RIP the Say Hey kid, Willie Mays
- Thread starter Obliviax
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Dang. He was probably the best all around, 5 tool player, of all time. RIP Willie.
Man been a bad run of legends dying. Walton, West and Mays.
When I was a kid the argument was who was better between Mantle and Mays. I was a Mantle fan but Mays was better if for no other reason that he stayed in better health.
What a great player. Highest salary was $180k which was roughly $1.2 million in current dollars. He would earn $40 million today.
The National League had some decent All-Star outfields back in the day -- Henry Aaron, Roberto Clemente, and Willie Mays.
I was about 6 or 7 when Willie Mays retired so I have no memory of seeing him play. His numbers are astounding and like the great Hank Aaron, he rarely struck out for being a power hitter. This is critical in my book. It's nothing for guys to strike out 200 times a year now and hit you 30 HR.
Willie struck out 100 times ONCE in his career, and very late in his career and still was .425 on-base that year. Plus of course he stole bases like a madman and won a dozen gold gloves in the toughest outfield position. He was a marvel. Five tool indeed, he had em all.
Willie struck out 100 times ONCE in his career, and very late in his career and still was .425 on-base that year. Plus of course he stole bases like a madman and won a dozen gold gloves in the toughest outfield position. He was a marvel. Five tool indeed, he had em all.
The Say Hay Kid was my favorite growing up in the 60s`
.......God Bless Willie...
His home run total would have been higher if not for playing in S.F.
Growing up - Mays, McCovey, Marichal, Cepeda, Perry, Alou......
Growing up - Mays, McCovey, Marichal, Cepeda, Perry, Alou......
How many single plays in baseball have their own historical Wiki page?
en.wikipedia.org
The Catch (baseball) - Wikipedia
Decent is an understatement. That outfield was an all timer. I consider Mays to be the greatest all-around ballplayer ever. Koufax the greatest pitcher
Uncle Mike, Philly Cab driver gave us tickets to see Mays play on a Saturday, don't recall the year. Connie Mack Stadium, might have still been Shibe Park. Of course, Mays did not play that day, some "unknown" named Felipe Alou made a fabulous catch that.
It was no coincidence that the NL dominated the All-Star game in the '60s.
Ty Cobb once said Willie Mays was the only player he would pay to watch play.
Koufax was a monster. Did he play long enough? That will be the knock on him although there are a few guys still alive who could challenge for pitcher, obviously Ryan. Johnson perhaps. Maddux, Carlton, etc. The pitcher spot is fertile ground for argument.
Agreed. You left out Bob Gibson. he had one of the greatest single seasons of all time. In 1968, his ERA was 1.12. That included 13 shutouts. In fact, his ERA in June and July was 0.50.
You also have to consider Bob Feller. Without the accurate tools, he pitched alongside a guy riding a bike. Using that methodology, they believe he threw a baseball 104 mph. Even if inaccurate, throwing near 100 mph in the 1940's was like Bob Beamon's long jump. Feller started a major league baseball game before he graduated from high school in 1936.
He won 24 games in 1939. 27 games in 1940. 22 games in 1941.
Then do you know what he did? He was the first celebrity to sign up for the War after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Joining the Navy, he missed three full years (1942 - 1944 and most of 1945). He was onboard the Alabama and participated in the Battle of the Phillipean Sea. In 1946 he had 26 wins and a 2.50 ERA). He ended up with 266 wins but it is pretty clear he's have had another 60 to 80 wins if not for WW2. With 60 wins he'd have ended with 326 wins. Dang! I stopped listening to Jim Rome when he started to refer to Feller as a "bitter-men" when he complained about the current state of baseball. Jim Rome, Bob Feller earned it.
Gibby passed away in 2020, Feller in 2010. I guess I made the assumption I thought the discussion was living people. Koufax is 88.
Sorry. I noted your comment on "living" but thought Kofax was dead. To be fair, he probably thinks I am dead too.
And on top of that, he missed almost two full seasons early in his career when the Giants were playing in New York due to serving in the military.
Just as an FYI, Aparacio is the oldest living HOFer at 90, Koufax next at 88, and then Maz at 87.
Yeah, agree, injuries cut his career short as he was forced to retire at the age of 31 .... not even getting to his prime years. But his stretch from 1961 to 1966 was probably the most dominate run in MLB history. Koufax and Drysdale basically had to win low-scoring games as Dodgers as they received very little offensive support back then
Aparicio and Nellie Fox - both in the HOF - combined to form one of the all-time great shortstop-2nd base combos for the White Sox (late 50s and 60s) in MLB history. Defensively, it was extremely hard to get anything past those two
Watch Joe Morgan's HOF speech. He gives endless credit to Nellie Fox for making him the 2B he was. PA boy from St Thomas outside Chambersburg. They still have a big sign on Rt 30 probably many here know about. Home of Nellie Fox. I wish I could have seen him play but the guys I grew up watching I wouldn't trade either.
This man doesn't qualify for your criteria but I thought you might enjoy it anyway. Amazing life....
