This is part four of a 10-part series portraying the 10 members of “Brady’s All-Time Team” – a lineup consisting of the best Major League Baseball players ever.
Mays
Credentials (all-time rank): 660 home runs (3); 1903 runs batted in (9); 2062 runs (6); .302 career average; two-time MVP; NL Rookie of the Year, 1951; 12 consecutive gold gloves, 1957-68; best defensive outfielder ever
The Argument: If you want strong defense up the middle, Mays is the place to start. The best defensive centerfielder ever (and some argue the best defensive player, period) is the perfect man to hit cleanup with his 660 home runs. Plus, he gives good speed on the basepaths for the fifth hitter to move him around. With he and Ty Cobb in the outfield, Babe Ruth could eat hot dogs all game and not worry about playing defense.
Mickey Mantle was one of the most underrated defensive players of all-time, and on the basepaths he could move incredibly well, especially for a guy who was bothered by chronic knee problems from early on in his career. Mantle played in nearly constant pain, but still managed to hit 536 home runs, tops for a switch hitter on the all-time list. Still, as good as he was, he can’t top Mays’ overall ability.
Joe Dimaggio was one of the winningest players in the history of the game, and one of the best pure hitters to grace a Major League diamond. In just 13 seasons, Joltin’ Joe totaled 361 longballs to go along with a .325 career batting average. Not to mention the fact that he put together what is considered baseball’s most unbreakable record – a 56 game hitting streak – in 1941. Also, next to Ruth he is probably the next best symbol in American society, with his marriage to Marilyn Monroe and his being Mr. Coffee known world-over.
Tris Speaker was yet another of the deadball baseball players who gets discounted in his all-time status because of a lack of homeruns. He only hit 117 in his career, but that number would likely be close to 300 if he had played in an era like today. Speaker is the closest person to Mays defensively (excluding a couple of guys who have yet to play enough) and his .345 career average is sixth. He also holds the all-time record for doubles with 792.
What you didn’t know: The “Say Hey Kid” was a very private guy who had little to nothing to hide. His love for playing the game of baseball was a joy to watch and he was the symbol of the New York baseball world of the 1950s, where the Giants, Dodgers and Yankees were likely the three strongest teams in the majors.
The one thing that almost everybody does know about Mays is “the catch.” First off, there is only one other single play in baseball history referred to in the same manner as Mays’ famous grab, and even that (“the called shot”) is far more specific. When Vic Wertz strode to the plate to face the Giants’ Don Liddle with a pair of runners on, he had no idea that he would become a crucial part of one of baseball’s most talked about moments.
Mays was playing Wertz a little to the left of center, about 360 feet from the plate. When the ball left Wertz’s bat, everyone in the park was thinking it was a sure triple if not an inside-the-park homer. When Mays caught the ball over his shoulder, he was approximately 470 feet from the plate (the Polo Grounds measured 480 to dead center). He then had the presence of mind to hold the runners on by whipping the ball back to the infield. The ultimate capper to this piece of lore is certainly Liddle’s line to his replacement when he was taken out after the play – “Well, I got my guy.”
Mays is a perfect complement to Ruth both in the lineup and in the field and his joy and enthusiasm make him a coach’s dream. Why batting fourth? To maintain the lefty-righty sequence. Besides, with Ruth ahead of him, there will be plenty of open basepaths ahead of him.
Matt Brady is a Collegian columnist.