Willie Mays had one of the vital illustrious careers in baseball historical past.
The “Say Hey Kid” really did all of it. He racked up accolades as few different gamers did. Mays crushed 660 residence runs and swiped 338 baggage whereas enjoying phenomenal center-field protection. Only Mays, Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez have hit greater than 500 residence runs and stole greater than 300 bases. His 156.1 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) path simply 4 gamers and has been surpassed solely by Bonds (162.8) since Mays retired.
Mays had loads of memorable moments to assist his legendary profession. His miraculous catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series on the Polo Grounds stays one of many iconic moments within the sport’s historical past and is arguably his personal signature second. Next on that checklist of high moments is perhaps the time when he homered 4 occasions in a single sport.
On at the present time 62 years in the past, Mays homered not as soon as, not twice, not thrice, however 4 occasions in a sport towards the then-Milwaukee Braves at Milwaukee County Stadium. At the time, Mays was simply the seventh participant to perform this feat. It would take almost 15 years for it to occur once more when Mike Schmidt pulled it off in 1976. Even now, the checklist of gamers to homer 4 occasions in a sport solely stands at 17 gamers, with J.D. Martinez being the final to attain it in 2017.
Ironically sufficient, Mays almost sat this sport out. After coping with a bout of meals poisoning the night time earlier than, Mays informed Giants supervisor Alvin Dark that he would not be capable to play that day. That is till teammate Joey Amalfitano provided up his new bat for Mays to check out throughout batting apply. In his personal phrases, Mays proceeded to hit each single ball over the wall with the bat throughout batting apply. Mays rapidly reconsidered his determination and Dark penciled him into the lineup.
The determination to play instantly paid dividends when Mays hit a solo residence run to heart subject in his first plate look within the high of the primary inning. Next time up, he blasted a two-run residence run to place the Giants forward by one run. After flying out to heart subject in his third plate look (a ball that allegedly virtually left the yard too), Mays crushed a three-run residence run his subsequent time up. In his fifth and closing plate look, Mays added a two-run residence run, giving him a grand whole of 4 within the sport.
What’s even more durable to consider is Mays himself was not the one future Hall of Famer who hit a number of residence runs on this sport. On the opposite facet, Hank Aaron hit two residence runs of his personal. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Mays and Aaron’s six mixed residence runs are essentially the most in a single sport by two opposing gamers who would finally change into Hall of Famers. Just for good measure, Orlando Cepeda, Mays’ teammate and one other future Hall of Famer, additionally homered on this sport.
Most mixed residence runs in a single sport between two Hall of Fame opponents
6: Mays (4) and Aaron (2), 4/30/61
5: Lou Gehrig (4) and Mickey Cochrane (1), 6/3/32
5. Gehrig (4) and Jimmie Foxx (1), 6/3/32
5: Gehrig (3) and Foxx (2), 5/22/30
Mays’ four-home run sport was only the start of the largest energy stretch of his profession. From 1961-65, Mays crushed 226 residence runs (a mean of 45 per season), essentially the most of any five-year stretch in his profession. Those 226 residence runs additionally led all MLB hitters throughout that point, forward of the aforementioned Aaron (179) and Harmon Killebrew (213), one other future Hall of Famer.
This energy stretch additionally coincided with one of the best all-around peak seasons of Mays’ profession. After establishing himself as a beloved celebrity for the New York Giants within the Fifties, the group made its cross-country trek to San Francisco within the 1958 season. From the Giants’ inaugural season in California in 1958 via ’66, Mays was the clear-cut finest participant within the sport.
Mays’ numbers and ranks amongst place gamers (min. 1,000 video games), 1958-66
This brings it again to Mays homering 4 occasions in a sport that he almost sat out as a result of sickness. This is an efficient encapsulation of the participant Mays was and the legendary profession he performed. It did not matter the place he was; whether or not he was making over-the-shoulder catches within the World Series on the Polo Grounds, bashing residence runs via the notorious San Francisco circumstances at Candlestick Park, or anyplace else in between, Mays was at all times the star of the present.
Mays’ four-home run efficiency won’t be the highest second in his profession however it’s actually up there. It’s additionally one other reminder of simply how good and memorable of a profession The “Say Hey Kid” had.
Content Source: www.mlb.com