Since Ted Williams died at age 83 on July 5, 2002, there was no argument that Willie Mays became "the greatest living ballplayer."
Williams had held that title since Joe DiMaggio died at 84 on March 8, 1999.
Willie Mays probably never complained about it, but many baseball purists, historians and fans argued that it was Willie Mays before DiMaggio.
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Now, Mays - the "Say Hey Kid" has passed at age 93, and the heir apparent is not so easily apparent. And whoever you believe it is or whoever is bestowed the unofficial title will have much to follow.
The great Willie Mays passed away on Tuesday. (Getty Images)
"The greatest all-around player is Willie Mays," baseball purist, historian, and broadcast journalist Bob Costas of TNT and TBS said on Dan Dakich's "Don't @ Me" show on OutKick on Wednesday.
"You could say it's tough to compare eras," Costas said. "You could say that Ted Williams was a greater hitter than Willie. You could say that his greatest contemporary - Hank Aaron (who died on Jan. 22, 2021 at 86) - was a greater hitter. You could say - if you want to look past the steroids - that Barry Bonds put up better numbers than Willie Mays. But the general consensus is that Willie Mays is the best all-around player who has ever played."
Mays, who played in the Negro Leagues early in his career for the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948 at Rickwood Field, was a superstar for virtually his entire career from 1951-73 against integrated Major League Baseball competition, which started with Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier on April 15, 1947. DiMaggio and Williams did not.
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Mays' old San Francisco Giants play St. Louis on Thursday (7:15 p.m., FOX) at Rickwood - the oldest pro ballpark in the country at 114 - in a game that was largely set up to honor Mays.
Willie Mays Faced The Integrated Best His Entire Career
"Leave the social injustice aspects out, and what you can say about Willie Mays, or a healthy Mickey Mantle (who died on Aug. 13, 1995, at 63), or Hank Aaron, or Ken Griffey Jr., is that they played against integrated competition," Costas said. "Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb didn't. Josh Gibson and Cool Poppa Bell didn't."
New York Yankees center fielder Mickey Mantle stands with San Francisco Giants center fielder Willie Mays before Game 2 of the 1962 World Series at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California, on October 5. (Getty Images)
Mays hit .301 in his versatile career with 3,293 hits, 660 home runs and 339 stolen bases. A whopping 24-time All-Star, he won 12 Gold Gloves while combining power and speed for four home run crowns with four stolen base titles. He also won two National League MVPs, and reached the Hall of Fame in 1979. But the numbers do not do him complete justice.
"He had style without an ounce of exhibitionism," Costas said.
Well, maybe a little bit.
"He did ask for a cap that was a half size too small," Costas said. "So, when racing around the bases or chasing a fly ball, it would fly off. The way he carried himself. You knew it when you saw it and felt it. He just had presence."
And he did make that iconic catch in the 1954 World Series, that amazingly a Clemson outfielder came close to matching just last week in the NCAA Super Regional against Florida. Mays' pose with his leg stretched out is as cool as the catch itself. He looks like a sprinter about to take off.
So, who's next?
Here are five candidates:
Ken Griffey Jr. was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, in 2016. (Getty Images)
Ken Griffey Jr.
This is the Costas pick. Griffey, 54, hit .284 with 2,781 hits and 630 home runs from 1989-2010 mainly with the Seattle Mariners. He was a 13-time All-Star, won 10 Gold Gloves and four home run crowns before making the Hall of Fame in 2016.
"The closest to Willie is the young Ken Griffey, Jr.," Costas said. "Griffey was a spectacular center fielder with a good arm and all kinds of power. He was like Willie, so exuberant. His nickname was "The Kid." He so enjoyed baseball like Willie. You could feel that."
Barry Bonds
His godfather was the affable Willie Mays, but he tended to be more of a reboot of Ty Cobb in many ways. Bonds could be as surly and flat mean as anyone in his later, bitter years. But what a fantastic and versatile player, particularly before his head and body ballooned after rampant steroid use. Bonds, 59, was at times as versatile as Mays as he hit .298 with 2,935 hits and 514 stolen bases from 1986-2007 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. Bonds holds the record for career home runs at 762 and most home runs in a season with 73 in 2001, but both are laced with the steroids issue that has also kept him out of the Hall of Fame. A 14-time All-Star, Bonds was a seven-time MVP and won eight Golden Gloves along with two National League batting crowns.
"The pre-steroid Barry Bonds particularly, you could make a very good case for him being the best living ball player now," Costas said. "But he was a left fielder, and did not have a very strong arm."
Then-Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose speaks with reporters in the dugout before a game against St. Louis in the 1989 season. (Getty Images)
Pete Rose
The all-time MLB hits leader with 4,256 from 1963-86 mostly with the Cincinnati Reds. Rose also holds the MLB record for most singles with 3,215 and most games with 3,562. He hit .303 with 160 home runs. A 17-time All-Star, Rose, 83, was a National League and World Series MVP and two-time Gold Glove winner. A gambling scandal has kept him out of the Hall of Fame.
Carl Yastrzemski
From 1967 through 2011, he was the only MLB triple crown winner as he led the American League in batting average (.326), home runs (44) and RBIs (121). Yastrzemski, 84, hit .285 with 3,419 hits and 452 home runs from 1961-83 with the Boston Red Sox. An 18-time All-Star, he won seven Gold Gloves and three American League batting titles before entering the Hall of Fame in 1989.
Sandy Koufax
This list is not about who plays the most like Mays. It is the best living player, regardless of position. Koufax, 88, is the oldest player and only pitcher on the list. The left-hander played only 12 years, but he was one of the most dominant pitchers ever over whatever span, going 165-87 from 1955-66 as a Los Angeles Dodger with a 2.76 ERA, 2,396 strikeouts and four no-hitters with a perfect game. A seven-time All-Star, he won four World Series titles, five ERA crowns, four strikeout titles, three Cy Young Awards, three pitching triple crowns (wins, ERA, strikeouts), two World Series MVPs, and has been in the Hall of Fame since 1972.
Honorable Mentions
Pitcher Nolan Ryan, outfielder Rickey Henderson, catcher Johnny Bench, third baseman Mike Schmidt and first baseman Albert Pujols (while a Cardinal) - a Costas selection.
(Let me know your list. Email me at glenn.guilbeau@outkick.com or hit me on X at SportBeatTweet.)
