[117][118] Mays had one of his best games on April30, 1961, hitting four home runs and driving in eight runs against the Milwaukee Braves at County Stadium. "[76] In his induction speech, Mays said, "What can I say? [179] Against the Mets on May31, he hit a game-tying eighth-inning home run, saved multiple runs with his defense at first base, and performed a strategic base-running maneuver with one out in the 11th inning, running slowly from second to third base to draw a throw from Tim Foli and allow Al Gallagher to reach first safely. Professional Career Willie's response: "Tell Leo I'm not coming." 22 Heath called, and Durocher laid into Mays on the phone. In return, he could still play high school football. [48][179] In the NL Championship Series (NLCS) against the Pirates, Mays had a home run and three RBI in the first two games. [151][152] Mays won his second MVP award in 1965 behind a career-high 52 home runs, in what Barra said "may very well have [been] his best year". [58] When Mays was the only player elected to the Hall of Fame in 1979, Duke Snider, who finished second in voting that year, said, "Willie really more or less deserves to be in by himself. [224] The team travelled around the southern United States the first two years, attaining crowds of about 5,000 in 1955 but drawing less than 1,000 in 1956, partly because of the advent of television. [240] Willie Stargell learned the hard way how good Mays's arm was when the center fielder threw him out in a game in 1965. [185] After the season, Mays was honored as the winner of the inaugural Roberto Clemente Award, known at that time as the Commissioner's Award. [136] On July2, when Spahn and Juan Marichal each threw 15 scoreless innings, Mays hit a 16th-inning home run off Spahn, giving the Giants a 10 victory. His impact on kids were enormous. [129] On September30, Mays hit a game-winning home run in the Giants' final regularly scheduled game of the year, forcing the team into a tie for first place with the Los Angeles Dodgers. [110] He found the stadium tricky to field but figured out how to play it as the season progressed. [54] Mays hit poorly while the Giants lost the series 42. [178] Oracle Park, their stadium, is at 24Willie Mays Plaza. In front of the main entrance is a nine-foot-tall statue of Mays, who has a private box at the stadium. [196], In 1973, Mays showed up a day late to spring training, then left in the middle of it without notifying manager Yogi Berra beforehand. At 90 years old, Mays is still alive and appears to be doing quite well. Emerald was one of Cleopatra's favorite gems. On the basketball team, he led players at all-black high schools in Jefferson County in scoring. Mays hit .313/.381/.583 with 34 home runs, 43 doubles, 125 runs, 104 RBIs, a league-best 27 steals, won another Gold Glove (he'd win 12 in . [264][265][266] In the urban game of hitting a rubber ball with an adapted broomstick handle, Mays could hit a shot that measured "five sewers" (the distance of six consecutive New York City manhole covers, nearly 450 feet (140m). A classic example of a 5-tool player, Mays finished his career with a batting average of .302. [48] In 1957, Mays became the fourth player in major league history to join the 202020 club (doubles, triples, homers). In the game against the Phillies, Mays reached second base on an error, stole third, and scored the winning run on a Hank Sauer single, all on plays close enough that he had to slide to make each one. Celebrating Willie Mays' 91st Birthday. "[258], Sudden collapses plagued Mays sporadically throughout his career, which occasionally led to hospital stays. But I'm here today because baseball is my number one love. [302][303] Others mentioning him include "I Shall Be Free" by Bob Dylan, "Talkin' Baseball (Willie, Mickey & The Duke)" by Terry Cashman, which refers to the three great New York City center fielders of the 1950s, and "Willie Mays is Up at Bat" by Chuck Prophet and Kurt Lipschutz.[304][305][306]. [289] Though Mays never went to college, he has been awarded honorary degrees by Yale University, Dartmouth College, and San Francisco State University.[290][291][292]. He held the NL record for career home runs from 1966 until Henry Aaron passed him during the 1972 season, during which time he became the second player and the first right-handed hitter to hit 600 home runs. Like. [71][72] Mays hit only five home runs after July 28 but upped his batting average from .326 to .345 to win the team's first batting title since Bill Terry's in 1930. 