A Blog on Biblical Studies Salutes the Best Player in Baseball History (Willie Mays)

This is a blog about the Bible and theology, and I am a professor of Bible and Ancient Languages. However, I am also a die-hard baseball fan, and I wanted to briefly pay tribute to the man who is, in my humble-but-opinionated opinion, the greatest baseball player of all-time, Willie Mays, who just passed away this past Tuesday at age 93.

Any claims that somebody is the "Greatest of All Time" are, of course, fraught with controversy and open to rebuttal. I make no claim to be the final authority on this topic (or, for that matter, to be any authority on baseball matters. I'm a Bible professor, for crying out loud!) Having said that, the case for Mays' supremacy is well-documented (e.g., on mlb.com, Paul Casella, "Willie Mays' Best Stats and Accomplishments"). My own rationale for claiming that Mays is the best ever is simply that he was an extremely great 5-tool player (hitting for contact, hitting for power, speed, defense, and throwing arm), and he reached multiple milestones (e.g., 600 homers, 3,000 hits, 1,909 RBI) where even one would have been a reason for inclusion in the Hall of Fame.

If Babe Ruth had continued pitching at a decent level after his trade to the Yankees, or if Shohei Ohtani is able to pitch and hit at an equally elite level for another 7 years or so without season-ending injury (an unlikely prospect), then either of them could, perhaps, be the GOAT. But for now, I believe Mays stands at the top. (Also, unlike Ruth, Mays pitched in an era and a league where players of all ethnicities competed against each other; i.e., the competition was stiffer).

I'll close out this tribute by quoting the conclusion of Joe Posnanski's excellent book, The Baseball 100: 

"The only thing Willie Mays could not do on a baseball diamond was stay young forever. But even to the end, he sparked joy. What do you love most about baseball? Mays did that. To watch him play, to read the stories about how he played, to look at his glorious statistics, to hear what people say about him is to be reminded why we love this odd and ancient game in the first place. Yes, Willie Mays has always made kids feel like grown-up and grown-ups feel like kids. In the end, isn't that the whole point of baseball?"