Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr., nicknamed "The Say Hey Kid", is an American former Major League Baseballcenter fielder who spent almost all of his 22 season career playing for the New York and San Francisco Giants, before finishing with the New York Mets. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth6 May 1931
CountryUnited States of America
baseball college thinking
The greatest challenge I think is adjusting to not playing baseball. The reason for that is I had to come out of baseball and come into the business world, not being a college graduate, not being educated to come into the business world the way I should have.
thinking play good-things
I think I was programmed to do good things when I came into the majors. I knew how to play.
thinking people guy
I'm not the type of guy to go out and just say, 'Hey, I'm raising my fist to do this and do that.' I don't think I'm that type of guy. I wasn't a leader the way other people may have wanted me to be.
thinking differences mind
What you are thinking, what shape your mind is in, is what makes the biggest difference of all.
baseball thinking player
I think I was the best baseball player I ever saw.
badly baseball best best-friends came coach drafted friend gave mays meet pro willie
I wanted badly to play and coach (Mike) Goldschmidt gave me that opportunity. My best friend came up here and told me about the program. I want to be drafted after this season. Ultimately, I want to play pro baseball and meet Willie Mays in person.
closer eyes seen tearing
It was all I could do to not scream. If they were closer they may have seen my eyes tearing up. Man, that hurt.
leave mickey
You can't leave Mickey (Mantle) off. Mickey would have to be in there.
ballgame baseball bed came cry explain home knew last lay leave love loved remember season tears
I remember that last season I played. I went home after a ballgame one day, lay down on my bed, and tears came to my eyes. How can you explain that? You cry because you love her. I cried, I guess, because I loved baseball and I knew I had to leave it.
american-athlete bought everybody gave giants parking signed
In 1950, when the Giants signed me, they gave me $15,000. I bought a 1950 Mercury. I couldn't drive, but I had it in the parking lot there, and everybody that could drive would drive the car. So it was like a community thing.
argument barry people
If people want to say Barry is No. 1, they won't get an argument from me. As long as I get to be No. 2.
decided game innings knew played playing setting until worried
We knew we had to keep playing until the game was decided one way or the other. We played 10, 15 innings sometimes. The All-Star Game was important to us. We weren't worried about setting records. We were worried about winning.
It's not hard. When I'm not hitting, I don't hit nobody. But when I'm hitting, I hit anybody.
american-athlete
I didn't say I was that smart, I said I went to class and I enjoyed what I was doing.