Simply put, Willie Mays was the greatest player in Major League Baseball history. Unfortunately last night he passed away at the age of 93.

Mays began his baseball career in 1948 in the Negro Leagues playing for the Birmingham Black Barons. At the age of 17 he hit .233 with six RBI in 43 at-bats. The New York Giants in 1950 signed him to a $4,000 contract the equivalent of a little over $52,000 today.

He played for Trenton in 1950 in what was known as the Interstate League. He played in 81 games, hit .353 with 20 doubles, eight triples, four home runs and 55 rbi, stolen seven bases, walked 42 times, struck out 34 times, and had an OBP of .438.

By the 1951 season, Mays was playing for the Giants Triple-A team, the Minneapolis Millers. Yet in May of that year he got called up to the big leagues. He won Rookie of the Year as he hit .274 with 20 home runs and 68 rbi along with 22 doubles, five triples, seven stolen bases, walked 57 times, struck out 60 times, and had an OBP of .356.

His second season was cut short after being drafted to the Army and did not play in 1953. After Mays’ military service was over, his career for the Giants then took off. In 1954, he won the batting title and Most Valuable Player Award with a .354 average, he hit 41 home runs and drove in 110, led the league in triples with 13, hit 33 doubles, stole eight bases, walked 66 times, struck out 57 times, and his OBP was .411. That year he also led the league with a slugging percentage of .667 and an OPS of 1.078.

In 1955, he led the National League in home runs with 51. From 1956 to 1959 he led the National League in stolen bases, the 1962, 1964, and 1965 once again saw him leading the National League in home runs, twice he led the league in runs scored, once in hits, three times in triples, once in walks, twice in on-base percentage, five times in slugging percentage, and five times in OPS.

Defensively Mays was stellar. One of his most iconic plays was in the 1954 World Series where he made a tremendous over-the-shoulder catch, and then fired the ball back in. He also said later that “it wasn’t no lucky catch.”

His teammate Willie McCovey had this to say about Mays “we were spoiled. He’d make plays that people would talk about for months. We saw those plays every day, so it was no big deal. Hitting four home runs in one game probably was the least of the spectacular things he did.”


Mays played till he was 42 years of age with his final season coming in 1973 with the New York Mets. He was a 24 time All-Star and 12 time Gold Glove Award winner, and a World Series ring.

Also, what is amazing about Mays is that The Sports News on January 17, 1970, named him the player of the decade for the 1960s. He won over Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax, Frank Robinson, and Roberto Clemente.

Does that not show how impressive a player Mays was? He ended his career with a .301 average, 660 home runs and 1,909 RBI, 3,293 hits, 525 doubles, 141 triples, 339 stolen bases, 1,468 walks, struck out 1,526 times, his OBP was .384, his slugging percentage .557, and a OPS of .940.

Once Mays retired he got hired as a good-will ambassador by the Giants. He mentored his godson, Barry Bonds.

Almost a decade ago, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presdential Medal of Freedom.

Here is a look at the reaction around MLB to the announcement of Mays’ passing.

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