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1957 was a year that rocked the baseball world in New York and marked the end of a golden age of America’s pastime in Gotham. Of the three storied teams that had called New York home for more than a half century (the Yankees in the Bronx, the Dodgers in Brooklyn, and the Giants in Manhattan), both the Dodgers and Giants packed their bags and moved west to the greener pastures of California (to Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively). Up until that time, baseball fans had been treated to a trio of Hall of Fame sluggers patrolling center field in New York – Mickey Mantle for the Yankees, Duke Snider for the Dodgers, and Willie Mays for the Giants. While Snider was an outstanding player in his own right (an 8x All-Star with 407 career home runs who was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1980), Mantle and Mays were considered not only among the preeminent players of their time, but are arguably two of the greatest center fielders in baseball history. In stacking up their career achievements alongside each other, the question arises:
Who was better – Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays?
The Beginning
In 1951, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays both began their major league careers in New York with the Yankees and Giants, respectively, setting the scene for an intra-city rivalry that would last until the Giants moved west in 1957, and an inter-league rivalry that would go on for the rest of their careers and beyond.
Mantle was signed by the Yankees out of high school in 1948 and spent a couple of seasons in their minor league system before making the major league club out of spring training in 1951; despite a brief 40-game stint in the minors toward the beginning of the year, he quickly found his place in the Yankees lineup and batted .267 in his rookie year with 13 home runs and 65 runs batted in. Led by four other future Hall of Famers (Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Johnny Mize, and Phil Rizzuto), the Yankees marched to the World Series, where they played rookie Willie Mays and the New York Giants, beating their cross-town rivals in six games. In Game 2, Mantle would trip over an exposed drain pipe in the outfield on a fly ball by Mays to right-center field, which resulted in a torn ACL and was the first of numerous injuries that would plague him throughout his career. Nevertheless, with DiMaggio retiring after that season, Mantle would move over to center field and begin to establish him as a star, finishing second in the MVP race in 1952 and garnering the first of his 20 consecutive All-Star Game appearances (MLB had an odd quirk from 1959 to 1962 where there were two All-Star Games per year; Mantle and Mays both double-dipped in each of those four years and thus have more All-Star Game nods than actual seasons played).
Meanwhile, at a time when MLB had only recently been integrated, Mays played for a couple of years in the Negro Leagues for the Birmingham Barons before being signed by the Giants. After a brief stint in the minors, Mays was called up to the majors in May of 1951 and despite being hitless in his first 12 at-bats, he homered in his 13th off future Hall of Fame pitcher Warren Spahn and ended up winning Rookie of the Year honors with a .274 batting average, 20 home runs, and 68 runs batted in; as previously mentioned, the Giants made it to the World Series that year, but lost to the cross-town rival Yankees in six games. The next year, however, Mays was drafted into the Army for the Korean War and missed most of the 1952 season and all of 1953 for service, spending most of his time playing baseball at Fort Eustis in Virginia. Upon his return in 1954, he announced his arrival as a major league star, winning the MVP with a career-high .345 batting average, 41 home runs, 110 runs batted in, 119 runs scored, .411 on-base percentage, and .667 slugging percentage, good for an OPS+ of 175 (which measures on-base percentage plus slugging percentage vs. the league-wide average (100)). Moreover, the Giants would once again make it to the World Series, where they would sweep the Cleveland Indians and win their last championship in New York (the next one would not be until 2010 in San Francisco). While he was relatively pedestrian at the plate, Mays will forever be remembered for “The Catch”, his iconic over-the-shoulder running catch in deep center field of the old Polo Grounds to rob Vic Wertz of an extra-base hit late in Game 1.
Career Comparison
Throughout the rest of the 1950s and most of the 1960s, Mantle and Mays would continue to dominate the baseball landscape as the two best center fielders (and arguably two best hitters overall) in baseball and the faces of their respective franchises.
While Mays achieved superstardom quicker with his MVP award in 1954, Mantle soon caught up and cemented his place as one of the best hitters in the game. In 1956, he not only won the first of his three MVPs, but achieved the rare and coveted Triple Crown with a .353 batting average, 52 home runs, and a career-high 130 runs batted in, as well as 132 runs scored, a .464 on-base percentage, and a .705 slugging percentage (the runs scored and slugging were also career-highs), equating to an OPS+ of 210. As an encore, Mantle followed up in 1957 with another MVP season, hitting a career-high .365 with 34 home runs, 94 runs batted in, 121 runs scored, an astounding .512 on-base percentage (i.e. he was on base for more than half of his plate appearances), and a .665 slugging percentage, which translated to a career-high 221 OPS+.
Mantle would further capture the imagination of the baseball world in the iconic 1961 season, when he and teammate Roger Maris raced against each other to break Babe Ruth’s long-standing single-season home run record of 60 home runs (as everyone knows, Maris succeeded with 61 dingers, albeit in more games). While he came up short in home runs, Mantle had another great season in his own right and finished second to Maris in the MVP race with a .317 batting average, a career-high 54 home runs, 128 runs batted in, 131 runs scored, a .448 on-base percentage, and a .687 slugging percentage (206 OPS+). He would follow that up with his third and final MVP in 1962 (.321 batting average, 30 home runs, 89 runs batted in, 96 runs scored, .486 on-base percentage, and a .605 slugging percentage in an abbreviated 123 games played for an OPS+ of 195). However, a myriad of injuries sustained over his career began to take their collective toll and despite one more 30-100 season in 1964, Mantle was clearly on the downside and eventually moved to first base to lengthen his career; nevertheless, after a few ho-hum seasons by his standards, “The Mick” retired in 1968 at age 36.
