Meet Willie Mays

WILLIE MAYS

"Say Hey Kid"

Positions: Center Fielder

Full Name: Willie Howard Mays, Jr.

Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Born: May 06, 1931 in Westfield, Alabama, USA

Organizations: New York / San Francisco Giants (21), New York Mets (2)

WILLIE MAYS' WALL OF GLORY

HONORS AND AWARDS

• Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1979, by BBWAA with 94.7%
• All Star: 24 (1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959-1, 1959-2, 1960-1, 1960-2, 1961-1, 1961-2, 1962-1, 1962-2, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973)
• Gold Gloves: 12 (1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968)
• MVP: 2 (1954, 1965)
• All-Star MVP: 2 (1963, 1968)
• Rookie of the Year: 1 (1951)
• World Series Rings: 1 (1954)

BATTING

• AVG Leader: 1 (1954)
• HR Leader: 4 (1955, 1962, 1964, 1965)
• SB Leader: 4 (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959)
• OBP Leader: 2 (1965, 1971)
• SLG Leader: 5 (1954, 1955, 1957, 1964, 1965)
• OPS Leader: 5 (1954, 1955, 1958, 1964, 1965)
• BB Leader: 1 (1971)
• Runs Leader: 2 (1958, 1961)
• Hits Leader: 1 (1960)
• Triples Leader: 3 (1954, 1955, 1957)

FIELDING

• Def. Games as CF: 2 (1961, 1962)
• PO as CF: 2 (1955, 1962)
• Assists as CF: 3 (1955, 1956, 1960) 
• Double Plays Turned as CF: 5 (1954, 1955, 19561964, 1965)
• Def. Games as OF: 1 (1962)
• PO as OF: 1 (1962)
• Assists as OF: 1 (1955)
• Double Plays Turned as OF: 4 (1954, 1955, 1956, 1965)

WHO?

The "Say Hey Kid" is an American former baseball player. He is regarded as one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Willie Mays was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979. 

After playing in the Negro Leagues with the Birmingham Black Barons Willie Mays was signed with the New York Giants and debuted in 1951. In 1972 the Say Hey Kid was sent to the New York Mets, and retired after the next season (1973). Mays won 2 NL MVP Awards, ended his career with 660 HR (third at the time of his retirement), won a record of 12 Gold Glove Award (consecutives), and shares the record of 24 selections to All-Star Games (shared with Hank Aaron and Stan Musial). He may be considered the finest five-tool player ever. 

In the Game 1 of the 1951 World Series (Giants - Yankees) Willie Mays, Hank Thompson and Monte Irving comprised the first all-African-American outfield in MLB history. Mays was drafted by the US Army during the Korean War, missed most of the 1952 season and all of the 1953 season. In 1956 the Say Hey Kid became the first player in NL to join the "30-30 club" (36 HR and 40 SB). In 1961 Mays was named Captain of the Giants. The most part of the seasons he played ended in the top ten of a variety of categories. 

Willie Mays retired after the 1973 season, ending with .302 AVG, 660 HR, 1903 RBI, 338 SB and 3,283 Hits. His career OF putouts (7095) remains the MLB record. The Say Hey Kid was enshrined in 1979, on his first ballot.  

MY COMMENT:

When people talk about who could be the best all-around player in MLB history, "Willie Mays" is a name that can be heard. Always. He is easily a top-5...and possibly the number one.

Mays could well be the archetype of the 5-tool player: He could bat for high average (1954 NL batting title: .345), bat with great power (17 seasons with 20 HR, 11 seasons with 30 HR, 6 seasons with 40 HR, and 2 seasons with 50 HR), run and steal bases (3 times leader in triples, and 4 times in SB), was a terrific fielder (12 Golden Glove Awards), and had an arm that everybody respected (7th place in career assists, 3rd place in double plays, both as CF).

The Say Hey Kid performed one of the most iconic plays in the World Series history: The Catch: an over-the-shoulder running grab by Mays in deep center field of a long drive bated by Vic Werts (1954 World Series, Game 1).

In 2017 (the 63rd anniversary of The Catch) the World Series Most Valuable Player Award was renamed as "The Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player Award".

By the way, Willie Mays happened to be the godfather of Barry Bond, son of his friend and teammate Bobby Bond. 

Check Mays stats. That kind of player are very difficult to see nowadays.

BEST FIVE SEASONS

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1955	24	NYG	NL	152	580	123	185	18	13	51	127	24	79	60	.319	.400	.659	1.059	*8
1957	26	NYG	NL	152	585	112	195	26	20	35	97	38	76	62	.333	.407	.626	1.033	*8
1958	27	SFG	NL	152	600	121	208	33	11	29	96	31	78	56	.347	.419	.583	1.002	*8
1961	30	SFG	NL	154	572	129	176	32	3	40	123	18	81	77	.308	.393	.584	.977	*8
1962	31	SFG	NL	162	621	130	189	36	5	49	141	18	78	85	.304	.384	.615	.999	*8

Note: If you are using a cell phone to look at this table, put it horizontally for a better experience

What do you think? is he the best player IN MLB history? If not, who is? Share your thoughts!