[Mick]

Willie Mays Trivia:

Willie Mays was signed in 1950 by Giants scout Ed Montague signed him to a $4,000 contract. The Giants offered another player a chance to play for them. Said player had a Giants contract in his hand, but another team offered him $50 more per month, so that other player signed with the other team, though his inclination was to join the Giants and Willie Mays.

Who was that other player?

And...where did Willie Mays record his final hit as a major league ballplayer?

Oakland Coliseum in the ‘73 World Series.  

I think it was Roberto Clemente.  If not Aaron?  

A couple more trivia items that surfaced yesterday…

Mays holds the record for most HRs in extra innings - 22
Mays is the only player to hit a HR in every inning from 1-16.

Pretty cool, that.

Correct on the OakColiseum as Mays' last hit.

Other player was Hank Aaron.

Other Mays trivia:
1. Mays was the only player ever to have 3,000 hits, 300+ home runs, steal 300+ bases and have a career .300+ batting average.
2. Only player to ever have 50+ HRs and 20+ triples in the same season.
3. Mays is the only player with 600 or more home runs to have a four home run game. Three of Mays' four home runs that day were hit off of All-Stars, Lew Burdette and Don McMahon.
4. Mays had 70+ extra base hits in 13 consecutive seasons, from '54 to '66. No other hitter had 70+ extra base hits in any 13 seasons, consecutive or non-consecutive.
5. Mays had 7.0bWAR or more in those 13 seasons. Lou Gehrig is next most with 10 seasons.
6. Mays had at least one hit in 15 All Star games. Musial was next with 14. Mays' 23 All Star game hits are the most in ASG history.
7. In his career, Mays faced 14 Hall of Fame pitchers, batting .286 with an .859 OPS over 1,319 plate appearances against them. He hit 56 of his 660 home runs off of the HoF pitchers, including 18 against Spahn, 13 against Drysdale, five against Koufax and four each against Robin Roberts and Fergie Jenkins.
8. of the 28 players in the 500 HR club, none hit as many triples as Mays' 140. Ruth was next at 136, Foxx had 125. Of that same 500 HR club, Mays was second in stolen bases (338) trailing only Barry Bonds (514).
9. Mays was equally strong at home or on the road (.302/.301) and 335 HR/325 HR.
10. Mays had a .965 OPS in high leverage situations. That's fifth behind Foxx, Barry Bonds, Musial and Aaron.

And finally...in 1971, Mays was named the inaugural recipient of the Commissioner's Award, which was later renamed the Roberto Clemente Award following Clemente's death in '72. The honor is given annually to the player who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.

[Mick]

Willie Mays Trivia:

Willie Mays was signed in 1950 by Giants scout Ed Montague signed him to a $4,000 contract. The Giants offered another player a chance to play for them. Said player had a Giants contract in his hand, but another team offered him $50 more per month, so that other player signed with the other team, though his inclination was to join the Giants and Willie Mays.

Who was that other player?

And...where did Willie Mays record his final hit as a major league ballplayer?

Oakland Coliseum in the ‘73 World Series.  

I think it was Roberto Clemente.  If not Aaron?  

A couple more trivia items that surfaced yesterday…

Mays holds the record for most HRs in extra innings - 22
Mays is the only player to hit a HR in every inning from 1-16.

Pretty cool, that.

Correct on the OakColiseum as Mays' last hit.

Other player was Hank Aaron.

Other Mays trivia:
1. Mays was the only player ever to have 3,000 hits, 300+ home runs, steal 300+ bases and have a career .300+ batting average.
2. Only player to ever have 50+ HRs and 20+ triples in the same season.
3. Mays is the only player with 600 or more home runs to have a four home run game. Three of Mays' four home runs that day were hit off of All-Stars, Lew Burdette and Don McMahon.
4. Mays had 70+ extra base hits in 13 consecutive seasons, from '54 to '66. No other hitter had 70+ extra base hits in any 13 seasons, consecutive or non-consecutive.
5. Mays had 7.0bWAR or more in those 13 seasons. Lou Gehrig is next most with 10 seasons.
6. Mays had at least one hit in 15 All Star games. Musial was next with 14. Mays' 23 All Star game hits are the most in ASG history.
7. In his career, Mays faced 14 Hall of Fame pitchers, batting .286 with an .859 OPS over 1,319 plate appearances against them. He hit 56 of his 660 home runs off of the HoF pitchers, including 18 against Spahn, 13 against Drysdale, five against Koufax and four each against Robin Roberts and Fergie Jenkins.
8. of the 28 players in the 500 HR club, none hit as many triples as Mays' 140. Ruth was next at 136, Foxx had 125. Of that same 500 HR club, Mays was second in stolen bases (338) trailing only Barry Bonds (514).
9. Mays was equally strong at home or on the road (.302/.301) and 335 HR/325 HR.
10. Mays had a .965 OPS in high leverage situations. That's fifth behind Foxx, Barry Bonds, Musial and Aaron.

And finally...in 1971, Mays was named the inaugural recipient of the Commissioner's Award, which was later renamed the Roberto Clemente Award following Clemente's death in '72. The honor is given annually to the player who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.