Willie Mays: All-Time All-Star

“They invented the All-Star Game for Willie Mays.” – Ted Williams1

 

 

It starts with the numbers, but certainly doesn’t end there. The stats show that Willie Mays is the greatest performer in the history of the All-Star Game. He leads or shares the lead in All-Star games played (24), plate appearances (82), at-bats (75), runs (20), hits (23), total bases (40), triples (3), stolen bases (6), and singles (15).

Mays played in 24 All-Star games over 20 years, starting in 1954 and ending in 1973. Some of his counting stats are high because for four years (1959-62) the leagues played two All-Star Games per season. Though the sample size of All-Star plate appearances is small, rate metrics show that Mays’ All-Star Game play compares favorably to his regular-season performance even though he was hitting against the best arms the American League had to offer. In All-Star Games, Mays had a slash line of .307/.366/.533 (for an OPS of .899), which is close to his career marks of .301/.384/.557 (OPS .940).2

A review of the context for these performances tells us even more about their significance. Mays led a resurgence in the fortunes of the National League All-Star teams.3 Before his first All-Star Game appearance, the American League led the series (which started in 1933), 12 wins to 8. After his final appearance, in the 1973 midsummer classic, the NL led the AL 25-18. During his career, played entirely in the National League, the NL went 17-6-1.

One of the main reasons for the NL’s midcentury dominance was the senior circuit’s greater propensity to sign and retain African American and Black Latino players.4 Willie Mays was a link between the “color-line” pioneers (his first ASG was Jackie Robinson’s last one, and Mays substituted for Robinson in that game) and the generation of Black players who dominated the game in the late 1950s and the ’60s (including his Giants and NL teammates Orlando Cepeda and Willie McCovey).

Another factor that made Mays’ All-Star Game performances stand out was the relative (compared to now) importance of the midsummer game in the sports media landscape of the 1950s and ’60s. Most regular-season games were not on local TV – for the Giants this was particularly true after the move to San Francisco5 – and national games were restricted to a “game of the week,” the All-Star Game, and the World Series. There was no regular-season interleague play during Mays’ career, so only fans in National League cities saw him play in person.

In this environment, a star like Mays could be legendary due to his statistics and performance highlights (such as “the Vic Wertz catch” in the 1954 World Series). He was also visible via advertisements, endorsements, and promotional appearances. Still, fans only had limited opportunities to see him play. All-Star Games presented one of the main chances, and Mays made the most of them. Over the first 15 years or so years of his career, almost every All-Star Game included performances that made Willie Mays’ All-Star Game legend. Here are the highlights.

1954 – One couldn’t script a better changing-of-the-guard moment. In his first All-Star Game appearance, Mays substituted for the great Jackie Robinson in the home half of the fourth inning. Mays took his place in center field and Duke Snider, who had started there, slid over to Robinson’s position in left. It was Robinson’s final All-Star appearance. In the game, played in Cleveland, Mays singled in his second at-bat, in the eighth inning, and scored the tying run on a home run by Gus Bell. But the AL scored three times in the bottom of the eighth to win, 11-9.

1955 – Mays again came off the bench, this time playing a pivotal role in a 6-5 NL extra-inning victory in Milwaukee. After replacing Snider in center field in the top of the sixth, Mays singled twice and scored two runs. But his most remarked-upon play in the 1955 classic came on defense. In the top of the seventh, with the AL still up 5-0, two outs, and a runner on first, Ted Williams hit a long drive to the wall in right-center. Mays sprinted toward the ball, leapt above the wall and caught it in his glove for the final out of the inning.6 Years later, Mays cited this as his personal favorite catch over and above the more celebrated one from the 1954 World Series.7

1956 – Mays was once again the backup center fielder as ballot stuffing in Cincinnati led to the selection of Gus Bell as the starter at the position. Mays pinch-hit for Bell in the top of the fourth and hit his first All-Star Game home run, a two-run shot that put the NL up 3-0. He scored again after walking in the top of the seventh inning. The NL won the game, played at Washington’s Griffith Stadium, by a 7-3 score.

1957 – Mays got his first start as the NL center fielder in St. Louis, but only after Commissioner Ford Frick countermanded the Cincinnati fans’ vote for Bell. From 1958 to 1969, All-Star Game starters were picked by a vote of players, managers, and coaches to prevent ballot stuffing. Mays singled and tripled (scoring two runs) in his final All-Star Game appearance as a New York Giant.

1958 – Mays started in center field and led off (unusual for him in normal play, but something fans would see often over the next decade of midsummer classics). This year, in a game the AL won 5-4 in Baltimore, Mays scored two runs, the second of which came after he stole second and reached third on a catcher throwing error.8

1959 – This was the first of four consecutive years with two All-Star Games. The additional game was added to benefit the players’ pension fund. It’s worth noting that in six of the eight games in these years, Mays played all nine innings. This reflected the seriousness with which the leagues and players approached the contests as well as Mays’ preeminence among NL outfielders.

In the first 1959 game, played at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field, Mays tripled in the bottom of the eighth, driving in Henry Aaron and giving the NL its final 5-4 margin. The second game that year was played in Los Angeles at the Memorial Coliseum, and Mays uncharacteristically went 0-for-4 at the plate.

