660 Home Runs "Say Hey Willie"! Collected over 3,250 hits in 22 Seasons!
Anthony Ginn
Musician, Actor, Producer, Filmmaker, Festival Planner, Booking Agent, Film and Black Historian!
1973, September-Willie Mays, ow of the New York Mets, announces his retirement as an active player, though he is to appear iin the World Series. Mays's lifetime batting average is .302, his homers total 660. Hank Aaron ends the season with 713 mome runs, one short of Babe Ruth's record!
In his 21 seasons with the Giants, Willie Mays hit more than 600 home runs. Besides being a solid hitter, Mays also has been called the game's finest defensive outfielder and perhaps its best baserunner as well.
Born in Fairfield, Alabama on May 6, 1931, Mays made his professional debut on July 4, 1948 with the Birmingham Black Barons. He was sighned by the Giants in 1950 and reached the major leagues in 1951 in time to become the National Leagues Rookie of the Year with 20 home runs, 68 RBI's, and sensational fielding which contributed to his teams pennant victory.
After two years in the Army, Mays returned to lead the Giants to the World Championship in 1954, gaining recognition as the league's Most Valuable Player for his 41 homers, 110 RBI's and .345 batting average.
After the Giants moved to San Francisco, Mays continued phenominal home run hitting, and lead his team to a 1962 pennant. A year later, Sport magazine named him 'the greatest player of the decade." He won the MVP Award again in 1965, after hitting 52 home runs and batting .317.
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Traded back to the New York National League team (the Mets) before the 1972 season, he continued to play outfield and first base. At the end of the 1973 season, his rcords included 2,992 games (3rd on the all-time-list), 3,283 hits (7th), and 660 home runs (3rd).
Willie Mays is one of the only seven ballplayers to have hit four home runs in one game. In addition to that he was the only black member of the living all-time baseball team selected in 1969 by the Baseball Writer's Association of America. After acting as a coach of the Met's. Mays left baseball to pursue a business career. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.