1 . [199], On August 17, 1973, Mays hit his final (660th) home run against the Reds' Don Gullett. [192][274] In 1985, less than a year after replacing Kuhn as commissioner, Peter Ueberroth decided to allow Mays to return to baseball. Vernard Adams, the Hillsborough County, Florida medical examiner, reported that Mays had hypertensive heart disease and that heart disease was most likely the cause of his death following the first autopsy on June 29, 2009. After being told by Kuhn that he could not be part of both baseball and a casino, Mays terminated his contract with the Mets, and he was banned from baseball. Write your answer. [60] Discharged on March1, 1954, he reported to Giants' spring training camp the following day. [259] "I really didn't need anything," Mays said. Owner Horace Stoneham could not guarantee Mays an income after retirement and the Mets offered Mays a coaching position upon his retirement. "I'm a ballplayer. His self-discipline made possible an epic. Sports Collectibles carries all the Willie Mays memorabilia. [279] Mays founded a charity, the Say Hey Foundation, which promotes youth baseball. Willie Mays's birth flower is Lily of the valley. [169][170] On September22, he hit his 600th home run, saying later, "Winning the game was more important to me than any individual achievements. [180][181] He had 15 home runs and a .290 average at the All-Star break but faded down the stretch, only hitting three home runs and batting .241 for the rest of the year. As recounted in San Francisco's draft report intended to shed light on the development and evolution of the city's African American communities and inform the future preservation of historic properties and other historic resources, the developer of the 3,200-square-foot . [285] On July14, 2009, he accompanied Barack Obama to St. Louis aboard Air Force One for that year's All-Star Game. [14] His father raised him[15] and two girls, Sarah and Ernestine. It strikes with the clarity of a line drive. [e][69] Mays became the first player in history to hit 30 home runs before the All-Star Game. [81][84] Leading the league with a .659 slugging percentage, Mays batted .319 as the Giants finished in third. Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979 in his first year of eligibility, and was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999. In 1973, with two arthritic knees but a healed forearm, McCovey hit nearly as well as ever in 130 games, many of them as a pinch-hitter, he belted 29 home runs . [317], Mays with the San Francisco Giants in 1961, New York / San Francisco Giants (19511952, 19541972), World Series champion and NL MVP (19541955), It is not known for certain how Mays became known as the "Say Hey Kid"; sportswriters Barney Kremenko and. It is also a business. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, only his first year of eligibility. [168] He injured his knee in a collision with catcher Randy Hundley on July29, forcing him to miss several games. Willie Howard Mays was born in 1931. [314][315] In 2018, blind sportswriter Ed Lucas wrote that Mays had told him a "few years ago" that he had actually gone blind. He's a member of the 3,000-hit club. "[171] In 117 games, he batted .283 with 13 home runs and 58RBI. [15], Cat exposed Willie to baseball at an early age, playing catch with him at five and allowing him to sit on the bench with his Birmingham Industrial League team at ten. [214] In the first All-Star Game of 1959, Mays hit a game-winning triple against Whitey Ford; Bob Stevens of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that "Harvey Kuenn gave it honest pursuit, but the only center fielder in baseball who could have caught it hit it. [146] Johnson kicked him in the head and nearly knocked him out. [300] Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts mentioned Mays numerous times. Snoop Dogg is first cousins with a professional wrestler, Sasha Banks. "We were all entertainers," he said, "and my job was to give the fans something to talk about each game. Share. [106][107] In September 1959, the Giants led the NL pennant race by two games with only eight games to play, but a sweep by the Dodgers began a stretch of six losses in those final games, dooming them to a third-place finish. The couple adopted a five-day-old baby named Michael in 1959. Following his divorce from Margherite, he married Mae Louise Allen in 1971 and were together until she died in 2013. [164][165] In 141 games, Mays hit .263 with 83 runs scored, 128 hits, and 22 home runs. [33], Several major league teams were interested in signing Mays, but they had to wait until he graduated from high school to offer him a contract. Willie Mays Net Worth Now coming to the most important point for which you all have been eagerly waiting, that is the net worth of this celebrity which is estimated to be somewhat around $5 million as of 2022. His father, William Howard, was a steelworker who mined in the all-black town of Fairfield, only thirteen miles from Birmingham. Mays told him that he didn't feel that he could hit big-league pitching. Durocher, speechless for perhaps the first time in his life, finally broke his silence and asked Mays what he was hitting. If not much, we have compiled all you need to know about Willie Mays's net worth in 2023, his . What illness does Willie Mays suffer from? After the home run, Spahn asked him, "Was it anything like the same feeling?" [166] He played 148 games and upped his batting average to .289, accumulating 84 runs scored, 144 hits, 23 home runs, and 79RBI. