MLB: Top Ten players of all-time – Part 2
Willie Mays is regarded as the best all-around baseball player of all-time and his long-list of top honours depicts as to why. The right-handed sensation made his Major League debut on May 25, 1951 for the New York Giants after impressing earlier in the
Negro and Minor Leagues. He spent most of his career with New York and San Francisco Giants before ending his career with the New York Mets in October, 1973.
During his illustrious career, Mays, nicknamed “The Say Hey Kid”, won 24 selections to the All-Star roster. He was a regular feature in the star roster from 1954 to 1973. Two of these games, in 1963 and 1968, saw him being voted All-Star Game’s Most Valuable
Player. He was voted National League’s MVP in 1954 and 1965.
Mays was an excellent team player. He dictated terms on the plate and was a dependable outfielder. Willie made a strong statement early in his career when he won Rookie of the Year Award in 1951. He polished his talent and went on to become one of the greatest
outfielders ever to play baseball.
The right-handed player won his first Gold Glove Award for excellence in the field in 1957 and he continued to dominate the top honours thereon with 12 consecutive Gold Glove wins till 1968. To Mays’ credit, he did not let his batting form slip in the process
and produced home-runs at will.
Mays’ batting record is scintillating, to say the least. He amassed 2062 runs during his distinguished career, 660 of which came as home-runs. His career-runs are ranked the seventh-most in MLB history while his tally of home-runs is the fourth-highest in
the all-time list.
Mays was elected to Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility with 94.7% votes. He is a member of the 28 elite-players who have crossed 3000 career-hits. He continues to be an inspirational figure for the youth, who still recognise his worth as
a true gentleman on and off the field.
Tyrus Raymond Cobb, commonly known as Ty Cobb, was one of the best outfielders to ever play baseball. He made his Major League debut for the Detroit Tigers on August 30, 1905 and stayed loyal to the team for 22 seasons before opting to the Philadelphia Athletics
where he ended his career on September 11, 1928.
Cobb became the youngest player to debut in the Majors but his performance did not reflect his age. His batting and defensive abilities were inborn and the Tigers were quick to offer him a lucrative contract so as to bind him to the outfit. It took him only
two years to officially register himself as the best batter in MLB when he ended the 1907 season with a batting average of .350 and 119 RBIs against his name.
Ty was always inventive in his approach and once said, “I often tried plays that looked recklessly daring, maybe even silly. But I never tried anything foolish when a game was at stake, only when we were far ahead or far behind. I did it to study how the
other team reacted, filing away in my mind any observations for future use.”
Cobb became a manager-c*m-player for the Tigers starting 1921 and was not as successful as he was expected to be.
Continued in Part 3
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