Willie Mays

Center field. That vast, green expanse where fly balls go to die. Where the swiftest, most athletic players thrive and make jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring plays on a daily basis.

Just ask Vic Wertz.

On Sept. 29, 1954, Mr. Wertz hit a prodigious drive out to center field in the Polo Grounds. It looked for sure like Wertz's drive was going to break the 2-2 tie between the Giants and the Indians, giving the Tribe all the momentum in Game One.

But, on the eighth day, God said, "Let there be Mays."

There are five tools to baseball:

Hitting for average, hitting for power, speed, arm strength, and fielding ability.

In the history of baseball there has only been one man to posses all five tools at an elite level.

His name was Willie Mays.

How many baseball players can you name with 12 gold gloves, 660 career home runs, a .303 career batting average, 338 steals, 3,283 career hits, and 24 All-Star selections?

If you can find me another man with accolades greater than that, I will sell you my soul.

In my profile, I state that Willie Mays was a greater player than Babe Ruth was, because Mays played at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

The wind at Candlestick can be so nasty as to blow homeruns back into the park, while Hank Aaron would eventually play in a hitter-friendly park where the wind would "assist" in a home-run.

My dad and uncle still talk about the Giants from the 1960s.  My uncle does so affectionately; my dad, not so much.

Howard Jackson was an avid New York Giants fan.

Willie Mays is his favorite player, and Howard is easily upset when it is claimed that Mickey Mantle was better than Willie.

He merely refers to the great year of 1954.

Do yourself a favor, and hit the single page link below.

This is the eighth installment of the Cooperstown’s Best Series.  We only have one more to go after this, and then the recap showing each position’s leader.

This position has more Negro League players than most of the others.  They are Cool Papa Bell, Willard Brown, Oscar Charleston, Pete Hill, Turkey Stearnes and Cristobal Torriente.  As has been my policy, I cannot rank them on this list.