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Willie Howard Mays. Born on May 6, 1931, Willie Mays is an American baseball player from Westfield, Alabama. Rigney batted Mays leadoff in the final game, hoping to give him more at-bats and a shot at the title. Ive always said that Willie Mays was the best player I ever saw. does willie mays have siblings. [9][10][11] His father, Cat Mays, was a talented baseball player with the black team at the local iron plant. View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen. [81] In the middle of May, Durocher asked him to try for more home runs. 1, Willie Mays. They played 20 games in Mexico in 1958, but Mays did not lead a team in 1959; Stoneham wanted him to rest because he was suffering from a broken finger. He hit .262 for the season and stood out because of his excellent fielding and base running. [63] After he batted .250 in his first 20 games, Durocher moved him from third to fifth in the batting order and again encouraged him to stop attempting to pull the ball and try to get hits to right field. [76] Sometimes he would deliberately slip to the ground for catches to make them look tougher than they really were. [234] He ran the bases daringly, becoming the only modern player to score from first base on a single to left field, and another time scoring from first base on a McCovey bunt (without an error). [161][162] On June7, Gary Nolan of the Cincinnati Reds struck him out four times; this was the first time in his career this had happened, though the Giants still won the game 43. He kept the injury a secret from opposing players, making two or three practice throws before games to discourage them from running on him. Neil Leifer/Sports Illustrated. During Gerald Ford's administration in 1976, he was invited to the White House state dinner honoring Queen Elizabeth II, whom Mays met. Moved to the leadoff slot the last day to increase his at bats, Mays collected three hits in the game to finish with a career-high .347, but Philadelphia's Richie Ashburn batted .350. Pin. [287][288], In September 2017, Major League Baseball renamed the World Series MVP Award the Willie Mays World Series MVP Award. Baseball fans also refer to him by the nicknames "The Say Hey Kid" and "Buck." In 1948, he was drafted by the Negro American League as a player for the Birmingham Black Barons. He garnered 409 of the 432 ballots cast (94.68%). [216] At Cleveland Stadium in the 1963 All-Star Game, he made the finest catch, snagging his foot under a wire fence in center field as he grasped a long fly ball hit by Joe Pepitone that might have given the AL the lead. I chose baseball, and I loved every minute of it. [48][250] Mays's 24 appearances on an All-Star Game roster are tied with Musial for second all-time, behind only Aaron's 25. "Same feeling. [57], After his induction into the Army on May29, Mays reported to Fort Eustis in Virginia, where he spent much of his time playing on military baseball teams with other major leaguers. Mays is considered one the greatest players of all time for his acrobatic fielding, steady hitting, and impressive . Willie,s number 24 had been unofficially retired by the Mets as well, although issued a few times after his two-year passage with the team. 24 during Old Timers' Day ceremony", "Mets retire Willie Mays' No. "I thought I'd be crying by now," he told reporters and Mets' executives at a press conference that day, "but I see so many people here who are my friends, I can'tBaseball and me, we had what you might call a love affair. [95] In the final Giants' home game at the Polo Grounds on September29, 1957, fans gave Mays a standing ovation in the middle of his final at bat, after Pirates' pitcher Bob Friend had already thrown a pitch to him. [224] In 1960, Mays also did not barnstorm, but he and the Giants did go to Tokyo, playing an exhibition series of 16 games against the Yomiuri Giants. Though Baseball-Reference list Mays as 12th in career RBI, MLB.com ranks him 11th. "[202] Five days later, the Mets honored him on Willie Mays Night, proclaimed by New York City mayor John Lindsay, where he thanked the New York fans and said goodbye to baseball. "[69], During the first part of his career, Mays often participated in barnstorming tours after his regular season with the Giants ended. [48][93] He finished in the NL's top-five in a variety of offensive categories: runs scored (112, third) batting average (.333, second), and home runs (35, fourth). Willie Howard Mays, Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "The Say Hey