When his career ended in 1974 Mays had hit 660 home runs and today ranks fourth on the all-time list behind Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth. He led the National League in home runs four times and in four seasons also was tops in stolen bases. He was an 11-time Gold Glove winner and played in the All-Star game every season from 1954 through 1973 when he was 42 and finishing up his career with the New York Mets.
Now think about the career home runs and realize that Mays didn’t play during the 1952 and 1953 seasons because he was in the Army. Give Mays 80 more home runs and his total is 740, close to Bonds at 762 and Aaron at 755. Who knows how many home runs Mays might have hit during those two missed seasons?
But Mays was never defined just by numbers. He was an entertainer, too. The “Say Hey Kid” swung from his heels and sometimes drove the ball further than most players ever thought about. On the bases he took huge leads and might be as likely to steal third base as second. In the outfield (often using his famed “basket catch”) he not only ran down most balls, but his powerful arm and quick release made hitters sorry they took chances on the bases against him. And he did much of the above with his hat flying off while showing an exuberance for life seldom seen on ball fields before or since.
Mays turned 80 on May 6. You wonder if when he celebrated the birthday with wife Mae Mays he reflected for a moment about those weeks in Minneapolis 60 years ago.
If so, he’s not the only one who remembers.