BY MARK HALPERN
The entire sports world shared a moment of sadness when it was announced that Willie Mays has passed away at the age of 93. Mays was born in Westville, Alabama on May 6th, 1931. Cat Mays, his father was a good ball player for the local Iron plant, and his Mother Annie Satterwhite who was also a very gifted Athlete and played Basketball and ran track. By the time Mays was three he was out with his dad practicing at the Iron Mill field (that his father played on) attended all games and was learning to play at the young age of three. Willie Mays got to see legends such as Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, and Stan Musial to name a few. From a young age Willie was destined to be a ball player. However, none of them left more of an impression on him than Jackie Robinson. He once said, “It was like watching perfection at its finest.” Mays like most great athletes was a multi-star letterman in high school and graduated in 1950.
Willie did not attend college instead, right out of high school he was thrust into the Negro leagues for the Chattanooga Choo-Choos, he later went on to play for the Birmingham Black Barons where in 1948 he helped the team to the Negro World Series where the Barons lost 4-1. However, Mays’s season might have been over but, his vault to the MLB was imminent.
Mays was recruited by the New York Giants in 1950 and made a huge impact in the minors that saw him vault right up the ladder to Triple AAA. In 1951 manager Leo Durocher was insistent on having Mays up in the Majors even though Mays didn’t think he was ready to face big league pitchers however, Durocher wasn’t going to wait any longer and Mays made his official debut for the Giants on May 24th, 1951 and at some point during the early part his famous nickname the “Say Hey Kid.” Playing at the Polo Grounds (Giants Ball Park) had a ton of advantages as well as disadvantages. An example of this was that the center field wall was just under 475 feet away from home plate. Mays struggled in his first 12 at bats but, found his stride on May 28th 1951 for his first of his 660 home runs. Mays was a superstar and helped lead the Giants to the 1954 World Series against the Cleveland Indians. In game one of the 1954 World Series against the Cleveland Indians third baseman Vic Wertz hit a monster of a shot to center field and it had all the appearances of going over Mays’s head and would be an easy triple or even an inside the park home run but, Mays took off with all his speed and caught the ball from over his head about 25 feet before the center field wall. After the Catch he immediately got up and got the ball back into the infield to prevent multiple scores. I asked my mom about this and her reply was “Well, I was with your grandfather the game in the right field stands. The moment the ball was hit your grandfather told me he was going to catch it. He turned to me and explained that I (meaning my mom) just saw the best play ever in Baseball.”
Willie Mays during his career with the Giants and Mets had 3,293 hits, amassed 660 home runs, and led the league (1955, 1962,1964, and 1965) to also go along with a lifetime batting average of .301. Mays didn’t always do things with his bat, he contributed 339 stolen bases. Willie was one of three players ever to have 660 homers or more and over 300 stolen bases along with his godson Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez. Mays is also one of four players with 600 homers and 3,000 hits along with Rodriguez, Hank Aaron and Albert Pujols. During his illustrious career, he won the honors of being selected to 24 All-Star games and won the MVP award in 1954 and 1965. One thing Mays said he wanted to win a Triple Crown (lead the league in all offensive categories) and he got close but missed by a few runs. Willie Mays Stayed with the Mets organization as the hitting instructor of the team until 1978 and in 1979 he was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1999 MLB posted its top 100 players and Mays finished second to none other than Babe Ruth. Mays was all about kids enjoying the sport and has a huge foundation that supports inner-city kids and several scholarships in many different colleges around the country.
There is no question that Mays made one of the biggest impacts on baseball (not saying people before him weren’t) just like the greats before him such as Robinson, Paige, Buck O’Neal, Monte Irvin, and many many more. I have seen some of the greats play during my time and I only wish I could have seen him play a game during his time and not just video clips. Saying goodbye to one of the most influential Ball Players to ever step on a field but may he walk into the Cornfield and join all his friends. Good Bye Willie Mays you will be sorely missed and were a true legend and icon of the game of baseball.
The Sports Insanity Network 