RIP Willie Mays

[SUFaninNJ]

I'm sorry for your loss. That's a rough one. Peace and love.

Thanks man

 

[UnknownOrange]

Remember that 23 people saw Willie Mays play with their own two eyes, and didn't vote for him for the hall of fame (we know why)

Mariano Rivera being the first unanimous HOFer is pretty insane when you really think about it.

 

[Day2]

Do you mean Flood? If I recall, Brock was traded from the Cubs to the Cards. He wasn't a free agent.

I’m a lifelong Cardinal fan and you are correct.

 

[br801]

Remember that 23 people saw Willie Mays play with their own two eyes, and didn't vote for him for the hall of fame (we know why)

Mariano Rivera being the first unanimous HOFer is pretty insane when you really think about it.

All of that does seems strange, but the Baseball Hall of Fame has a long history of head-scratching voting. Many greats didn't even make it in on the first ballot, and not all of them were in the early years of its existence, when there was a backlog of accomplished players being considered.

Wait, what? 10 Hall of Famers not in on 1st ballot

Derek Jeter stormed into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Why wouldn't he? The Yankees' Captain is one of the most iconic players in recent baseball history. But not every MLB icon can lay claim to the title of first-ballot Hall of Famer. Since the advent

www.mlb.com

 

[OCESIP]

Do you mean Flood? If I recall, Brock was traded from the Cubs to the Cards. He wasn't a free agent.

Right. It was Curt Flood.

 

[UnknownOrange]

All of that does seems strange, but the Baseball Hall of Fame has a long history of head-scratching voting. Many greats didn't even make it in on the first ballot, and not all of them were in the early years of its existence, when there was a backlog of accomplished players being considered.

Wait, what? 10 Hall of Famers not in on 1st ballot

Derek Jeter stormed into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Why wouldn't he? The Yankees' Captain is one of the most iconic players in recent baseball history. But not every MLB icon can lay claim to the title of first-ballot Hall of Famer. Since the advent

www.mlb.com

Oh the Hall has been historically terrible. Just shocking that people like Williams, Mays, Aaron, Musial, etc didn't get 100%. Plenty of guys are absolute no brainer-100% guys, and yet Mariano is the first lol. Just crazy

 

[sutomcat]

 

[SWC75]

I’m a lifelong Cardinal fan and you are correct.

And Flood didn't create free agency. McNally and Messersmith, (and Marvin Miller) did.

 

[sutomcat]

And Flood didn't create free agency. McNally and Messersmith, (and Marvin Miller) did.

Curt challenged baseball's reserve clause in court. He lost his case but it was the beginning of the end for the reserve clause. This, coupled with player strikes, unionization, the three Ms and various other things paved the way for free agency, the 10/5 (Curt Flood) rule and many other changes to the way baseball treats the players.

Deciding to sit out a year in his prime cost him a lot of money and essentially ended his career years before it normally would have ended. If I were a player, I would hold him in great esteem. It was a very brave thing to do.

https://digital.sandiego.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2308&context=sdlr

 

[orange79]

My Mom shared a birthday with him. When I'd wish her a happy birthday, I'd always say, "And to Willie Mays too." Unfortunately my Mom passed away three months ago. Huge SU sports fan, by the way. Not a great run for people born on May 6th. Rest in Peace.

Sorry to hear that.

Hopefully, that story never fails to bring a smile to your face.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

Sorry to hear that.

Hopefully, that story never fails to bring a smile to your face.

Thank you

 

[SWC75]

 

[Newhouser]

Saw Mays play at the Hall of Fame Game in 76 with the Mets. I was a kid but I remember that Mays got one at bat and sadly I think he struck out. Aaron played for the Brewers and I remember seeing him on the field but can't pull a memory of him playing. Totally over my head at my age but pretty insane now that I think about it.

 

[SWC75]

Saw Mays play at the Hall of Fame Game in 76 with the Mets. I was a kid but I remember that Mays got one at bat and sadly I think he struck out. Aaron played for the Brewers and I remember seeing him on the field but can't pull a memory of him playing. Totally over my head at my age but pretty insane now that I think about it.

Poliquin: Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and other stars once played among us

A lifetime ago, on a dank October afternoon, there were stars aplenty playing a game of baseball at MacArthur Stadium.

www.syracuse.com

October 16, 1959: two major league all-star teams, trying to make some extra money in the off-season, came to Syracuse to play in McArthur Stadium. The line-ups:

"American League: Eddie Yost, Harvey Kuenn, Tito Francona, Rocky Colavito, Gus Triandos, Mickey Mantle, Bob Nieman and Frank Malzone. Whitey Ford pitched and was relieved by Hoyt Wilhelm.

“The National League was Junior Gilliam, Kenny Boyer, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Gil Hodges, Willie McCovey, Bill Mazeroski and Smokey Burgess. Johnny Podres was the starter and Don Newcombe was the reliever."

The National League won 4-2. Mays, Mantle and Hodges hit home runs. The nine inning game was played in 58 minutes, suggesting that the players desire to remain in Syracuse any more than they had to was kind of limited. They might have played another 'game' elsewhere that same day.

 

[UnknownOrange]

Thank you

Everytime (which isn't as often as she'd like.. sorry Gram!) I hear the 'Our father'

I say it (and hear it) in her voice "Harold be thy name"

She was the best

 

[SUFaninNJ]

Everytime (which isn't as often as she'd like.. sorry Gram!) I hear the 'Our father'

I say it (and hear it) in her voice "Harold be thy name"

She was the best

She certainly was.

 

[SWC75]

 

[upperdeck]

The reason I played so shallow in the outfield was because you got more chances to make the Willie Mays catch.

 

[SWC75]

They played a major league game at Rickwood Field in Brimingham, where Willie Mays started his carer and where Reggie Jackson played a minor league season before he joined the A’s. Here he reminisces about that year and what it was like:

x.com .

Reggie Jackson shares stark stories of racism

In his second professional season, Jackson was part of the first integrated professional team to play at Rickwood Field.

www.nytimes.com

 

[phillydad]

They played a major league game at Rickwood Field in Brimingham, where Willie Mays started his carer and where Reggie Jackson played a minor league season before he joined the A’s. Here he reminisces about that year and what it was like:

x.com .

Reggie Jackson shares stark stories of racism

In his second professional season, Jackson was part of the first integrated professional team to play at Rickwood Field.

www.nytimes.com

Everyone knows the Jackie Robinson story as they should. But I always believed that the Black players who followed him received just as much abuse, if not more. The story, and hatred, did not end with Jackie.
Reggie Jackson and I attended the same high school, Cheltenham. He was Class of '64, I graduated six years later. At the time, CHS was 98% white, predominantly Jewish and liberal. He once said he never encountered racism until he got to ASU, which he recanted a bit in recent years. But nothing he encountered growing up in Wyncote Pa would have prepared him for Alabama in the 60s.

 

[Cusefan95]

A few years ago I got into a debate about who was the best baseball player of all time (the guy I was arguing with said Pete Rose, which remains one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard). I was arguing for Babe Ruth (his WAR is crazy), but as we went on and I analyzed historical data more - I think Willie Mays has the better case.

I’m not sure we can really compare baseball pre and post WWII, saying Ruth was the best in the first half of the 20th century and Mays the second half might be more fair to both of them.