Baseball Legends: Willie Mays
When talking about true baseball legends from the past, there is one name that is always mentioned with the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio that is the great Willie Mays.
Mays was recently ranked as the second in the 100 greatest baseball players of all time by Sporting News back in 1999. Mays had a tremendous career which spanned 22 years in the sport.
He was very gifted from early on in his childhood. His father played for baseball during the segregated south and was very influential in making his son into one of the finest baseball players ever. It was said that Mays’ father tried to get him to learn
how to catch before he could even stand and walk.
Willie started his journey with Birmingham Black Barons in 1948, but just after two years, the day he graduated, he was hired by New York Giants. Willie was just 20 years old when he appeared in his first game for New York Giants against Philadelphia Phillies
at shine Park on May 25, 1951. Though Mays could not make a mark in this match yet New Yorkers won this match.
Mays, was hitless in his first 12 games until he opened his hitting career with a homer that blasted over the roof. Willie took another 13 at-bats to score his second Major League hitting of the season. But this time he was confident enough to hit another
19 home-runs in the same season. This performance made him the important player of the team.
In 1951 everyone was surprised to see the right-handed batter in the list of Rookie of the Year player list. The .274 average with 68 RBI and only 20 home-runs in 121 games was the lowest of his career still he managed to win the Rookie of the Year Award
in 1951.
Willie also served in the Army for nearly two years in 1952-54. The Giants were unable to win the pennant during his two year absence. After his return in Giants in 1954, New York started their winning track. He was a tremendous player with immense talent.
While he was in the army, the team suffered until his return to baseball.
In 1957 the Giants moved to San Francisco to become the San Francisco Giants. In 1961 Mays become the captain of the Giants. He had a brilliant season as Mays became the only player to have four home-runs and a three-triple game.
In his 22 years professional life from 1951 to 1973, Mays put many records on the table. He managed to score 660 home-runs with a .302 average and also made 1,903 RBIs. He also holds the record of scoring more than 100 runs in eight consecutive years.
Mays won the Gold Glove Award 12 times during his illustrious career. He was also in the nominations of the Most Valued Players in 1954 (won) and 1965. Willie Mays was the second player in the history of baseball to appear 24 times in the All-Star Game.
He has been named second in the Sporting News’ all time greatest players of the baseball and was also a part of the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.
He is true legend of baseball and the only player to hit a home-run in every inning from the first to the 16th.
Willie Mays retired from baseball on September 9, 1973 in his last game with New York Mets. He is a true icon and legend for the sport of baseball.
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