Mike On Sports: Was Willie Mays the Greatest?

I focus on football, I’m an expert on football. But as a sports fan, I have opinions on many different sports. In this edition of Mike On Sports, I’ll tell you where Willie Mays lands amongst the all time baseball greats.

I’m old, but not that old. I never got to see recently deceased legend Willie Mays play as I was a toddler when he was finishing his career with the Mets. But I grew up consuming everything baseball and became an avid card collector and consumer of stats. Now, all these years later I can appreciate how respected baseball minds a decade older or more are saying he’s the best ever. And he might be. But here are my top five…

Jul 1968; Unknown Location, USA; FILE PHOTO; San Francisco Giants outfielder Willie Mays in action during the 1968 season.

1. Barry Bonds

2. Willie Mays

3. Sandy Koufax

4. Ted Williams

5. Babe Ruth

Aug 7, 2007; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds (right) thanks the fans while standing next to former Giants great Willie Mays (left) after hitting his 756th career homerun off of Washington Nationals starting pitcher Mike Bacsik (not pictured) during the 5th inning at AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA. Bonds passed Hank Aaron (755 homeruns) to become the all-time career homerun leader.

While Ruth tops the list for many and his statistics are amazing, I am just not sold on the pitching and competition he played against. Players were out of shape and the color barrier hadn’t been broken so despite his astonishing stats that were head and shoulders above everyone else, I’m not sure if he’d dominate in every era. Williams was before my time as well but my dad was an usher at Fenway Park for a time and saw all the greats of that era. And he said no one could touch Williams as a hitter, no one. Very few have Koufax on their list at least in the top five or 10 but the first pitcher to win three Cy Young Awards had his career cut short. Think Gale Sayers or Barry Sanders in football. As for the top two, Mays was arguably the best combination of offense and defense and set the standard for power hitting center fielders. People rave about his swing, effort in the outfield and passion for the game but they can’t stop talking about his natural ability. However, steroids or not, Bonds is the best. From his skinny days in Pittsburgh, where he was remarkable as a pure hitter, to his slugger days with the Giants, you can’t beat 726, 73, 7 and 688 when it comes to career home runs, the single season HR record, MVPs and intentional walks. His .444 on base percentage is simply amazing.

Rest in peace Willie Mays. You’re in the conversation as the best to ever play baseball. And that’s amazing.