By A.J. Hayes
He hasn’t made a basket catch since the early 1970s. He’s not the best at remembering names. And his pride-and-joy godson has decamped the scene for good. But at age 76, is still the San Francisco Giants MVP – Most Valuable Personality.
Last week in Scottsdale, AZ, the baseball living legend held court in the spring training clubhouse and the room was riveted.
Whether they were fresh faced minor leaguers, millionaire All-Stars or men who have known him for decades, everyone’s focus was directed at Mays, the greatest all-around ballplayer — ever.
Despite his amazing accomplishments – 660 home runs, 3,283 hits, karats of gold gloves – for some reason, Mays has never received the type of adulation you would think he deserved from the national media. While the likes of Ted Willliams, Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio have canonized by writers with syrupy prose over the past 25 years, Mays has been taken somewhat for granted.
It could have something to do with the east coast sports media, that generally discounts anything accomplished west of Manhattan as trivial.
More likely it results from the fact that those other players are white and Mays is not.