Tag: Willie Mays

OCT 29: “You’re out!”

OCTOBER 29, 1979 | ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY | Hall of Fame outfielder Willie Mays began work as a greeter for an Atlantic City Casino on this date in 1979, and Commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspended him from the game.

Kuhn had given the former New York and San Francisco Giant’s star an ultimatum; if he took the casino job he’d have to sever all ties with Major League Baseball.

It created a dilemma for the game. On the one hand Mays made a good living during his career, but it didn’t set him up to be a retired multi-millionaire like it does today’s stars. He needed an income to continue his comfortable lifestyle. On the other hand Major League Baseball has been paranoid about gambling since long before the Black Sox Scandal of 1919. Baseball players and gamblers liked each others’ company in the game’s early days, and major league baseball was very uncomfortable about that.

The “Say Hey” kid however, was a hero to every red-blooded American baseball fan. He had just been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame that summer. Mays was not only one of the best ever, he was fun to watch.

Many fans gave him the benefit of the doubt a lesser star wouldn’t enjoy. They thought the Commissioner’s suspension was heavy-handed. It didn’t matter to Kuhn, Mays was unwelcome around pro baseball.

His suspension wasn’t lifted until 1985 by Peter Ueberroth, who succeeded Kuhn as Commissioner. Today Willie Mays is a special assistant to the San Francisco Giants.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCE:
Willie Mays: A Biography, by Mary Kay Linge, 2005

JAN 17: MAYS DEFENDS OWNERS

TODAY’S STORY TAKES US BACK TO SAN FRANCISCO JANUARY 17, 1970. 

Baseball great Willie Mays spoke out in favor of major league baseball owners on this date in baseball history.
 
The San Francisco Giant outfielder told broadcaster and former player Joe Garagiola, “If players control the game it is going to be bad. Owners must make some money, too.”
 
Mays’ comments were in reference to Curt Flood. The St. Louis Cardinals traded Flood to the Philadelphia Phillies. Flood refused to report in protest of baseball’s reserve clause which put the player’s future totally in the hands of the team that held his contract.
 
Mays didn’t criticize Flood, only saying, “That’s a personal thing. For myself I want to stay in San Francisco, but if the Giants traded me I would go.”
 
Flood sued Major League Baseball and the case went all the way to the United State Supreme Court. The Court ruled against Flood in 1972, saying that Major League Baseball was exempt from antitrust laws. But the case paved the way for free agency.
 
Flood only played 13 more games in his career and retired at age 33. Willie Mays was traded to the New York Mets in 1972. He retired in 1973.
Contributing source:
 Jack Hanley, The Daily Review, Hayward, California, January 18, 1970

A STORY FROM APRIL 30 IN BASEBALL HISTORY – MAYS JOINS EXCLUSIVE GROUP

DSCN2130TODAYINBASEBALL.com TAKES US BACK TO MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN  ON APRIL 30, 1961.  Willie Mays joined an exclusive group on this date – the 4 home run group. At the time, Mays was just the 7th player in major league baseball history to hit 4 home runs in a nine-inning game. His blasts helped his San Francisco Giants beat the Milwaukee Braves (today’s Atlanta Braves) 14-4.

Baseballs flew out of Milwaukee County Stadium on that Sunday afternoon in Wisconsin. Besides Mays’ 4 round-trippers, teammate Jose Pagan hit 2 home runs, as did Henry Aaron of the Braves. Solo shots were hit by the Giants’ Orlando Cepeda and Felipe Alou.

As of this writing [April 23, 2018], 11 players have hit four home runs in 9-inning games in the modern era:

Bobby Lowe, Boston Beaneaters, May 30, 1894
Ed Delahanty, Philadelphia Phillies, July 13, 1896
Lou Gehrig, New York Yankees June 3, 1932
Gil Hodges, Brooklyn Dodgers August 31, 1950
Joe Adcock, Milwaukee Braves July 31, 1954
Rocky Colavito, Cleveland Indians June 10, 1959
Willie Mays, San Francisco Giants – April 30, 1961
Bob Horner, Atlanta Braves – July 6, 1986
Mark Whiten, St. Louis Cardinals – Sept 7, 1993
Mike Cameron, Seattle Mariners – May 2, 2002
Shawn Green, Los Angeles Dodgers – May 23, 2002
Carlos Delgado, Toronto Blue Jays – Sept 25, 2003
Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers – May 8, 2012
Scooter Gennett, Cincinnati Reds, June 6, 2017
J.D. Martinez, Arizona Diamondbacks – Sept 4, 2017

Several years usually pass between 4-home run games, but only 21 days separated Mike Cameron’s and Shawn Green’s displays of power in 2002.

Chuck Klein (1936), Pat Seerey (1948) and Mike Schmidt (1976) have also each hit 4 home runs in one game, but they needed extra innings to do it.

No one has ever hit 5 home runs in one game. But on this date in 1961, Willie Mays joined an exclusive group by hitting 4.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
MLB hitting leaders
Baseball-Almanac