Willie Mays

Did You Know?

• Mays was born in Westfield, Alabama, a primarily black company town near Fairfield.
• His father, Cat Mays, was a talented baseball player with the black team at the local iron plant.

Professional career

Mays's professional baseball career began in 1948 when he played briefly during the summer with the Chattanooga Choo-Choos, a Negro minor league team. Later that year, he joined the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League, where he was known as "Buck." The Black Barons were managed by Piper Davis, a teammate of Mays's father on an industrial team. When Fairfield Industrial principal E. T. Oliver threatened to suspend Mays for playing professional ball, Davis and Mays's father worked out an agreement: Mays would only play home games for the Black Barons, and in return he could still play high school football.

Mays helped Birmingham advance to the 1948 Negro World Series, which they lost 4–1 to the Homestead Grays. He hit .262 for the season and stood out for his excellent fielding and base running. Several teams were interested in signing Mays, but they had to wait until he graduated from high school. The Boston Braves and Brooklyn Dodgers scouted him, but New York Giants scout Eddie Montague signed him to a $4,000 contract.

The Giants initially planned to send Mays to the Sioux City Soos of the Class A Western League, but the Sioux City franchise refused to integrate its roster. Instead, he was assigned to the Class B Trenton Giants, where he became the first African American player in the Inter-State League. Playing in Trenton, Mays batted .353 with 20 doubles, eight triples, four home runs and 55 RBI in 81 games. In 1951, he was promoted to the Triple-A Minneapolis Millers of the American Association, where he batted .477 with 18 doubles, eight home runs and 30 RBI in 35 games.

Playing excellent defense, Mays was called up by the Giants on May 24, 1951. Initially, Mays was reluctant to accept the promotion because he did not believe he was ready to face major league pitchers. Stunned, Giants manager Leo Durocher called Mays directly and said, "Quit costing the ball club money with long-distance phone calls and join the team." It was also around this time that Mays was given his famous moniker: "The Say Hey Kid."

Player profile

Willie Mays borrowed from his childhood idol Joe DiMaggio when setting up at the plate. He stood with his feet wide apart, weight balanced evenly, and held the bat high. As he waited for a pitch, his right thumb stuck up in the air, but he wrapped it around the bat the moment he swung. Mays believed that late grip change added extra power.

He also avoided any unnecessary movement, focusing his energy by opening his hips into the swing. Branch Rickey once said that if a machine could measure every swing, it would show that Mays generated more power and bat speed on each pitch than any other player. Mays kept his plate routine simple: he did not rub dirt on his hands or wander around the batter’s box like many hitters did. He was naturally a pull hitter, but in 1954 he tried to hit more to right and center field at his manager’s request, hoping to raise his batting average.

That change did not last. After the Giants moved to Candlestick Park, Mays found that pulling the ball worked best at home, while hitting to right and center was more effective on the road, so he adjusted his approach depending on the ballpark.

In the field, Mays was among the greatest outfielders ever, winning a record 12 Gold Gloves. His most famous defensive trademark was the basket catch, a flashy move where he held his glove at belly level with his palm facing up, letting the ball drop in. Sportswriters have debated whether this style actually made him a better fielder or simply more entertaining, but it did not hurt his performance: he set a record with 7,095 putouts in the outfield.

Leonard Koppett noted that Mays had limitless range and such a strong arm that he could make effective throws from awkward positions and angles. That range let him play a shallow center field, cutting off shallow singles, while still being able to race back and prevent extra-base hits from sailing over his head. His signature moment of raw skill came with “The Catch” in the 1954 World Series, but the basket catch remained his everyday calling card.

Assessment and legacy

On January 23, 1979, Willie Mays was voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame during his first year of eligibility. He received 409 votes out of 432 cast, or 94.68 percent. Dick Young, a columnist for the New York Daily News, commented on the 23 voters who left Mays off their ballots by saying that even if Jesus Christ showed up with his old glove, some people still would not vote for him, pointing out that Christ dropped the cross three times. Mays gave a speech at his induction. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked Mays second on its list of the 100 greatest baseball players, behind only Babe Ruth. That same year, fans voted him onto the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 2020, The Athletic placed Mays first on its "Baseball 100" list, created by writer Joe Posnanski. In 2022, MLB.com writers selected Mays as the greatest player in the history of the Giants franchise.

Other players and coaches recognized his abilities. Roberto Clemente stated that Mays was the greatest player ever. Willie Stargell found out just how strong Mays's arm was when the center fielder threw him out during a 1965 game. Stargell said he could not believe Mays could throw that far, thinking there must have been a relay, but there was not, and he called Mays too good for this world.

Leo Durocher said that even if someone batted .450, stole 100 bases, and performed a miracle in the field every day, he would still say Willie was better. Bill Rigney called Mays the greatest player he ever saw, without exception. Duke Snider, who finished second in Hall of Fame voting in 1979, said Mays deserved to be inducted alone. Don Zimmer noted that in the National League during the 1950s, two opposing players stood out: Stan Musial and Willie Mays.

Zimmer said Mays was the best player he ever saw and could have been an All-Star at any position. Teammate Felipe Alou said Mays was number one without a doubt, and that anyone who played with or against him would agree. Al Rosen recalled feeling that he was playing against someone who would become the greatest of all time.

Post-playing career

After retiring as a player, Willie Mays stayed with the New York Mets as their hitting instructor through the 1979 season. During this time, he frequently missed appointments and was often absent from games. In 1975, Joe McDonald took over as the Mets' general manager, and early the next year, he ended Mays's 10-year contract, arguing that the agreement was too vague. Mays still had six years left on the deal, worth $50,000 annually, but his duties had caused tension and nearly led to a lawsuit.

Annoyed by the decision, Mays hired a lawyer and asked Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn to step in. After Kuhn and Mays's lawyer reviewed the situation, the Mets agreed to keep him on the condition that he stay at home games for at least four innings. While with the Mets, Lee Mazzilli picked up the basket catch from Mays. In October 1979, Mays took a job at Bally's Park Place casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, working as a special assistant to the casino's president and as a greeter.

Kuhn told Mays he could not be involved with both baseball and a casino, so Mays ended his Mets contract and was banned from the sport. Kuhn feared gambling could infiltrate baseball, but author Hirsch notes that Mays only greeted guests, was not allowed to place bets under his contract, and the casino did not handle sports betting. In 1985, less than a year after replacing Kuhn, Commissioner Peter Ueberroth allowed Mays to return to baseball. At a press conference alongside Mays and Mickey Mantle, who was also reinstated from a similar ban, Ueberroth said, "I am bringing back two players who are more a part of baseball than perhaps anyone else."

In 1986, Mays became a special assistant to the president and general manager of the San Francisco Giants. He signed a lifetime contract with the team in 1993 and helped build public support for constructing Pac Bell Park, which opened in 2000. Mays founded the Say Hey Foundation, a charity that supports youth baseball. The Giants retired his number 24 in May 1972.

Their stadium, Oracle Park, is located at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, with a nine-foot-tall statue of Mays at the main entrance. He also had a private box at the stadium. In 2008, when the Giants created a Wall of Fame for their greatest players, Mays was part of the inaugural class.