Willie Mays John Shea Popular Books

Willie Mays John Shea Biography & Facts

Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid", is an American former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-time lists, including those of The Sporting News and ESPN. Mays played in the National League (NL) between 1951 and 1973 for the New York / San Francisco Giants and New York Mets. Born in Westfield, Alabama, Mays was an all-around athlete. He joined the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League in 1948, playing with them until the Giants signed him upon his graduation from high school in 1950. He proceeded to win the Rookie of the Year Award in 1951 after hitting 20 home runs to help the Giants win their first pennant in 14 years. In 1954, he won the NL MVP Award, leading the Giants to their last World Series title before their move to the West Coast. His over-the-shoulder catch of a Vic Wertz fly ball in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series is one of the most famous baseball plays of all time. After the Giants moved to San Francisco, Mays went on to win another MVP Award in 1965 and also led the Giants to the 1962 World Series, this time losing to the New York Yankees. He ended his career with a return to New York after a mid-season trade to the New York Mets in 1972, retiring after the team's trip to the 1973 World Series. He served as a coach for the Mets for the rest of the decade, and later rejoined the Giants as a special assistant to the president and general manager. A 24-time All-Star, tying him for the second most in history, Mays became a perennial MVP candidate, finishing in the top six in the voting in eleven of the next twelve seasons, twice as runner-up in 1958 and 1962. He led the NL in home runs four times and in slugging percentage five times while batting over .300 and posting 100 runs batted in (RBI) ten times each. Mays was also at the forefront of a resurgence of speed as an offensive weapon in the 1950s, leading the league in stolen bases four times, triples three times and runs twice, with his 179 steals during the decade topping the major leagues. He was the first NL player to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season, the first player in history to reach both 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases, and the second player and the first right-handed hitter to hit 600 home runs. Mays also set standards for defensive brilliance, winning 12 consecutive Gold Glove Awards after their creation in 1957, still a record for outfielders; he led NL center fielders in double plays five times and assists three times. A classic example of a five-tool player, Mays finished his career with a batting average of .302. At the time of his retirement, he held the NL record for career runs scored (2,062), and ranked second in league history behind Stan Musial in games played (2,992), third in home runs (660), at bats (10,881), runs batted in (1,903), total bases (6,066), extra-base hits (1,323) and walks (1,464), fourth in hits (3,283), fifth in slugging percentage (.557), and eighth in doubles (523); his 140 triples ranked fourth among players active after 1945. He holds major league records for games as a center fielder (2,829), putouts as an outfielder (7,095) and extra-inning home runs (22), and ended his career behind only Ty Cobb in total games as an outfielder (2,842) and ranking seventh in assists (188) and third in double plays (59) in center field. Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979 in his first year of eligibility, and was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999. President Barack Obama presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. Early life Willie Howard Mays Jr. was born on May 6, 1931, in Westfield, Alabama, a primarily black company town near Fairfield. His father, Cat Mays, was a talented baseball player with the black team at the local iron plant. Annie Satterwhite, his mother, was a gifted high school basketball and track star. To his family and close friends, and later to his teammates, Mays was affectionately referred to as "Buck". His parents never married and separated when Mays was three. His father raised him and two aunts, Sarah and Ernestine. Sarah brought young Willie to an African Methodist Episcopal Church every Sunday. Cat Mays worked as a railway porter and later at the steel mills in Westfield. Cat exposed Willie to baseball at an early age, playing catch with him at five and allowing him to sit on the bench with his Birmingham Industrial League team at ten. His favorite baseball player growing up was Joe DiMaggio; other favorites were Ted Williams and Stan Musial. Mays played several sports at Fairfield Industrial High School. On the basketball team, he led players at all-black high schools in Jefferson County in scoring. Mays played quarterback, fullback and punter for the football team. Though he turned 18 in 1949, Mays did not graduate from Fairfield until 1950, which journalist Allen Barra calls "a minor mystery in Willie's life". Professional career Negro and minor leagues Mays's professional baseball career began in 1948 when he played briefly during the summer with the Chattanooga Choo-Choos, a Negro minor league team. Later that year, Mays joined the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League, where he was known as "Buck". The Black Barons were managed by Piper Davis, a teammate of Mays' father on the industrial team. When Fairfield Industrial principal E. T. Oliver threatened to suspend Mays for playing professional ball, Davis and Mays's father worked out an agreement. Mays would only play home games for the Black Barons. In return, he could still play high school football. Mays helped Birmingham advance to the 1948 Negro World Series, which they lost 4–1 to the Homestead Grays. He hit .262 for the season and stood out because of his excellent fielding and base running. Several major league teams were interested in signing Mays, but they had to wait until he graduated from high school to offer him a contract. The Boston Braves and the Brooklyn Dodgers both scouted him, but New York Giants scout Eddie Montague was the one who signed him to a $4,000 contract. Mays spent the rest of 1950 with the Class B Trenton Giants of the Interstate League, batting .353. Promoted to the Triple-A Minneapolis Millers of the American Association in 1951, he batted .477 in 35 games. New York / San Francisco Giants (1951–1952, 1954–1972) NL Rookie of the Year (1951) Playing excellent defense, Mays was called up by the Giants on May 24, 1951. Initially, Mays was reluctant to accept the promotion because he did not believe he was ready to face major league pitchers. Stunned, Giants manager Leo Durocher called Mays directly and said, "Quit costing the ball club money with long-distance phone calls and join the team." It was also around this time that Mays was given his famous moniker: "The Say Hey Kid". The Giants hoped May.... Discover the Willie Mays John Shea popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Willie Mays John Shea books.