Willie Mays

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Mays was an all-around athlete raised by his father, Cat Mays, and two aunts after his parents separated. His father exposed him to baseball early, playing catch with him at age five. Before joining the Giants, Mays played for the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948, helping them reach the Negro World Series while hitting .262. He signed a $4,000 contract with the New York Giants after being scouted by Eddie Montague. In his first Major League game on May 25, 1951, against the Philadelphia Phillies, he went hitless in his first 12 at-bats but hit a home run off Warren Spahn on his 13th at-bat on May 28. Manager Leo Durocher initially dropped him to eighth in the batting order after a slow start, but Mays responded with four hits over two games and finished the season with a .274 average, 68 RBIs, and 20 home runs. During the 1951 pennant race, when the Giants trailed the Dodgers by 13.5 games, they went 37–12 in the final 49 games to tie for first place.

In Their Own Story

The most famous play of Mays' career occurred in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series against the New York Yankees. In an over-the-shoulder catch, he chased a deep fly ball at the Polo Grounds, turned, and snared it with one hand, preventing what would have been a significant hit. This play is considered one of the most famous baseball plays of all time. The Giants went on to win their last World Series title before moving to the West Coast. In 1962, Mays led the Giants back to the World Series, though they lost to the Yankees. His defensive brilliance was unmatched; he won 12 consecutive Gold Glove Awards starting in 1957, a record for outfielders. He also led National League center fielders in double plays five times and assists three times. After retiring as a player following the 1973 World Series run with the Mets, he served as a coach for them before rejoining the Giants as a special assistant to the president and general manager.

Reader's Guide

Mays finished his career with a .301 batting average and was an All-Star 24 times. He led the National League in home runs four times and slugging percentage five times, while batting over .300 and posting 100 RBIs ten times each. A pioneer of speed as an offensive weapon in the 1950s, he led the league in stolen bases four times, triples three times, and runs twice, totaling 179 steals that decade. He was the first National League player to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season and the first player in history to reach both 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases. Additionally, he became the second player and first right-handed hitter to hit 600 home runs. At retirement, he held the National League record for career runs scored (2,062) and ranked third in home runs (660). He holds Major League records for games as a center fielder (2,829) and putouts as an outfielder (7,095). Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979 in his first year of eligibility.

Did You Know?

• Mays was given his famous moniker, 'The Say Hey Kid', around the time he was called up by the Giants in 1951.
• In Game 2 of the 1951 World Series, Mays hit a fly ball that caused Mickey Mantle to injure his knee after getting stuck in an open drainpipe while pursuing it.
• Mays led the National League in stolen bases four times and triples three times during the 1950s, with 179 total steals topping the Major Leagues for that decade.
• He was the first right-handed hitter to hit 600 home runs.
• Mays received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2015.