When it comes to longevity as a major league baseball player, it’s hard to beat Willie Mays. The Hall of Fame outfielder won Rookie…
When it comes to longevity as a major league baseball player, it’s hard to beat Willie Mays. The Hall of Fame outfielder won Rookie of the Year honors in 1951… and played in the World Series in 1973. With so many accomplishments in between.
When it comes to longevity as a human being, Mays’ list of accomplishments is pretty lengthy as well, as Wednesday marks his 89th birthday.
It seems like an appropriate time to reflect on Mays’ place in history – and ponder the question: Is he Major League Baseball’s greatest living player? Here are one writer’s top five candidates.
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5. Rickey Henderson (1979-2003)
There are plenty of candidates to lead off this list, but there’s never been a better leadoff hitter in baseball history, so Henderson seems like a fitting choice. The name of the game is to score more runs than the other team – and in that regard, Henderson was the ultimate weapon.
Over 25 seasons in the majors, he had 3,055 hits and 2,190 walks (second-most all-time) – good for a .401 on-base percentage. And once Rickey got on base, he was a threat to run at any time. He set the all-time record with 130 stolen bases in 1982 and finished with 1,406 (568 more than second-place Lou Brock).
Going back to the goal of scoring runs… Henderson holds that record too, with 2,295.