1960 – At age 29, Mays had his best year as an All-Star, going 6-for-8 across two games with a home run, a triple, a double, two runs scored, and an RBI. He also stole a base and had nine putouts in center field, the most of any year in his career.

In the year’s first All-Star Game, played at Kansas City, Mays singled, doubled, and tripled. In his final at-bat, in the top of the sixth, he flied out to right, missing the opportunity to hit for the cycle. Vada Pinson replaced him in the field for the bottom of the sixth with the NL ahead 5-0. (They held on to win 5-3.)

In the second 1960 game, played at Yankee Stadium, Mays delighted the New York crowd with two singles and a home run, the second of his three round-trippers in All-Star play, to lead the NL to a 6-0 win. In the first inning, he stole third base, but was later picked off and caught trying to steal home.

1961 – The first All-Star Game took place at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, the only time Mays played in an All-Star game in his home ballpark. He had “only” two hits in five at-bats, scoring two runs (including the game-winner in the bottom of the 10th inning) and driving in another. Besides showcasing Mays’ skills, this game helped cement Candlestick’s national reputation as a blustery arena. Giants reliever Stu Miller was blown off the mound in the top of the ninth and called for a balk, sending the game to extra innings after the NL had gone into the ninth leading 3-1.9 The second 1961 game, at Fenway Park in Boston, ended in a 1-1 tie when rain ended play after nine innings. Mays went 1-for-3 with a walk.

1962 – This was the final year with two All-Star Games. In the first one, at the new DC Stadium in Washington with President John F. Kennedy in attendance, Mays went hitless, but still managed to impress The Sporting News writer Fredrick Lieb:

Willie Mays, who came into this first 1962 game with a batting average of .425 for his previous 11 All-Star games, drew only one walk in four trips to the plate, but he made one spectacular steal of third base, and was a tower of strength in center field. …

When the American League cause was nearly dead with two out in the ninth, and two on, Looie [sic] Aparicio, who had been tagging the ball well all day, sent a drive to right-center that looked as though it might duplicate Luis’ earlier triple. But, Mays sprinted for it, made another fine catch, and ran grinning for the exit gate.10

In 1962’s second game, held at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Mays went 2-for-2, but didn’t score any runs. He was replaced in the field by Henry Aaron in the top of the fourth.

1963 – The 1963 All-Star Game was the first for which Mays was designated Most Valuable Player. (The award had been introduced only the previous year.) Batting cleanup, he hit 1-for-3 with two runs, two RBIs, and two stolen bases. Again, his most noted play came in the field: With two out in the AL eighth, he made a running catch of a Joe Pepitone drive near the center-field fence. After he made the catch, his spikes got caught in Cleveland Stadium’s chain-link fence and he was replaced in the field for the ninth by Roberto Clemente.11

1964 – The All-Star Game was played at Shea Stadium in front of Mays’ original New York City fan base. It was a relatively quiet game for the superstar with no base hits in three official at-bats. Still, in the narrative of The Sporting News’s Carl Lundquist, Mays sparked the winning rally and scored the tying run:

Here’s how it all developed in that nerve-nipping ninth. It was altogether fitting and proper that wondrous Willie Mays, still an authentic hero to New York fandom, should be the instigator. He drew a walk off reliever Dick Radatz, the generally peerless Red Sox bull-pen star. Then, after an approving glance from National League Manager Walter Alston, who assured him he was on his own as he strolled to first, Willie stole second with the easy nonchalance of a fellow walking his dog.

That put the next move up to Giant teammate Orlando Cepeda and he blooped a Texas League single behind first base. Mays, now accelerating to the point where he was almost airborne as they say at nearby LaGuardia Airport, needed no second invitation to soar home as Yankee first baseman Joe Pepitone threw badly for an error and Cepeda took second.12

1965 – Batting first for the visiting National Leaguers in Minnesota, Mays led off the game with a home run, his third and, it turned out, final one in All-Star play. The National League raced out to a 5-0 lead in the first two frames, but the AL came back and tied it in the fifth inning. In the top of the seventh, Mays walked, advanced to third on a single by Henry Aaron, and scored the winning run on Ron Santo’s base hit. In the AL eighth, with the NL leading by one and AL runners on second and third, Mays made a leaping backhand catch to rob reserve center fielder Jimmie Hall of a base hit and the AL of a late lead. The NL won, 6-5.

1966 – As the 1960s continued, the major leagues entered an era of dominant pitching, reflected in the next few All-Star Game scores. The 1966 midsummer classic played at brand-new Busch Stadium in St. Louis started with three perfect innings pitched by Detroit’s 22-year-old Denny McLain. Mays contributed to his team’s victory, singling and coming around to score in the bottom of the fourth. The 35-year-old Mays played all 10 innings as the NL edged the AL, 2-1.

1967 – Slowed by injuries, Mays was an All-Star reserve for the first time in more than a decade but still got four at-bats as a substitute for starter Lou Brock. The dominant-pitching theme continued as the NL again won 2-1, this time in 15 innings. The game featured 30 strikeouts and only two walks by both teams.

