Willie Mays

Center Fielder

Class of 1979

Willie Mays

Center Fielder

Class of 1979
Willie Mays is considered by many to be among the best all-around players in baseball history.

Games

Birth year

About Willie Mays

“If somebody came up and hit .450, stole 100 bases and performed a miracle in the field every day, I’d still look you in the eye and say Willie was better.” – Leo Durocher

At age 16, Willie Mays joined the Birmingham Barons of the Negro American League. The New York Giants purchased his contract in 1950, and he was in center field at the Polo Grounds by the next season. Mays started off slowly, but got untracked and won the NL Rookie of the Year award, helping the Giants erase a 13-game deficit to tie the Dodgers at the end of the 1951 regular season.

He spent most of 1952 and all of 1953 in the Army, but in 1954, Mays showed his all-around ability, leading the league with a .345 batting average and 13 triples while blasting 41 homers and ringing up 110 RBI. The Giants again won the pennant and in the World Series, faced the Cleveland Indians – winners of an AL-record 111 games. With Game 1 tied 2-2 in the top of the eighth, runners on first and second, and no outs, Vic Wertz hit a towering drive that would have been a home run in most parks. Mays, playing shallow, took off and ran with his back to the ball, caught it over the shoulder an estimated 460 feet from the plate, turned, and fired. Larry Doby, who had to turn back and tag up at second base, was forced to stop at third. The Giants went on to win the game and sweep the Series. “The Catch” is considered by many to be one of the the greatest defensive plays in history.

Mays played 21 seasons with the Giants, and finished up with the Mets in 1972 and 1973. He hit over .300 10 times, en route to a career .302 mark, and finished with 3,283 hits.

He was a two-time NL MVP (1954 and 1965), a 24-time All-Star (he won the All-Star Game MVP in 1963 and 1968) and won 12 Gold Glove Awards in center field. He led the league in home runs four times, stolen bases four times, slugging percentage five times, total bases three times and triples three times.

Mays was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1979. He passed away on June 18, 2024.

The Basics

Year inducted
1979
Birth Place
Westfield, Alabama
Birth Year
1931
Died
2024, Bay Area California

Career at a Glance

Primary Team
San Francisco Giants
Primary Position
Center Fielder
Played For
Birmingham Black Barons, 1948
New York Giants, 1951-1957
San Francisco Giants, 1958-1972
New York Mets, 1972-1973

Career MLB Stats

Games
3,005
At bats
10,924
Hits
3,293
Walks
1,468
Runs
2,068
Doubles
525
Triples
141
Home Runs
660
RBI
1,909
Stolen Bases
339
Batting Average
.301
Ops
.940
On Base %
.384
Slugging %
.557

Willie Mays Stories

Explore the archives and go deep into the lives, careers, and stories of the Hall of Fame's honorees.

Mays reaches new heights with four-homer game

Mays-Newcombe barnstorming tour of 1955 set records, broke barriers

Mays joins 500-home run club

Mays’ pinch-hit homer leads National League to victory in 1956 All-Star Game

Willie Mays Hits Career Home Run No. 535 to Pass Jimmie Foxx

Mays honored as top player of 1960s by Sporting News

Mays wins second NL MVP 11 years after first

Trade to Mets brings Mays back to New York