Mays hit .313/.381/.583 with 34 home runs, 43 doubles, 125 runs, 104 RBIs, a league-best 27 steals, won another Gold Glove (he'd win 12 in . [119] According to Mays, he had been unsure if he would even play because of food poisoning. [164][165] In 141 games, Mays hit .263 with 83 runs scored, 128 hits, and 22 home runs. He ended his career with a return to New York after a mid-season trade to the New York Mets in 1972, retiring after the team's trip to the 1973 World Series. [168] He injured his knee in a collision with catcher Randy Hundley on July29, forcing him to miss several games. [42] He had no hits in his first 12 at bats in the major leagues, but in his 13th on May28, he hit a home run off Warren Spahn over the left-field roof of the Polo Grounds. [254] David Schoenfield of ESPN, James, and Barra each think he should have won the NL MVP Award at least seven times. Then I found out there wasn't. Willie Mays appeared as himself in the animated feature Willie Mays and the Say-Hey Kid, which was broadcast in 1972-1973 as part of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie show. However, the report did not find Mays guilty of any wrongdoing. [153] He batted .317, leading the NL in on-base percentage (.400) and slugging percentage (.645). [183][184] Subsequently, Mays led the league in on-base percentage (.425) for only the second time, though his 123 strikeouts were a career-high. Willie Mays is turning 90, and no mistaking that number. "[108][215] He scored the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning of the first All-Star Game of 1961 on a Clemente single in a 54 win for the NL. The Giants again won the pennant and in the World Series, faced the Cleveland Indians - winners of an AL-record 111 games. WILLIE MAYS Autographs are WAY Undervalued Right Now! Willie Howard Mays, Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "The Say Hey Kid", is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder who spent almost all of his 22-season career playing for the New York/San Francisco Giants, before finishing with the New York Mets. Snoop Dogg is first cousins with a professional wrestler, Sasha Banks. [301] "Centerfield" by John Fogerty, which is often played at major and minor league stadiums, mentions Mays, Cobb, and DiMaggio. In 1955 he made a run at the Triple Crown, leading the league with 51 home runs and finishing second in batting and RBI. [186], Mays got off to a tortuous start to the 1972 season, batting .184 through his first 19 games. Mays won the first of 12 consecutive Gold Gloves for his play in center field. [194] In his Mets debut against the Giants on May14, Mays put New York ahead to stay with a fifth-inning home run, receiving ecstatic applause from the fans at Shea Stadium. [316] However, James S. Hirsch wrote in The New York Times in 2021 on the occasion of his 90th birthday that his vision was merely "compromised" by glaucoma and that he was still able to watch games on television with difficulty. [76] Sometimes he would deliberately slip to the ground for catches to make them look tougher than they really were. He held the NL record for career home runs from 1966 until Henry Aaron passed him during the 1972 season, during which time he became the second player and the first right-handed hitter to hit 600 home runs. [187] The Giants organization was having financial troubles, and Mays had to settle for a two-year, $330,000 contract. Most of his earnings come from him being a famous baseball player who has contributed his life for his team named the New York Giants. [48][250] Mays's 24 appearances on an All-Star Game roster are tied with Musial for second all-time, behind only Aaron's 25. In the 1970's, Mays was good friends with Gambino Crime Family caporegime Greg DePalma, often playing golf with him. [147][148], Mays won his fourth and final NL Player of the Month award in August 1965 (.363, 17home runs, 29RBI). "I do not recall hearing another ovation given a man after the pitcher has started to work on him," Mays biographer Arnold Hano wrote. "I started thinking home run every time I got up," Mays explained the slump. [27] The Boston Braves and the Brooklyn Dodgers both scouted him, but New York Giants scout Eddie Montague was the one who signed him to a $4,000 contract. [81][84] Leading the league with a .659 slugging percentage, Mays batted .319 as the Giants finished in third. I figured there had to be a relay. [161][162] On June7, Gary Nolan of the Cincinnati Reds struck him out four times; this was the first time in his career this had happened, though the Giants still won the game 43. [280] The Giants retired Mays's number 24 in May 1972. [249] He is baseball's all-time leader in outfield putouts (7,095), and