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A Birthday Tribute To Willie Mays As He Turns 90!

“What can I say about Willie Mays after I say he’s the greatest player any of us has ever seen?” –Leo Durocher, who spent over 50 years in baseball

We certainly can’t let the day go by without a tribute to the great Willie Mays on the occasion of his 90th birthday. So here are a few words about Willie’s career and also about him as a man edited from some of my previous essays about him:

The superlatives seem to come easily in any discussion of Willie Mays, arguably the greatest center fielder of all time. Few players in the history of the game have combined the grace, athleticism, intelligence, and accomplishments of Willie Mays. The “Say-Hey Kid” was unique, combining all of baseball’s key offensive and defensive skills into the quintessential five-tool player, with four pennants and a World Series championship on his resume.

On top of all that, he combined an infectious glee with a boyish enthusiasm that lifted the spirits of all around him. Cap-flying, wall crashing, legs churning, Willie Mays is one of the most beloved figures in the history of the game. 

WILLIE’S GREAT CAREER

Over his 22 years in the majors (1951-1973), he hit .302 with 3,283 hits (11th all-time), 1903 RBI’s, 660 home runs (fourth all-time), a .557 slugging percentage, a lifetime .384 on-base percentage, and 338 stolen bases. Willie hit over 35 homers in 10 seasons, hit 40 homers six times, and won five slugging crowns. He’s one of the few players with 300 steals and 500 home runs. His defensive skills won him 12 Gold Gloves (the award wasn’t even started until he was six years into his career).

Willie Mays is one of only five National League players to have had eight consecutive 100 RBI seasons. In addition, he won four stolen base and three triples titles, six top-three finishes in National League batting races, and he played in a whopping 24 All-Star games, tied for the most ever. He won two MVP Awards and was a two-time All-Star game MVP. His lifetime total of 7,095 outfield putouts remains the major league record. 

Willie Howard Mays was so athletically advanced by age 14 that he was competing with the men on his father’s steel mill team. He played semipro ball at age 16 and was on the Birmingham Black Barons by 1947. He was one of the last players – and likely the best – to come from the Negro Leagues. In 1950, the Giants signed him and sent him to the minors. In 1951 he was batting .477 with the Minneapolis Millers when he got the call to go up to the Giants…thanks to Leo Durocher.

LEO AND WILLIE

Durocher, the Giants’ irascible manager, demanded Mays be promoted after the Giants’ 6-20 start in 1951. Probably Durocher’s most lasting contribution to baseball was acting as a mentor and “father-figure” to a frightened and home-sick Willie Mays.  I always love to think about the wonderful scene in the Giants’ clubhouse after rookie Willie Mays got off to his disastrous 0-12 start (which eventually extended to 1-26). Giants’ coach Freddie Fitzsimmons saw Willie sitting alone in front of his locker crying. “Leo,” Franks said, “I think you better have a talk with your boy over there.”

What would have become of Willie Mays if Leo wasn’t there to console him at this crucial time? I still get goose-bumps whenever I think about it. Leo went over to Willie and asked him, “What’s the matter, son?” Willie turned to his manager and with tears streaming down his cheeks, replied:

“I don’t belong up here…I can’t play here…I can’t help you Missa’ Leo. Send me back to the minors.”

“You’re the best center fielder I’ve ever seen…”

Leo smiled, patted Willie on the back, and simply said: “Look son, I brought you up here to do one thing. That’s to play center field. You’re the best center fielder I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been around a long time.  As long as I’m here, you’re going to play center field. Tomorrow, next week, next month. As long as Leo Durocher is manager of this team you will be on this club because you’re the best ballplayer I’ve ever seen.”

The rest, as they say, is history. On his 13th at-bat, Willie hit a homer over the left-field fence off Warren Spahn who later joked, “I’ll never forgive myself. We might have gotten rid of Willie forever if I’d only struck him out.”

WAS WILLIE THE GREATEST EVER?

When Willie retired, he held all-time records for games, putouts, and chances for center fielders. His career statistics and longevity in the pre-PED era have led to a growing opinion that Mays was possibly the greatest all-around baseball player in the history of the game. In 1970, the Sporting News named Willie as the 1960s “Player of the Decade.” He placed second on The Sporting News’s “List of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players.” He was a near-unanimous selection to the Hall of Fame in 1979. His number 24 has been retired by the Giants.

Happy birthday Willie…may you have many more. Those of us old enough to have seen you play are forever grateful!

-Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: The Walter Iooss, Jr. Collection; “The Greats of the Game;” Baseball Hall of Fame Collection; The George Brace Baseball Photos Collection, The Leslie Jones Collection, Public domain.

Biographical Information: Edited from “The Greats of the Game”; “Cooperstown: Baseball Hall of Fame Collection;” “Nice Guys Finish Last,” by Leo Durocher, and the Willie Mays Wikipedia page. Stats from Baseball-Reference.com