https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/baseball-legend-willie-mays-dies-at-93/ar-BB1otj2D Willie Mays, widely considered to be one of the greatest baseball players in the history of the game, has died at 93. It was a good run, no pun intended.
Growing up a Dodger fan, I hated Willie Mays but feared him. Of course that was just for sports, I respected him as one of the greats. There was always this debate in my neighborhood about who was the better centerfielder. Mickey, Willie or Duke. Certainly not Snider (very good but not great), but maybe if Mickey hadn't gotten injured early in his career, he would be up there. However, I must grudgingly concede that Willie was the best I ever saw, even discounting his woeful sojourn with the Mets. His stellar play helped the transition for black players in MLB.
Willie's time with the Mets has always been treated a bit unfairly. He wasn't good in 1973, and an unfortunate misplay in centerfield that year where he fell down going for a ball came to symbolize that. In the half-season after he arrived in 1972, however, he was well above average - a slash line of .267/.402/.446, which translates into an excellent OPS+ of 145.
I guess you're right. It was so long ago. I just remember he was brought to the Mets at the insistence of Joan Payson when he was well past his prime. Trivia question: What did the Giants get in the trade?
Charlie Williams! I remembered that, but didn't remember what happened to Williams afterwards. He played for the Giants for seven years, and had a lifetime record of 18-16 with an ERA of 3.82 (ERA+ of 99) and a WHIP of 1.497 - about as mediocre as you can get. I also remember the first game Mays played for the Mets. It was, in fact, against the Giants, on May 14, 1972. The starters were Ray Sadecki for the Mets, and "Sudden" Sam McDowell for the Giants. Rusty Staub hit a grand slam home run in the bottom of the first to put the Mets ahead 4-0, but the Giants tied it in the top of the fifth. In the bottom of the fifth Willie led off and hit his 647th career home run to make it 5-4. Jim McAndrew came in and pitched four shutout innings to seal the win. It was Mother's Day, and my family was coming back from taking my mother out for lunch, and we were listening to the game on the car radio. My parents and I all went pretty crazy when he hit it out (my sister didn't care). The Mets ended the day 17-7, with the best record in the National League; it was their third win in a row, and they reeled off eight more wins, to raise their record to 25-7, by far the best in baseball. From then it was a slow slide downwards to a final record of 83-73 (the season started late because of a players' strike, and they didn't make up the games).
