OT: Happy 93rd Birthday to maybe the best that ever played the game.
- Thread starter MtNittany
- Start date
I had an uncle that played outfield in the Giants system. He was stuck behind Mays, Monte Irvin, and Dusty Rhodes. Not a lot of playing time to be had there.Say Hey, Willie...
My Dad made it to SF and hit cleanup behind him a few times, but Cepeda, McCovey and more were right behind him. Not a time to not be exceptional I guess. You got traded for arms.
I'll take the other's word for it (including my Dad). Aaron had 1,500 more at bats than Mays (that's 3 seasons).
Aaron was not the fielder or base runner that Mays was. Willie is the greatest ever position player
Agreed. Considering Aaron over Mays is puzzling in nearly every aspect.
Thanks Tom. I never saw that interview, but it speaks volumes to the respect Clemente had from his peers.
My uncle actually played some time with the Giants and later, the Cubs. Different era where there was no ability get out and there were not many teams to play for. My father also played in the Giants system for a couple years. Took a fastball to his giant (but unhelmeted) head and couldn’t step into a pitch well after that. Damn shame.
Per chance, did you father play in Muskogee? My father hit #3 in the lineup with Cepeda hitting cleanup in Muskogee in what would now be considered rookie ball.
No to Muskogee. 3 different Rookie/A Ball teams, then skipped to Tacoma AAA, then the show.
I saw Willie's number 648 at Veterans Stadium when he was with the Mets. Tom Seaver vs Steve Carlton. The Mets won 4-3 and little known Phillie first baseman, Tommy Hutton hit a home run off Seaver. Carlton gave up two 2-run homers that day while going the full 9 innings. Willie hit his homer in the 8th, which were the winning runs. The Vet had about 57K that day. It was "Bat Day", which can be found in my garage still today.
EDIT: I just checked and the attendance was a little over 57K that day in 1972.
EDIT: I just checked and the attendance was a little over 57K that day in 1972.
Tommy Hutton isn't little known in SoFla. He was the voice of the Marlins on tv and radio through both WS wins. Very cool guy. Did some turf work for his baseball schools over the years.
My dad and I saw Willie hit a home run…and Juan Marichal pitch…for the Giants against the Phillies back at old Connie Mack Stadium!
I might have been at that game. I was enthralled by Marichal, a beautiful pitcher.
And speaking of Marichal, and Mays, who else remembers this....
Infamous Marichal-Roseboro brawl turns 50
Baseball's ugliest moment occurred Aug. 22, 1965, when Juan Marichal clubbed John Roseboro with a bat. Here are 10 things you should know about an incident that scarred the sport 50 years ago.
www.espn.com
During his Phillies career Hutton against Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver of the New York Mets; in 62 plate appearances against Seaver, Hutton batted . 320, with 11 walks, three homers and 15 RBI.
So that would explain why Aaron had a higher lifetime batting average right? Aaron was exceptional in every facet of the game. He just didn’t play in a media market and wasn’t a show boat like Mays. Saw Aaron catch a fly ball in the “cut out” in right center field at Connie Mack and turn and throw a runner tagging up at third out at the plate. But hey everyone’s entitled to their opinion and I’m entitled to mine which is based on seeing them both play.
Don't get me wrong, Aaron is an all time great, but Mays was better. Deciding factor is Mays was a 12 time Gold Glove Centerfielder. Willie was an all time great fielder as well as hitter.
Mays, Mantle, Aaron, Yaz, Rose, Brock, Oliva, Williams, Robinson. Quite a group of outfielders to watch back in the sixties.Say Hey, Willie...
Then there were the pitchers. Gibson, Drysdale, Koufax, Seaver, Bunning, Marichal, McLain, Niekro, Palmer, McNally, Jenkins, Tiant, Perry.
Great time to grow up and collect baseball cards.
If I were picking a baseball team, my first three picks would be Wagner, Frank Robinson, and Gibson. Why Robinson and Gibson, you may ask, seeing that I could name three or four players better than either? Mental toughness and great teammates.
I can't argue with your picks. (I hated/loved Gibson and his attitude)
Mine-
Koufax - The best there ever was. The players who faced him speak of him with the hushed tones usually reserved for war heroes.
Mays - The classic baseball player. He could do it all at the highest level. No weakness.
Bunning - My favorite player ever. When I got his Topps card I was in heaven.
I will add the guy who may be the #1 "What could have been" of all time. Tony Conigliaro. His life was a tragedy. 100 home runs by the age of 22. Then he is nearly killed and he comes back to hit 36. One year later he is out of baseball at 26, he suffers a severe stroke in his thirties and is dead in his forties.
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Your list of outfielders in the 60's is a good one, but I would add Roberto Clemente who is, by nearly all accounts, the best defensive right fielder ever to play the game. He won 12 gold gloves (in a row), tying Mays for the most by an outfielder, and the last of those was in 1972, the year he died.
Those outfield throws in the World Series simply stopped his opponent from seeking an extra base. How he got so much power out of that body I will never understand?
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Close, but he was better because he was a better outfielder and a better base runner.
Went to a twilight doubleheader in 1954 (I’m 81). Willie back from the Army. If I recall correctly he had 5 HRs,8 RBIs. He was a man among boys.Say Hey, Willie...
Mays lifetime fielding percentage was .981 and Aaron’s was .980. Aaron had a few more assists and a few less errors during his career than Mays. So what lots of players win/won Gold Gloves based on reputation every year.
More fiction. Mays stole more bases than Aaron but he was not a better base runner. Their stolen base success percentage was the same.
Cab not argue with the list of great outfields in the 60s, but I believe that Mickey Mantle was on a par or superior to Mays and Mantle. Don't compare statistics because Mantle played for many years with severe leg problems that limited his playing time.
