Mays, who instantly became as popular in New York as he had been in Minneapolis, had his struggles as a Giants’ rookie during the 1951 season and asked to be sent back to Minnesota, but Giants manager Leo Durocher would have none of that talk. Willie was his guy and the confidence really paid off.
Mays hit .274 with 20 home runs and 68 RBI in 121 games, and was voted National League Rookie of the Year. He provided a spark at the plate, on the bases and in the field for the Giants who had not won a pennant since 1937.
In August of 1951 it looked like it would be at least one more year before they finished first in the National League. The Giants were 13.5 games back of the Dodgers in August. Then came an extraordinary finish to the pennant race that left the two clubs tied for the lead at season’s end. A three-game playoff would determine who represented the National league in the World Series. In the deciding third game of the playoffs, Bobby Thomson hit a ninth inning three run home run to rally the Giants to victory and a trip to the World Series. The “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” is perhaps the most famous moment in baseball history.
The Giants lost in the World Series to the Yankees, something they did again in 1962. But the World Series that Mays’ fans usually remember first was in 1954 when he made “The Catch” against the Cleveland Indians.
The image of Mays’ over the shoulder catch off a ball hit by Vic Wertz has been immortalized in baseball history. The ball looked like it would be way over Mays’ head and Wertz would run for extra bases, sending a couple of runners home and breaking a 2-2 tie.
Author James S. Hirsch, who wrote a vivid account of Mays’ life in the 2010 book Willie Mays The Life The Legend, described the reaction of the Giants’ manager when the ball was in the air. “Leo Durocher retained hope, believing that any ball that stayed in the yard, could be caught by Mays. He just wasn’t certain if the outfield was big enough.”
It was and “The Catch” became part of the Mays legend when the Giants won game one of the series and went on to become world champions in four games. But Mays made a lot of spectacular plays and that might not even have been his best. He once caught a ball bare-handed in the outfield because that was the only angle he could take. In another game he joined a short list of players who hit four home runs in one game.