Who is the greatest living baseball player now?

[AR182]

Now that Ted Williams has passed away,who is now the greatest living baseball player?

My vote is Willie Mays.....For those who never saw Mays play you really missed someone who was special.He did everything....Hit homers,hit for average,stole bases,& played a great defensive centerfield.He had flair whether it was the now famous back to homeplate catch of a Vic Wertz shot to the deepest part of the Polo Grounds in the 1951 World Series or his outstanding play in a meaningless All-Star game,Mays rose above everyone else.


I would like to hear what other Madjackers have to say.

 

[Mr. Ass]

I second Mays.

Mr. Ass

 

[hello there]

I saw Jim Edmunds and Andrew Jones make the same over the head catch that Mays did. Lots of players can do that if they decided to, but they don't want to get screamed at by their manager's just in case they miss it.

Willie Mays sounds good, but I never saw him play, so I'd have to say Barry Bonds.

 

[Hack]

Charlie Hustle

 

[TIME TO MAKE $$$]

Bonds

 

[spits]

Sid Bream

SPITS

 

[JediCapper]

Bonds

 

[PerpetualCzech]

Greg Maddux

 

[Nosigar]

Frank Robinson

And my all time favorite:

Brooks Robinson

 

[Snake Plissken]

I agree with Hack

That Jim Edmonds catch was so much better than mays

 

[twofingers]

I saw Jim Edmunds and Andrew Jones make the same over the head catch that Mays did. Lots of players can do that if they decided to, but they don't want to get screamed at by their manager's just in case they miss it.

Willie Mays sounds good, but I never saw him play, so I'd have to say Barry Bonds.

You may have see jones, edmunds, or other make a over the shoulder catch but I can't beleive it was the same.

Mays made his catch in the Polo grounds, whose centerfield would be considered a Dark Hole to todays parks. I believe it measured 470 to the deepes part. The most amazing thing about Mays catch were:

1) He got there. Mays played a notorious shallow centerfield and his relexs were amazing. Nobody ever has gotten a better jump on the ball then Mays. He also had great speed. Willie could have been a 50+ stolen base man had he not played in 50s and 60s.

2) The catch was one made by many others (most of which would have never gotten close to this considering the ground that needed to be covered) but Willie made it so gracefully. Full speed, catching it in stride, and then twirling to make the throw. Still amazes me to this day to see him make that catch.

3) The throw home has been described as a frozen rope from 450 feet away, dead on to home plate. Mays was consider to the the best arm in the game during his time period.

To combine those three things in one play make it the most amazing catch I've ever seen. No one will ever duplicate it in any of the modern parks. They keep making the fences closer and closer. You have to run fron LC to RC to cover that much ground.

I agee Mays is the best alive. I can't even make a case for anyone except Aaron.

Too bad that Willie is such a prick these days. Mays is said to be one of the rudest on the autograph circuit.

 

[ferdville]

The worst thing about those of us that saw Mays in his hay day was that we also saw him in his final days with the Mets. What a sad sight. It was just as pitiful as seeing Roberto Duran at his best and then seeing Duran a year or two again and trying to compare the two. Mays was an amazing player in his prime, but seeing his eroding skills was a dispiriting thing. As far as the over the head catch goes, I've seen the Angel's Erstad make catches that rival that one of Willie's, as well. What set that one apart from the rest was the circumstances.

 

[AR182]

Ferdville,
I heard the reason why Mays played beyond his prime was because the people who handled his finances ripped him off.

Twofingers,
Nice writeup of that unbelievable play by Mays.As hard it may be to believe, but I heard that DiMaggio was a better centerfielder than Mays.Where Mays used his speed to get a ball,Joe D. used to glide to the ball.I have been told that he knew where the ball was going as soon as the bat hit the ball.His instincts were unbelievable.