Join “
The Woes of Willie Mays” by Edward Linn, from the April 13, 1957, issue of The Saturday Evening Post
Giants Coach Leo Durocher has always maintained that the talk about Willie Mays’ “batting weaknesses” was nonsense. “All hitters,” Durocher declares, “are streak hitters. When Willie is hitting, he just overpowers any weakness he might have. When he’s in a slump, your little boy can get him out.”
A Willie Mays home run generally comes leaping off the bat as a line drive and just keeps rising into the stands. Manager Bill Rigney says his power is frightening. “He hit a triple against the Cubs that landed at the bottom of the fence in left center, about 470 feet away. And the ball hadn’t even sounded well-hit. I couldn’t believe it. When he pulled into third, I said, ‘Willie, you didn’t get all of that, did you?’ And he said, ‘No, Skip, I didn’t get all of it.’”