Kid", is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder who spent almost all of his 22 season career playing for the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Willie Mays Baseball is a game, yes. He dropped the cross three times, didn't he? [205] A shoulder injury to Rusty Staub prompted the Mets to shift Don Hahn to right field and start Mays in center at the start of the Series. [32][31] Mays helped Birmingham advance to the 1948 Negro World Series, which they lost 41 to the Homestead Grays. [9] His parents never married[9] but separated when Mays was three. [194] In his Mets debut against the Giants on May14, Mays put New York ahead to stay with a fifth-inning home run, receiving ecstatic applause from the fans at Shea Stadium. [310] Wilt Chamberlain had given Mays her number in 1961, and they dated off and on the next several years. In 1955 he made a run at the Triple Crown, leading the league with 51 home runs and finishing second in batting and RBI. Homes - Celebrity - Sports - Baseball. President Barack Obama presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. Evading Foli's tag on the return throw to third, Mays scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly. [48][149] On September13, he hit his 500th career home run off Don Nottebart, becoming the fifth player to reach the mark. Baseball is almost like oxygen for Willie Mays. [172] In an April game, Mays collided with Bobby Bonds while reaching his glove over the wall but made a catch to rob Bobby Tolan of a home run. As DiMaggio called Mantle off, the younger Yankee got his cleat stuck in an open drainpipe, suffering a knee injury that would affect him the rest of his career. [186], Mays got off to a tortuous start to the 1972 season, batting .184 through his first 19 games. He holds major league records for games as a center fielder (2,829), putouts as an outfielder (7,095) and extra-inning home runs (22), and ended his career behind only Ty Cobb in total games as an outfielder (2,842) and ranking seventh in assists (188) and third in double plays (59) in center field. The next batter, McCovey, hit a line drive that was caught by Bobby Richardson, and the Yankees won the deciding game 10. "To me, Willie Mays is the greatest who ever played," Roberto Clemente said. Willie Mays Siblings. Sportswriters have argued about whether the technique made him a better fielder or just made him more exciting to watch, but the basket catch did not prevent Mays from setting a record with 7,095 outfield putouts. But Sunday . The Treniers recorded the most famous one"Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song)"in 1954, with Mays himself participating in the recording. The Baseball 100: No. While McCovey was on the disabled list, the Giants traded Willie Mays to the Mets, which marked the start of the club's efforts to rid itself of its aging, high-salaried players. [3][313], Glaucoma forced Mays to stop driving a car and playing golf after 2005. [144] On August22, Mays acted as a peacemaker during a 14-minute brawl between the Giants and Dodgers after Marichal had bloodied Dodgers catcher John Roseboro with a bat. [46] He would bat close to .290 for the rest of the season. [38], Playing excellent defense, Mays was called up by the Giants on May 24, 1951. [76] Holding his glove around his belly, he would keep his palm turned up, enabling the ball to fall right into his glove. [143] While he batted under .300 (.296) for the first time since 1956, he led the NL with 47 home runs and ranked second with 121 runs scored and 111 RBI. I am not a politician or a writer or a historian. Willie Mays makes the game-saving catch in the Giants' 1954 World Series opener against the Cleveland Indians during Game 1 on September 29, 1954 . After the brawl, Mays hit a game-winning three-run home run against Sandy Koufax, but he did not finish the game, feeling dizzy after the home run. Player stats do not include the extensive amount of exhibitions and barnstorming games Negro League teams often played. [8] Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed " the Say Hey Kid " [a] and " Buck ", [7] is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). [261], Along with Mantle (of the Yankees) and Snider (of the Dodgers), Mays was part of a triumvirate of center fielders from the New York teams of the 1950s who would be elected to the Hall of Fame. The span of 11 years between his MVP awards was the longest gap of any major leaguer who attained the distinction more than once, as were the 10 years between his 50 home run seasons. He batted .236 with four home runs in 34 games. Mays became the third husband of Marghuerite Wendell Chapman (19262010) in 1956. "[270], After Mays retired as a player, he remained in the New York Mets organization as their hitting instructor until the end of the 1979 season. Batting against Ralph Terry, he hit a ball into the