B6 THE BULLETIN • FRIDAY, MAY 28, 2021
SAY HEY!
By Charles Apple | THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW
Seventy years ago, the man who would become
one of the greatest Major League Baseball players
of all time, Willie Mays, hit his first home run.
What’s more: The 20-year-old slugger for the
New York Giants hit that dinger off the all-time
left-handed wins leader, Warren Spahn.
Mays had gone professional as a 17-year-old,
playing for the Negro League’s Chattanooga
Choo-Choos and the Birmingham Black Barons.
As soon as he graduated high school, the New
York Giants signed him and sent him to the
minor leagues — first to Trenton, N.J., and then to
Minneapolis. Mays hit .477 in 35 games with the
Minneapolis Millers, so the Giants called him up to
the big show in May 1951.
Mays went hitless in his first three games against the
Phillies at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. But at home against
the Boston Braves in his 13th Major-League at-bat and with
two outs in the first inning, Mays took Spahn long over the left
field roof of the Polo Grounds.
Mays before his first
game with the New
York Giants.
Even sitting out the better part of his second season and all of his third after being drafted,
Mays would go on to become one of baseball’s biggest stars, acquiring the nickname “the
Say Hey Kid.” Mays would play for 22 seasons for the Giants and the New York Mets.
indicates led
BOLD the league
Willie Mays’ career major league stats
YEAR
TEAM
G
AB
R
H
3B
HR
RBI
SB
BA
SLG
TB
1951
NY Giants
121
464
59
127
5
20
68
7
.274
.472
219
1952
NY Giants
34
127
17
30
4
4
23
4
.256
.409
52
1953
Did not play — Military service
1954
NY Giants
151
565
119
195
13
41
110
8
.345
.667
377
1955
NY Giants
152
580
123
185
13
51
127
24
.319
.659
382
1956
NY Giants
152
578
101
171
8
36
84
40
.296
.557
322
1957
NY Giants
152
585
112
195
20
35
97
38
.333
.626
366
1958
SF Giants
152
600
121
208
11
29
96
31
.347
.583
350
1959
SF Giants
151
575
125
180
5
34
104
27
.313
.583
335
1960
SF Giants
153
595
107
190
12
29
103
25
.319
.555
330
1961
SF Giants
164
572
129
176
3
40
123
18
.308
.584
334
1962
SF Giants
162
624
130
189
5
49
141
18
.304
.615
382
1963
SF Giants
157
596
115
187
7
38
103
8
.314
.582
347
1964
SF Giants
157
578
121
171
9
47
111
19
.296
.607
351
1965
SF Giants
157
558
118
177
3
52
112
9
.317
.645
360
1966
SF Giants
152
552
99
159
4
37
103
5
.288
.556
307
1967
SF Giants
141
486
83
128
2
22
70
6
.263
.453
220
1968
SF Giants
148
498
84
144
5
23
79
12
.289
.488
243
1969
SF Giants
117
403
64
114
3
13
58
6
.283
.437
176
1970
SF Giants
139
478
94
139
2
28
83
5
.291
.506
242
1971
SF Giants
136
417
82
113
5
18
61
23
.271
.482
201
1972 Giants/Mets
88
244
35
61
1
8
22
4
.250
.402
98
1973
66
209
24
44
0
6
25
1
.211
.344
72
2,992 10,881 2,062 3,283
140
660
1,093
338
.302
NY Mets
22 seasons
Was named National
League MVP in 1954
and 1965
No. 6 all-time Major
League Baseball career
home run hitter
Won 12 consecutive Golden
Gloves as an outfielder
from 1957 to 1968
No. 7 in
career
runs
No. 9 in
games
played
Made 24
All-Star Game
appearances
No. 12 in
career
hits
No. 12 in
career
RBIs
.557 6,066
Was elected to
the Baseball Hall
of Fame in 1979
No. 1 in career
putouts by an
outfielder: 7,095
Mays’ most iconic moment
Mays would have other
great moments as well.
For example, he would
hit four home runs and
drive in eight runs
against the Braves in
Milwaukee on April 30,
1961. Two years later,
he’d sign a new
contract, becoming the
highest-paid player in
Major League history.
During his time in the
Army — playing with the
Army team at Fort Eustis in
Newport News, Va. — Mays
learned what he called “the
basket catch.” He’d hold his
glove usually at waist-level
and allow the ball to fall
into it naturally. It made for
a dramatic moment.
Mays would put this unique
skill to use in the top of the
eighth inning of Game 1 of
the 1954 World Series
when he made an
over-the-shoulder catch
near the outfield wall of
the Polo Grounds, robbing
Vic Wertz of the Cleveland
Indians of a long hit that
should have scored two
runners. Mays would go on
to score the winning run in
the 10th inning of that
game and the Giants would
win the World Series.
Mays would retire after
the 1973 season, would
serve as a coach for the
Mets for six years and
then rejoin the Giants
as General Manager in
1986. In 2017, Major
League Baseball would
name its World Series
MVP award after Mays.
“The Catch”: Sept. 29, 1954
Sources: Baseball-Reference.com, Major League Baseball, National Baseball Hall of Fame,
BleacherReport.com, “On This Day in Baseball History” by the Baseball Time Machine
Mays celebrated his
90th birthday earlier
this month.
ALL PHOTOS FROM THE
ASSOCIATED PRESS