Hall of Famer Willie Mays finds it extraordinary that he now has 10 more hits after Major League Baseball adopted the Negro League records.
“Wow, that’s great,” Mays said in a statement to CNN on Wednesday. “It seems like they’ve discovered a new record for a 93-year-old.”
Along with Willie Mays, he is one of the greatest baseball players in history. He hit a total of 660 home runs and had 3,283 hits in 23 MLB seasons, mostly with the New York Giants. He is also known for his impressive catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series – a game-changing defensive play.
Mays reflects on his time with the Negro American League’s Birmingham Black Barons as a teenager. His 10 hits with the Barons increased his career hits to 3,293, which puts him 12th on the all-time hits list.
“I was still in school when I played back then,” he recalled. “Our school team didn’t have a baseball team. I played football and basketball, but baseball was my real passion. So, in order to be able to play baseball, my father allowed me to do so, but only if I went to school regularly. Graduation was his main goal.”
“I thought that was the pinnacle of my career; I felt on top of the world. I was so pleased to play with those guys,” he said in the statement.
The New York Giants purchased Mays’ contract in 1950, three years after Jackie Robinson broke the baseball barrier, paving the way for Mays’ outstanding MLB career.
With the inclusion of former Negro League players’ statistics on the official MLB website, baseball legends like Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb have been pushed back to second and third place in some categories. The MLB website now lists Josh Gibson, a well-known Negro Leagues player, as the record holder for career batting average (.372) and slugging percentage.
This expansion of the database identified more than 2,300 Negro League players from 1920 to 1948.
“It’s gratifying to see these players get their hits because the pitchers they played against were outstanding,” Mays said, adding that Satchel Paige, a famous Negro American League pitcher, is now ranked third for single-season earned run average.
Mays felt surprised by his success at the age of 93.
“I’m very grateful to everyone who supported me in the beginning and to MLB for digging into our history and giving us recognition for it,” Mays concluded.
Also read:
2024-06-05 23:32:07
#Hall #Famer #Willie #Mays #finds #extraordinary #hits #Major #League #Baseball #adopted #Negro #League #records
