share-square-1168837
From his remarkable combination of speed and power at the plate to his iconic defense in center field, Willie Mays is undoubtedly one of the best all-around players in Major League history.
He hit 660 home runs. He s a member of the 3,000-hit club. He won a batting title, four home run titles and four stolen base titles. He ranks among the all-time leaders in Wins Above Replacement. Perhaps most amazingly, Mays numbers would have been even more remarkable had he not missed nearly two full seasons in the prime of his career while serving in the military.
In honor of Mays 90th birthday, here s a look at 24 facts on No. 24 s legendary career:
Todd Warshaw/Allsport
Dante Bichette had an interesting career, and the best thing that ever happened to him was undoubtedly getting traded to the expansion Colorado Rockies ahead of the 1993 season. Prior to that Bichette had given uneasy results for both the Angels and Brewers, but things really changed for him in the mid 90s. The big right-handed slugger crushed the first homer in Rockies franchise history that April, and he d go on to play in four all-star games in their uniform. His best overall season was probably 1996, when he homered 31 times, stole 31 bases, and drove in 141 runs. Today his son Bo stars at shortstop for the Toronto Blue Jays.
MLB Trade Rumors
9:29am CDT
The Rockies aren’t expected to hire a new general manager until next winter, but they have begun to sniff around potential candidates. Former Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. is the first name on the public list, per the Athletic’s Nick Groke (via Twitter). Said Amaro, “I would have some interest under the right circumstance. I think they’re figuring out who would be a real candidate and who wouldn’t.”Amaro Jr. is currently a color analyst on the Phillies’ broadcast team.
Amaro Jr. took over from Pat Gillick as the Phillies GM in November of 2008 just after the Phillies won the World Series. Amaro Jr. would lead the Phils to another pennan in 2009, but ultimately, a very talented Philadelphia team with
Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports
To say that Sunday night’s Mets-Phillies game wasn’t a complete avalanche of anger, frustration, devastation, complications, and a few more -ation words that I don’t even know would be a massive lie. The Mets looked two different kinds of ugly on either end of their six-run eighth inning that gave them the lead they needed in an 8-7 win over Philadelphia.
Since they were the first issues to happen during the game, as long as you’re not counting the broadcast booth, it only makes sense to start from the beginning. You may not believe it by just looking at the 8-7 final score, but this game only saw two runs cross the plate in the first five innings and only six in total after the conclusion of the seventh.
WHYY
By
FILE - In this Aug. 20, 2014, file photo, Philadelphia Phillies Jimmy Rollins, right, celebrates his run with Ryan Howard on a single by Chase Utley during the fifth inning of the team s baseball game against the Seattle Mariners in Philadelphia. When Rollins made his first All-Star team as a rookie with the Phillies 20 years ago, the percentage of Black players in the majors was 13. It’s down to 7.6% this year. Rollins pointed to Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Bonds as popular players who were marketed well when he was growing up. “But when you start going outside of that select few, the sport itself isn’t marketing anyone else in a major way where kids from the inner cities are attracted to it, he said. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola, File)