right-field corner that might have been deep enough to score Alou, but Giants third base coach Whitey Lockman opted to hold Alou at third. [48] He stole 338 bases in his career. [108] In 1959, Mays batted .313 with 34 home runs and 113 RBIs, leading the league in stolen bases for the fourth year in a row. He attributed them to his style of play. [268] Naturally, his approach had its critics. His right thumb would stick out in the air as he waited for pitches, but he wrapped it around the bat as he swung. "I started thinking home run every time I got up," Mays explained the slump. [225] Though teams of black All-Stars assembled those two seasons, they drew fewer fans and opted not to assemble in 1961, when Mays again decided not to barnstorm. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in . [48] His 2,992 games played are the ninth-highest total of any major leaguer as of June 2021. [286] Six years later, Obama honored Mays with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. [222] Following his rookie year, Mays went on a barnstorming tour with an All-Star team assembled by Campanella, playing in Negro League stadiums around the southern United States. Willie Mays Robinson was important to all blacks. On May 24, 1951, the MLB selected Willie to play centerfield for the New York . Mays would only play home games for the Black Barons. [26] Though he turned 18 in 1949, Mays did not graduate from Fairfield until 1950, which journalist Allen Barra calls "a minor mystery in Willie's life". His parents, gifted athletes in their own right, were only sixteen at the time of his birth. The Giants won 65 in 10 innings. Willie Mays's birthstone is Emerald. It has long been associated with fertility, rebirth, and love. "[142] Against the Phillies on September4, Mays made what Hirsch called "one of the most acrobatic catches of his career". The Hall of Fame professional baseball legend lives here. He won the admiration of many with his cheerful personality, sportsmanship, and restraint in the face of provocation. [145] Mays grabbed Roseboro by the waist and helped him off the field, then tackled Lou Johnson to keep him from attacking an umpire. Mays won two National League (NL . The Giants lost the series in four games. Willie Mays Wife. In 1958, after the Giants had left New York for San Francisco, an old man approached Mays during . Teams of star players would travel from city to city playing exhibition games for local fans. [48] In 1969, new Giants' manager Clyde King moved Mays to the leadoff position in the batting lineup because Mays was hitting fewer home runs. [235], On January23, 1979, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. "[237] In 1999, Mays placed second on The Sporting News's "List of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players", trailing only Babe Ruth. Ida was born on April 27 1905, in Green Rd., Ky.. [312][309] [246] His 2,062 runs scored rank seventh, and his 1,903RBI rank12th as of June 2021. Submit "[241] "If somebody came up and hit .450, stole 100 bases and performed a miracle in the field every day, Id still look you in the eye and say Willie was better," Durocher said. [48] Sabermetrician Bill James thinks Mays was the best centerfielder of all time, naming him the best in the major leagues in the 1950s and the 1960s. The day Pvt. Willie Mays is a New York Giants legend, known for his all-around play. Updated: May 19, 2020 . The 1954 series is perhaps best remembered for "The Catch", an over-the-shoulder running grab by Mays of a long drive off the bat of Vic Wertz about 425 feet (130m) from home plate at the Polo Grounds during the eighth inning of Game1. [135], Before the 1963 season, Mays signed a contract worth a record-setting $105,000 per season (equivalent to $929,364 in 2021). All questions regarding. The Giants again won the pennant and in the World Series, faced the Cleveland Indians - winners of an AL-record 111 games. "[58][244] Teammate Felipe Alou said, "[Mays] is number one, without a doubt. Commemorate Willie Mays with these Willie Mays collectibles and memorabilia. He's too good for this world. "[88], The relationship between Mays and Rigney improved in 1957. [270] Mays believed his job was to play baseball, not talk about social issues. But it wasn't for lack of funds. He won a batting title, four home run titles and four stolen base titles. Mays was a 24-time All-Star selection, a 12-time Gold Glove winner, the 1951 National League Rookie of the Year, a two-time NL Most Valuable Player (1954, 1965) and a member of the 1954 World Series champion New York Giants. Following the Korean War, the Congressional Armed Services Defenses Subcommittee investigated the military records of ten athletes who had been drafted into the service, and a Congressional report dated July 22 determined that the athletes were "pampered" or "coddled" while in uniform. [48], Alvin