he played 2,842 games as an outfielder, a total exceeded only by Cobb (2,934) and Barry Bonds (2,874). "The Catch transcended baseball" Barra wrote, and Larry Schwartz of ESPN said of all the catches that Mays made, "it is regarded as his greatest". In the game against the Phillies, Mays reached second base on an error, stole third, and scored the winning run on a Hank Sauer single, all on plays close enough that he had to slide to make each one. When Joe McDonald became the Mets' General Manager in 1975, he threatened to fire Mays for this. [66][67] Mays was selected for the NL All-Star team; he would be part of 24 straight NL All-Star teams over 20 seasons. [231] His signature play was his "basket catch," the technique that displayed Mayss stylistic flash as opposed to the pure raw skill that was on display when he made "The Catch" in the 1954 World Series. The date of birth of Willie Mays is 6-may-31. [48][74], The Giants won the NL pennant and the 1954 World Series, sweeping the Cleveland Indians in four games. He was the runner-up for the MVP in 1958 after hitting a career-high .347, and again in 1962 after leading the Giants to another World Series with 49 home runs and 141 RBI. Sportswriters have argued about whether the technique made him a better fielder or just made him more exciting to watch, but the basket catch did not prevent Mays from setting a record with 7,095 outfield putouts. <p>1970 Topps Carlos May Chicago White Sox #18 C26 Lee May Brothers Autograph. On his 90th birthday, it was announced that HBO is producing a documentary about Mays' life, and it's expected to. [80], Mays added base stealing to his talents, upping his total from eight in 1954 to 24 in 1955. What kind of numbers would Mays have put up there? Mays played in a sport measured by milestones 3,000 hits, 500 homers, signposts he. [129] On September30, Mays hit a game-winning home run in the Giants' final regularly scheduled game of the year, forcing the team into a tie for first place with the Los Angeles Dodgers. [269] Aaron wished Mays had spoken out more on racial issues. Mays missed about 266 games because of his military service. [90][91] He stole home in a 43 loss to the Cubs on May21. [109], After spending their first two years in San Francisco at Seals Stadium, the Giants moved into the new Candlestick Park in 1960. The Mets agreed to keep his salary at $165,000 a year for 1972 and 1973, promising to pay Mays $50,000 a year for 10 years after he retired. As recounted in San Francisco's draft report intended to shed light on the development and evolution of the city's African American communities and inform the future preservation of historic properties and other historic resources, the developer of the 3,200-square-foot . Mays' skills on the field made him popular off the field, too, especially with kids. He never drank, never smoked, watched his diet and rarely went clubbing. Kuhn was concerned about gambling infiltrating baseball, but Hirsch points out that Mays's role was merely as a greeter, he was not allowed to place bets at the casino as part of his contract, and the casino did not engage in sports betting. Many popular songs reference Mays. "[270], After Mays retired as a player, he remained in the New York Mets organization as their hitting instructor until the end of the 1979 season. I sacrificed a bad marriage and I sacrificed a good marriage. [47], The Giants met the New York Yankees and Mays's boyhood favorite DiMaggio in the 1951 World Series, which the Giants lost in six games. "[241] "If somebody came up and hit .450, stole 100 bases and performed a miracle in the field every day, Id still look you in the eye and say Willie was better," Durocher said. Willie's father was good-natured and spent a lot of time with his son Willie showing him the finer points of baseball. [106][107] In September 1959, the Giants led the NL pennant race by two games with only eight games to play, but a sweep by the Dodgers began a stretch of six losses in those final games, dooming them to a third-place finish. Rookie Status: Exceeded rookie limits during 1951 season Full Name: Willie Howard Mays Nicknames: Say Hey Kid. And the song ends this way: " (Say hey, say hey, say hey) ." Even Snider wasn't about to argue. [111], Defensively, Mays was one of the best outfielders of all time, as evidenced by his record 12 Gold Gloves as an outfielder. Mays is considered one the greatest players of all time for his acrobatic fielding, steady hitting, and impressive . [285] On July14, 2009, he accompanied Barack Obama to St. Louis aboard Air Force One for that year's All-Star Game. Mays became the third husband of Marghuerite Wendell Chapman (19262010) in 1956. [103][104][105] Against the Reds in August, Mays broke a finger but kept it a secret to prevent opposing pitchers from targeting it. Barra speculates this may have been because San Francisco fans were comparing Mays unfavorably with Joe DiMaggio, the most famous center fielder ever to come from San Francisco. On the basketball team, he led players at all-black high schools in Jefferson County in scoring. You can grow up to be what you want. Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn and Mays's lawyer intervened, and the Mets agreed to keep him, as long as he stayed at home games for at least four innings. [48][149] On September13, he hit his 500th career home run off Don Nottebart, becoming the fifth player to reach the mark. "[242][243] Don Zimmer remarked, "In the National League in the 1950s, there were two opposing players who stood out over all the othersStan Musial and Willie Mays. [125] Mays said in 1959 that he did not mind the booing, but he admitted in a 1961 article that the catcalls were bothering him. Mays had hits in three out of 10 at bats in the Dodger series but some San Francisco fans still booed him. "As soon as he hit it, I . [299] In 1972, Mays voiced himself in the animated fictional special Willie Mays and the Say-Hey Kid, produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. Willie passed away on month day 1988, at age 84 at death place. [28][29] Later that year, Mays joined the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League, managed by Piper Davis, a teammate of Mays' father on the industrial team. Mays told him that he didn't feel that he could hit big-league pitching. The day Pvt. Apr 13, 2020. The next batter, McCovey, hit a line drive that was caught by Bobby Richardson, and the Yankees won the deciding game 10. Willie Mays' House in Atherton, CA (Google Maps) Atherton, California (CA), US. [272] During his time with the Mets, Lee Mazzilli learned the basket catch from him. Willie Mays was born on May 6, 1931, in Fairfield, Alabama. [48] By the end of his career, Mays had won a Gold Glove Award 12 times, a record for outfielders today (shared by Roberto Clemente). [312][309] [48] He batted .271 and stole 23 bases. Teams of star players would travel from city to city playing exhibition games for local fans. Willie Mays was born in the middle of Silent Generation. [130][131] The Giants faced the Dodgers in a three-game playoff series. [21] Cat Mays worked as a railway porter and later at the steel mills in Westfield. What kind of memorabilia does Willie Mays have? [110] He found the stadium tricky to field but figured out how to play it as the season progressed. The Series, An Illustrated History of Baseball's Postseason Showcase, 19031993, Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 8 January 2023, at 18:17. In 1973, with two arthritic knees but a healed forearm, McCovey hit nearly as well as ever in 130 games, many of them as a pinch-hitter, he belted 29 home runs . [b] Sarah brought young Willie to an African Methodist Episcopal Church every Sunday. "The main thing I wanted to do was help Gaylord Perry win a game. [81] In the middle of May, Durocher asked him to try for more home runs. [222] Following his rookie year, Mays went on a barnstorming tour with an All-Star team assembled by Campanella, playing in Negro League stadiums around the southern United States. It has long been associated with fertility, rebirth, and love. He caught it in midair and had to kick his legs forward to keep his head from hitting the ballpark's fence, but he held on to the ball. Willie Mays Siblings. Everyone knows about the stickball games he played in the Harlem streets. I chose baseball, and I loved every minute of it. What is the net worth of Willie Mays? Ive always said that Willie Mays was the best player I ever saw. Shake the hand that shook the hand of P.T. [282][283], Mays has met with United States Presidents. [185] In Game3, Mays attempted an unsuccessful sacrifice bunt in a 11 tie in the sixth with no outs and Tito Fuentes on second base, a move that surprised reporters covering the game. "I thought I'd be crying by now," he told reporters and Mets' executives at a press conference that day, "but I see so many people here who are my friends, I can'tBaseball and me, we had what you might call a love affair. [173] Mays picked up his 3,000th hit against the Montreal Expos on July 18. Baseball's oldest living Hall of Famer, Willie Mays, will be the subject of a new HBO production expected to premiere next year. [261], Along with Mantle (of the Yankees) and Snider (of the Dodgers), Mays was part of a triumvirate of center fielders from the New York teams of the 1950s who would be elected to the Hall of Fame. 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