1968 – The first All-Star Game played indoors and at night was held in Houston’s Astrodome on July 9, 1968. Mays led off and played the entire game in center field. He also scored the game’s only run in the bottom of the first – singling, advancing to second on an errant pickoff throw by Cleveland’s Luis Tiant, going to third on a wild pitch, and scoring on a double play by his Giants teammate, Willie McCovey. It was the only run in the NL’s 1-0 victory and, for his effort, Mays was rewarded with his second All-Star Game MVP award.

The hit in the 1968 game was Mays’ last in any midsummer classic. At the conclusion of that game, Mays’ All-Star slash line stood at .348/.411/.606 (OPS 1.017). It’s fair to assess his ASG play over the 15 seasons from 1954 to 1968 as one of the most sustained bursts of excellence in the history of the game.

Mays subsequently played in five more All-Star Games, including starting in 1970-72 after the selection of the starting lineup was returned to a fan vote. By then, during his age 38-42 seasons, Mays was in the twilight of his long career, and the fan votes in those years can be interpreted as appreciation for achievements across his long career.

One way to understand the impact of Willie Mays’ All-Star Game performances is to look at his peers. In his early games, he played against Ted Williams, whose ASG appearances went back to 1940, and alongside Stan Musial, who debuted in the 1943 game. In 1972-73, he played against Carlton Fisk, who played in his final All-Star Game in 1991.

The years 1940-1991 constitute an awesome half-century of baseball history to consider. Mays played in All-Star Games with pioneers of integrated baseball, including Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, and Don Newcombe. He also played alongside the next generation of Black and Latino all-stars, including Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda, Maury Wills, Bob Gibson, Frank Robinson, and Curt Flood. Later in his career, he played with and competed against yet another generation of all-time greats including Tom Seaver, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, and Reggie Jackson.

Another (perhaps, the best) way to appreciate Mays’ All-Star Game achievement is on YouTube. Highlight reels are available for most of his All-Star appearances and an interested viewer can find many of the plays mentioned here. To spend a half-hour viewing these clips is to appreciate Mays’s speed and power, his joy and grace – in other words the charisma and the mastery that made Willie Mays the greatest of baseball players and a superstar among All-Stars.

JASON HOROWITZ is a researcher, writer, and editor. He never saw Willie Mays play in person, though his parents (one a Brooklyn Dodgers fan and the other a New York Giants supporter) filled their home with tales of the great NYC baseball teams of the 1940s and ’50s. This is his second publication since joining SABR in 2020. When not researching sports, Jason focuses on the intersection of high tech, business strategy, and international affairs.

 

SOURCES

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org. The box scores and play-by-play game accounts at Retrosheet.org were particularly invaluable in writing this account.

Several of the themes discussed here were suggested by SABR’s John Fredland.

 

NOTES

1  This quote is used widely, including on the National Baseball Hall of Fame website, but the author has been unable to locate the original source.

2  To be fair, Mays’ All-Star BABIP (Batting Average on Balls in Play) of .345 suggests that his ASG totals include a few lucky hits. (His career BABIP of .298 is close to the league average of .300.)

3  Mays spoke about the importance of the All-Star Game to him personally and to the National League in this era in his book 24: Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid (New York: Macmillan, 2020), written with sportswriter John Shea. See excerpts at https://www.newsweek.com/2020/06/26/willie-mays-explains-why-baseballs-all-star-game-meant-so-much-his-generation-1508994.html.

4  The competitive advantage gained by the NL during the era of integration is discussed in many places. Andy McCue, Stumbling Around The Bases: The American League’s Mismanagement in the Expansion Era (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2022) touches on integration as part of a very thorough examination of the business of baseball in this period.

5  Steve Treder, Forty Years a Giant: The Life of Horace Stoneham (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2021), covers the Giants television contracts and coverage in New York, on pp. 161-4, and in San Francisco, on p. 243.

6  See the game account by Nelson “Chip” Greene, “July 12, 1955: Stan Musial seals Milwaukee’s first baseball All-Star celebration,” published in From the Braves to the Brewers: Great Games and Exciting History at Milwaukee’s County Stadium (Phoenix: SABR 2016). Accessed online at https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/july-12-1955-stan-musial-seals-milwaukees-first-baseball-all-star-celebration/.

7  See Mays’ biography on the American Academy of Achievement website, https://achievement.org/achiever/willie-mays/.

8  The catcher was Baltimore’s Gus Triandos.

9  The balk is recorded in the Retrosheet box score and game account, but Treder in Forty Years a Giant gives a slightly different and more colorful version of what happened, on page 243.

10 Frederick G. Lieb, “President Kennedy Among 45,480 at D.C. Spectacle,” The Sporting News, July 21, 1962: 7.

11 Bob Broeg, “N.L.’s Swifties Scamper Past A.L. All-Stars: Mays Steals Twice – Bats In Two Runs,” The Sporting News, July 20, 1963: 5.

12 Carl Lundquist, “N.L. Pens New Fairy Tale – Callison Wonderland,” The Sporting News, July 18, 1964: 5.