Dark was hired to manage the Giants before the start of the 1961 season, and the improving Giants finished in third place. Baseball's oldest living Hall of Famer, Willie Mays, will be the subject of a new HBO production expected to premiere next year. The date of birth of Willie Mays is 6-may-31. This gave him his second straight 30-30 club season. Rigney stopped giving Mays as much direction, trusting his star player's ability and instinct. [179][182] One reason he hit so few home runs was that Mays walked 112 times, 30 more times than he had at any point in his career. [155] He finally set the record May4. I sacrificed a bad marriage and I sacrificed a good marriage. He served as a coach for the Mets for the rest of the decade, and later rejoined the Giants as a special assistant to the president and general manager. Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-time lists, including those of The Sporting News and ESPN. [238] Later that year, fans elected him to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. The net worth is $4 Million. Willie Mays Biography Born: May 6, 1931 Westfield, Alabama African American baseball player During the twenty-one seasons in his major league career, Willie Mays hit more than six hundred home runs. After sharing some of it with his teammates, Mays sent the rest to the Texas Children's Hospital. Even during their short-lived marriage, there were already . Willie McCovey, a left-handed pull hitter, lined the ball seemingly to right field, but it was caught by second baseman Bobby Richardson, playing deep and in the hole. [H]e could have been an All-Star at any position. When Margherite Wendell Chapman and Willie Mays were together, they lived in San Francisco's Sherwood Forest neighborhood. Q: Does billy mays have any siblings? They had 12 children: Charles Mays, Thelma Davidson (born Mays) and 10 other children. I give you one wordlove. [A]nyone who played with him or against him would agree that he is the best. [125] Mays said in 1959 that he did not mind the booing, but he admitted in a 1961 article that the catcalls were bothering him. [254] David Schoenfield of ESPN, James, and Barra each think he should have won the NL MVP Award at least seven times. [143] Ruben Amaro, Sr., hit a ball to the scoreboard at Philadelphia's Connie Mack Stadium. Willie Mays, born on May 6, 1931, was a professional baseball player, team captain, and instructor. [207][208] Mays's last hit came later in the same game, an RBI single against Rollie Fingers that snapped a 77 tie in the 12th inning of a 107 victory. [87] Though his RBI (84) and batting average (.296) were his lowest for nearly a decade, Barra observed that "Willie Mays was still the best all-around player in the National League. Hirsch identifies Sarah and Ernestine as Willie's aunts; however, in his 1988 autobiography, Mays says they were two orphans his father took in. Initially, the stadium was expected to be conducive to home runs, but unpredictable winds affected Mays's power, and he hit only 12 at home in 1960. "I threw you the first one and now I've seen the five-hundredth," Spahn said. [22][23][24] His favorite baseball player growing up was Joe DiMaggio; other favorites were Ted Williams and Stan Musial. However, the report did not find Mays guilty of any wrongdoing. He ended his career with a return to New York after a mid-season trade to the New York Mets in 1972, retiring after the team's trip to the 1973 World Series. Barra refers to him as E. J. but notes that Mays refers to him as E. T. in two memoirs. San Francisco won 32. [133][211] The Mets lost the series in seven games. You won't be here to help me," Durocher told his star, "Willie Mays doesn't need help from anyone. [52][53] In Game1, Mays, Hank Thompson, and Monte Irvin comprised the first all-African-American outfield in major league history. Initially, we published one a day . [161][163] Afflicted by a fever on July14, Mays left that day's game after the sixth inning because of fatigue and spent five days in a hospital. [80], Mays added base stealing to his talents, upping his total from eight in 1954 to 24 in 1955. Here's a look at the life of Baseball Hall of Fame center fielder Willie Mays. Mays joined the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League in 1948, playing with them until the Giants signed him once he graduated from high school in 1950, then won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1951 after hitting 20 home runs to help the Giants win their first pennant in 14 years. Willie's albums including Shotgun Willie and Stardust topped the charts. MLB held two All-Star Games a year from 1959 through 1962. He found massive success in playing with the New York Giants and San Francisco Giants. When Mays responded, "But Mr. Leo, it's going to be different with you gone. 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