Willie Mays named All-Star Game MVP for second time
Perhaps no player enjoyed the All-Star Game more than Willie Mays.
The Giants and Mets legend thrived in the Midsummer Classic and holds records for the most hits (23), runs scored (20) and stolen bases (6) in the prestigious contest.
On July 9, 1968, Mays won his second All-Star Game MVP Award and became the first player in MLB history to win the award twice.
Mays told the Associated Press he felt “damned fine” owning several All-Star records.
In the 39th All-Star Game, the 37-year-old wasn’t supposed to start. But after Pete Rose’s broken thumb opened a spot in the outfield, Mays got penciled into the lineup.
Mays led off the bottom of the first inning with a sharp single through the 5.5 hole before causing havoc on the bases. American League starter Luis Tiant threw over to first to ensure Mays didn’t steal second. When Tiant threw over again on a second pickoff attempt, the ball struck Mays in the back. It trickled away from first baseman Harmon Killebrew, and Mays advanced 90 feet as a result.
“The ball glanced off my back and I saw the first baseman wasn’t going to be able to handle it, so I took off,” Mays told the AP.
Mays took third on a wild pitch that also walked St. Louis’ Curt Flood. Mays later scored as Willie McCovey bounced into a double play.
That run was the decider as the NL defeated the AL 1-0.
“I had no idea one run would win it,” Mays told the AP. “I was just lucky enough to score the winning run.”
The win marked the National League’s sixth-consecutive All-Star Game victory. For Mays, it was the 13th time in 19 All-Star Games to that point where he had been on the winning side. In his 24 career All-Star appearances, Mays led the National League to a 17-6-1 record.
“They invented the All-Star Game,” Ted Williams once said, “for Willie Mays.”
Noah Douglas is the 2025 communications intern in the Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Leadership Development
