Willie Mays, who is currently considered a permanent absentee legend and the best outfielder in major league history for the San Francisco Giants in the Major League, Lee Jung-hoo’s club, passed away on the 18th (local time) at the age of 93.
The San Francisco Giants paid tribute to the deceased by issuing a statement saying, “Mace closed her eyes peacefully,” and a wave of condolences continues for Major League officials and baseball fans around the world, including former and current Major League players.
Initially, the San Francisco club was scheduled to play a Nigro League tribute game on the 20th (local time) at the home of the Black Barons in Birmingham, Alabama, the team where Willie Mays made her debut in the Nigro League. However, on the 17th, the news of Mays’ death was finally reported the next day after it was revealed that he could not attend the scene, adding to the sadness.
Born in Alabama in the U.S. in 1931, Willie Mays started playing in the Nigro League in 1948. Afterwards, Jackie Robinson joined the New York Giants (now the San Francisco Giants) in 1951 and won the Rookie of the Year award. 카지노사이트 모음
However, in 1952, the second season, Mace had to serve in the military due to the Korean War and was only able to return to the major leagues by being discharged from the military before the 1954 season.
He was sluggish at the beginning of his first season back, perhaps due to his absence, but he later began to hit hard and won his first MVP with a whopping .345.411.667 (batting), 41 home runs, 110 RBIs, wRC+ (adjusted scoring creativity), 173 bWAR (contribution to victory over substitute players) 10.5.
In the World Series, Mays showed remarkable defense, dubbed “The Catch,” which completely changed the course of the series. Mays led the New York Giants to their last victory against the Cleveland Indians (currently the Guardians), who had the most wins in the regular season (111 wins).
Mace later continued his 13-year heyday until 1966, the 35-year-old season, winning two MVP, one hit king, four stolen bases, and four home run kings during this period, and also dominated the league’s best hitter, ranking first in slugging percentage, OPS, and wRC+ several times.
During this period, Mace’s average annual performance is .315.390.601 40 home runs, 109 RBIs, and 21 steals, wRC+ 164 bWAR 9.5, which is considered the best hitter in history, compared to Pujols’ performance (.331.426.624 41 home runs, 118 RBIs, wRC+ 169 bWAR 8.2) and is considered the best fielder in history.
Mace also boasted the best defense ever as a center fielder, as he won the Gold Glove Award for 12 consecutive years, including a critical defense (The Catch) that led to the World Series victory. To this day, Mace remains the most awarded Gold Glove along with Pittsburgh Legend outfielder Roberto Clemente, and thanks to this tremendous defense, Mace recorded a career-high 18.2 bWAR, the highest ever for an outfielder.
Mace has played overwhelmingly as the best five-tool player of all time, not only recording six seasons of bWAR over 10 bWARs, but also ranking first in the bWAR season by 10 times (tying Babe Ruth) which is the most in history.
Mace’s heyday ended in 1967, but he continued to be an All-Star until his retirement, recording an OPS of 0.780 or higher each season.
In 1972, he was traded to the Mets and returned to New York, where he started his major league career, and was selected as an All-Star until the 1973 season, which was his retirement season. He ended his career with a record of 2nd place in history, selecting an All-Star for 20 consecutive years from his return season after being discharged from the military and participating in 24 All-Star games (at the time, the All-Star game was played in two games).
Mays was named the only recipient of the 3,000-hitter-500-homer-300-homer-Gold Glove 10 times, along with a career .301.384.557 3293 hits and 660 home runs (6th all-time) 1909 RBI 338 steals wRC+ 154 bWAR 156.2 (3rd all-time). He is considered to have been a great player to match Babe Ruth and entered the Hall of Fame right away in 1979 with a high 95% of the vote.
Since his retirement, Mays has been active in the media while working in baseball as two teams that have designated his number 24 as permanent absentee, a batting assistant coach for the New York Mets or a special assistant for the general manager of the San Francisco Giants.
Mace, who is known for his great personality, was so kind to the people around him that he often played ball with the kids on the street and received tremendous support from fans. Although Mace passed away, the miraculous play, persistence, and countless achievements that are still talked about will stay with baseball fans and remember the name Willie Mace forever.