to the Yankees.
In both the '63 and '64 seasons, Mays drove in over 100 runs and hit a combined 85 homers. He won his second MVP in 1965 with a career-high 52 home runs. On September 13, 1965, Willie hit his 500th career home run. Willie set a major league record for playing in over 150 games for 13 consecutive seasons. He hit career homer 600 in September 1969 against the San Diego Padres.
In May 1972, the 41-year old Mays was traded to the New York Mets. The Giants franchise had been losing money and they could not guarantee Willie an income after retirement. The Mets, on the other hand, offered him a position as a coach after his retirement. In his May 14, 1972 debut, he hit a fifth-inning home run against his former team. Then, on August 17, 1973, he hit his 660th and final home run against the Cincinnati Reds. He ended up playing a season-and-a-half with the Mets before announcing his retirement. He was honored in a ceremony on September 25, 1973. He capped off his career by playing in the World Series against the Oakland Athletics, though he was limited in playing time. The Mets ended up losing in seven games.
Mays remained active after leaving baseball, appearing on television, movies, and other non-sports related media. He stayed with the New York Mets as their hitting instructor until 1979. On January 23, 1979, Willie was elected to the Hall of Fame. Over the next few years, Willie took up golf, and became quite adept at it, playing to a handicap of 4. Shortly after being elected to the Hall of Fame, Willie took a job at the Park Place Casino in Atlantic City, working as Special Assistant to the Casino's President, and as a greeter, a job he performed alongside Mickey Mantle. When Bowie Kuhn (Commissioner of Baseball) found out about this, he suspended Mays and Mantle from having any involvement in baseball because of the rules against gambling. Kuhn successor, Peter Ueberroth, rescinded the suspension in 1985. Since 1986, Willie has served as Special Assistant to the President of the San Francisco Giants, as well as serving on the advisory board of the Baseball Assistance Team, an organization dedicated to helping former Minor, Major, and Negro League baseball players through financial hardships.
It was difficult trying to decide whether to place Willie Mays or Hank Aaron atop this list. Their numbers were both incredibly impressive. In some cases, Hank Aaron's were slightly better. In other cases, Willie Mays's were. And I do mean slightly. However, I feel that Willie Mays was a better all-around player. Here's a comparison of their numbers:
Willie Mays Hank Aaron
Batting Average: .302 Batting Average: .305
Home Runs: 660 Home Runs: 755
RBI: 1,903 RBI: 2,297
Slugging %: .557 Slugging %: .555
On-Base %: .384 On-Base %: .374
Hits: 3,283 Hits: 3,771
2B: 523 2B: 624
3B: 140 3B: 98 Stolen Bases: 338 Stolen Bases: 240
Caught Stealing: 103 Caught Stealing: 73
Steal Success: .766 Steal Success: .766
Base-on-balls: 1,464 Base-on-balls: 1,402
Strike-Outs: 1,526 Strike-outs: 1,383
On-Base plus Slugging: .941 On-Base plus Slugging: .928
Total Bases: 6,066 Total Bases: 6,856
Fielding %: .981 Fielding %: .98
Many of their numbers are nearly identical. A .002 difference in batting average, a 95 difference in homers, 394 difference in RBI, a .002 difference in slugging, a .01 difference in OBP, a difference of 488 in hits, 101 difference in doubles, a 42 difference in triples, a 98 difference in stolen bases, an identical steal success, a difference of 62 in walks, 143 difference in strike-outs, .013 difference in OPS, a 790 difference in total bases, and a .001 difference in fielding percentage.
It's obvious why it was such a difficult choice. I briefly considered having both of them share the top spot, but I didn't want a tie. The main factor it finally rested on was fielding ability. While their fielding percentages were nearly identical, the fact is that Willie Mays played center field and Hank Aaron played mostly right field. Center field is a much more difficult position to play than right, as more balls are generally hit in that direction . Also, Willie Mays spent the first seven years of his career playing at the Polo Grounds in New York, which was a whopping 483-feet to center field. Willie had much more ground to cover than Hank Aaron ever did, and he covered it nearly flawlessly. That is what ultimately tipped the scale in Willie's favor.
Now, on to the pitchers!
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