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There's a handful of numbers throughout baseball history that are so important, so revered, so iconic that they require no additional explanation.
714 and
.406 or
42 is part of that club too. You immediately know what all of those mean.
For nearly 50 years,
660 has been one of those numbers, too. Willie Mays hit the 660th and final regular-season home run of his career on Aug. 17, 1973, at Shea Stadium as a member of the Mets off Cincinnati's Don Gullett. Sure, he hit one in the playoffs ('71), and three more in All-Star Games ('56, '60, and '65), and assuredly countless more in Spring Training and other exhibitions, but 660 is the number. It's on his Hall of Fame plaque. It's on some of his autographs. It's written on the wall at Oracle Park. When someone passes 660, it's a big deal. It's as associated with Mays as the 24 he wore on his back.