Willie Mays is a painting by Gregory Perillo which was uploaded on August 13th, 2014.
Willie Mays
Thanks to the successful pioneering efforts of Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays was one of the first African-American kids to be brought up to the... more
Title
Willie Mays
Artist
Gregory Perillo
Medium
Painting - Oil On Canvas
Description
Thanks to the successful pioneering efforts of Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays was one of the first African-American kids to be brought up to the Majors. At age twenty, he could do it all!
Mays was drafted by the Army in 1952, and the New York Giants sorely missed him as they took a nose-dive towards the cellar. In 1953, they finished fifth in their division and the prospects for 1954 looked no better. However, with their young all-star back in the lineup there was a dramatic turnaround. The Say Hey Kid batted .345 with 41 homers, stole bases at will and caught every fly ball which was even remotely in the vicinity of centerfield. The Giants has an MVP, and they won the National League championship. However, few experts gave them much chance in the World Series against a very good Cleveland Indians team.
It was in this 1954 World Series that Willie Mays made the greatest defensive play in baseball history. During the first game of the Series, Vic Wertz of the Indians hit a booming fly ball to the deepest caverns of the Polo Grounds. With the crack of the bat, Mays tore full speed toward the centerfield fence. His back to the infield and with barely a glance, he hauled in the ball over his left shoulder some 460 feet from home plate. The devastated Cleveland team couldnt believe it. They folded their tents and promptly lost the Series in four games.
From that time on, everyone loved to watch Willie Mays play centerfield. Making even routine fly balls fun to watch, he used his famous basket catch in which his glove was held minimally extended from his waist.
In 1961, Willie Mays hit four homeruns in one game! During his twenty-two years in the Majors, he slugged 660 homers (3rd all-time), 1323 extra base hits (4th all-time) and scored 2,062 runs (fifth all-time). He is also ranked in the top ten for career hits (3285 9th), games played (2,992 6th), at bats (10,881 8th), total bases (6,066 3rd), RBIs (1903 7th) and slugging average (.557 10th). Combining blinding speed with his excellent hitting, he stole 338 bases.
A two time MVP (1954, 1965), Willie Mays led the National League in homeruns and stolen bases four times each. He played in the All-Star game every year he was in the Majors. A near unanimous selection, he was the only player inducted into the Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.
Uploaded
August 13th, 2014