In game one at Cincinnati, Willie Mays steals the first of 338 bases. Then pitcher Willie Ramsdell picks him off second base. But the Giants win, 3 – 1, behind Sal Maglie. New York takes the nitecap as well, 6 – 4, as Monte Irvin (2) and Mays both swipe bases.
The Giants go 7-0 at Crosley Field this year by defeating the Reds, 3 – 1. Willie Mays has his third homer in six days and Larry Jansen wins to go 15-2 against the Rhinelanders.
1951 – Ouch!! Willie Mays’s oft-recalled bare-handed grab of left-handed Rocky Nelson’s screaming opposite field line drive takes place in Forbes Field in the 1st inning of a 5 – 4 Giant loss to Pittsburgh. Mays runs to the left-center corner of the bullpen (also known as Greenberg Gardens, or Kiner’s Corner), about 410 feet from the plate. At the last minute, the wind gets a hold of Nelson’s slicing shot and starts pushing it back towards right. Mays looks up and locates the ball but too late to adjust. As he will recall on June 3, 1957, after robbing Roberto Clemente on a shot to almost the same spot, “I couldn’t get my glove around. So I just stuck my bare hand up and the ball stuck.”
“That was the finest catch I have ever seen, and the finest I ever expect to see” – Pirates GM Branch Rickey, commenting on a catch made by Willie Mays at Forbes Field. At cavernous Forbes Field, Giants’ outfielder Willie Mays, unable to reach across his body to make a catch with his glove of Rocky Nelson’s sinking 457-foot blast to deep center, sticks out his bare right hand and grabs the ball on a full gallop to make the incredible final out of the inning. Venerable Branch Rickey, Pittsburgh’s general manager, sends a note to the New York dugout during the game to tell the 20 year-old rookie, “That was the finest catch I have ever seen, and the finest I ever expect to see.”
On July 3, 1951 Giants rookie Willie Mays blasts a 13th-inning solo homer off the Phillies’ Jocko Thompson to give New York a win. It is Willie’s second extra-inning homer in two weeks: he will hit another on July 7th, against the Braves’ George Estock. @ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IGp1c3QgY2xpY2sgdGhlIHRhZ3MhICAiLCJhZnRlciI6IiIsImxpbmtfdG9fdGVybV9wYWdlIjoib24iLCJzZXBhcmF0b3IiOiIgfCAiLCJjYXRlZ29yeV90eXBlIjoicG9zdF90YWcifX0=@
Willie Mays, 20, hits a 10th-inning home run, the first of his 22 extra-inning home runs, off 42-year-old Dutch Leonard of the Cubs. It is a three-run shot that gives the Giants a 9 – 6 win.
On May 28, 1951, New York Giants rookie Willie Mays collects his first major league hit, a home run against Milwaukee Braves left-hander Warren Spahn. Mays had begun his career in an 0-for-12 slump before breaking through against Spahn. Mays would then go o for his next 13, to start the season 1-26. One knock…
At Shibe Park, the much-heralded Giant rookie Willie Mays makes his major league debut against the Phillies. The 20 year-old outfielder, who hit .477 in 35 games with the Minneapolis Millers before being called up, goes hitless in five trips to the plate, but makes two outstanding defensive plays to contribute to New York’s 8-5 victory.
October 5 1948 Birmingham Black Barons and a 17-year-old Willie Mays celebrate the 1948 Negro League World Series. The Games …. September 26 in Kansas City, MO: Homestead wins the opener, 3-2. September 29 in Birmingham, AL: Home field advantage is no advantage for the Black Barons, who drop a 5-3 game. September 30…
Willie Mays Position: CenterfielderBats: Right • Throws: Right5-10, 170lb (178cm, 77kg)Born: May 6, 1931 in Westfield, AL usHigh School: Fairfield Industrial HS (Fairfield, AL)Debut: 1948 (10,389th in major league history)AL/NL Debut: May 25, 1951 vs. PHI 5 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SBLast Game: September 9, 1973 vs. MON 2 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SBHall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1979. (Voted by BBWAA…
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