Willie Mays San Francisco Giants
Career: We all know the Willie Mays legacy. Here is a look at the summary from Baseball-Reference's Wiki page:
Notable Achievements...
- 1951 NL Rookie of the Year Award
- 20-time NL All-Star (1954-1973)
- 2-time NL MVP (1954 & 1965)
- 1963 All-Star Game MVP
- 1968 All-Star Game MVP
- 12-time Gold Glove Winner (1957/ML-CF, 1958-1960/NL-CF & 1961-1968/NL-OF)
- NL Batting Average Leader (1954)
- 2-time NL On-Base Percentage Leader (1965 & 1971)
- 5-time NL Slugging Percentage Leader (1954, 1955, 1957, 1964 & 1965)
- 5-time NL OPS Leader (1954, 1955, 1958, 1964 & 1965)
- 2-time NL Runs Scored Leader (1958-1961)
- NL Hits Leader (1960)
- 3-time NL Total Bases Leader (1955, 1962 & 1965)
- 3-time NL Triples Leader (1954, 1955 & 1957)
- 4-time NL Home Runs Leader (1955, 1962, 1964 & 1965)
- NL Bases on Balls Leader (1971)
- 4-time NL Stolen Bases Leader (1956-1959)
- 20-Home Run Seasons: 17 (1951, 1954-1968 & 1970)
- 30-Home Run Seasons: 11 (1954-1957, 1959 & 1961-1966)
- 40-Home Run Seasons: 6 (1954, 1955, 1961, 1962, 1964 & 1965)
- 50-Home Run Seasons: 2 (1955 & 1965)
- 100 RBI Seasons: 10 (1954, 1955 & 1959-1966)
- 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 12 (1954-1965)
- 200 Hits Seasons: 1 (1958)
- Won a World Series with the New York Giants in 1954
- Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1979
In 1960: Mays led the NL with 190 hits, had 29 homers (slightly below his peak seasons average), drove in 103, hit .319, won a Gold Glove, finished third in the MVP race.
Off The Charts: Mays has a new book out this spring. In it, he discusses how close he was to signing with the Boston Red Sox when he was playing for the Birmingham Black Barons in 1950. The Sox' scout had a deal in place but was overruled by their front office. Mays in Center, Ted Williams in Left. Hmmmm.
Wow. Red Sox fans probably are better off not knowing this piece of trivia. Beautiful card. Your post inspired me to created another saved eBay search. Now the waiting game begins.
ReplyDelete>>>Red Sox fans probably are better off not knowing this piece of trivia. <<<
DeleteEspecially given that it's not hard to guess WHY the Red Sox didn't sign him, given that they didn't end up having an African-American player until 1959.
Yeah. I think I remember reading about the Red Sox being the last team to integrate.
DeleteI always heard it was the Boston Braves. I remember because people would speculate on an outfield of Mays AND Aaron.
ReplyDeleteI always heard it was the Boston Braves. I remember because people would speculate on an outfield of Mays AND Aaron.
ReplyDelete