Following up on his 1954 MVP season, Mays would show off his unique combination of power and speed by posting consecutive 30-30 seasons, including a career-high 40 stolen bases in 1956. At the same time, he displayed his defensive prowess by winning the first of 12 consecutive Gold Gloves in center field from 1957 to 1968. While the move to San Francisco dramatically altered the baseball landscape, it had little impact on Mays’ performance – in his first season in the Bay Area, he finished second in the MVP race with a career-high .347 batting average, 29 home runs, 96 runs batted in, 121 runs scored, a .419 on-base percentage, and a .583 slugging percentage for an OPS+ of 165, as well as 31 stolen bases (just missing out on a third straight 30-30 season).
Though Mays continued to put up consistently great seasons in both New York and then later San Francisco, and was named an All-Star every year for the rest of his career, it would be nearly a dozen years between his two MVP awards – in his second MVP season in 1965 at the age of 34, Mays batted .317 with a career-high 52 home runs, 112 runs batted in, 118 runs scored, a .398 on-base percentage, and a .645 slugging percentage, good for a career-best 185 OPS+. Following another strong campaign in 1966, the “Say Hey Kid” began to enter the twilight of his career; his long career came full-circle in 1972, when he returned to New York and played a couple of seasons for the Mets before retiring in 1973.
In comparing their career statistics alongside each other, Mays outpaced Mantle in most counting categories (hits, runs, home runs, runs batted in, stolen bases, etc.), in part due to his longevity and better health; however, Mantle drew significantly more walks, which led to higher career on-base and slugging percentages, as well as a better OPS+. Looking at the advanced statistics, Mays’ 156.4 career Wins Above Replacement (WAR) are higher than Mantle’s 110.3, both in total and on a per season average (7.1 to 6.1). In terms of awards and accolades, Mantle has three MVPs (along with three second place finishes and three other top five finishes) to Mays’ two (plus seven other top five finishes); each man has one batting title, Mantle has a Triple Crown, but Mays has 12 Gold Gloves to Mantle’s lone defensive award. Moreover, both men have 20+ All-Star Game appearances (20 for Mantle vs. 24 for Mays, due to the 1959-1962 quirk). It should come as no surprise that both Mantle and Mays were first ballot Hall of Famers (Mantle in 1974 and Mays in 1979).
Regular Season Statistics
| Mickey Mantle | Player | Willie Mays |
| 18 (1951-1968) | Seasons | 22 (1951-1952, 1954-1973) |
| 2,401 | Games Played | 2,992 |
| 8,102 | At-Bats | 10,881 |
| 2,415 | Hits | 3,283 |
| 1,676 | Runs | 2,062 |
| 536 | Home Runs | 660 |
| 1,509 | Runs Batted In | 1,903 |
| 1,733 | Walks | 1,464 |
| 153 | Stolen Bases | 338 |
| .298 | Batting Average | .302 |
| .421 | On-Base Percentage | .384 |
| .577 | Slugging Percentage | .557 |
| 172 | OPS+ | 156 |
| 110.3 | Wins Above Replacement | 156.4 |
| 20x | All-Star Games | 24x |
| 3x | MVP | 2x |
| 7x | World Series Titles | 1x |
| 1x Triple Crown, 1x Gold Glove, 1x Batting Title | Other Awards | 12x Gold Glove, 1x Batting Title, 2x All-Star Game MVP, Rookie of the Year |
| 1974 | Hall of Fame Induction | 1979 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
When it comes to the playoffs, Mantle has a distinctive edge over Mays. At a time when the winners of the AL and NL pennants met directly in the World Series, Mantle’s Yankees won the pennant and thus, made the World Series 12 times during his 18-year career, winning seven of those. Meanwhile, overall, Mays made three World Series appearances in his prime with the Giants, and once more in his final season with the New York Mets. In addition to their 1951 World Series clash, Mantle and Mays would meet once again in 1962 (with the Giants now in San Francisco), though the result was the same, with the Yankees prevailing in a tough seven-game series.
Despite his numerous championships, Mantle was never named World Series MVP (an honor that was first awarded in 1955), with honors instead going to the likes of Yankees teammates Don Larsen, Bob Turley, Bobby Richardson, Whitey Ford, and Ralph Terry; likewise, Mays has no individual postseason accolades to his name. Overall, each player’s postseason numbers paled in comparison to their regular season successes, though both achieved the ultimate team goal of capturing a World Series.
Playoff Statistics
| Mickey Mantle | Player | Willie Mays |
| 65 | Games Played | 25 |
| 230 | At-Bats | 89 |
| 59 | Hits | 22 |
| 42 | Runs | 12 |
| 18 | Home Runs | 1 |
| 40 | Runs Batted In | 10 |
| 43 | Walks | 10 |
| 3 | Stolen Bases | 3 |
| .257 | Batting Average | .247 |
| .374 | On-Base Percentage | .323 |
| .535 | Slugging Percentage | .337 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; as evidenced by each player’s last five seasons or so, both Mantle and Mays followed this career trajectory. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Mickey Mantle | Player | Willie Mays |
| 1954-1962, 1964 | Decade of Dominance | 1954-1955, 1958, 1960-1966 |
| 1,453 | Games Played | 1,547 |
| 5,010 | At-Bats | 5,817 |
| 1,564 | Hits | 1,837 |
| 1,172 | Runs | 1,182 |
| 382 | Home Runs | 413 |
| 1,019 | Runs Batted In | 1,129 |
| 1,153 | Walks | 737 |
| 119 | Stolen Bases | 165 |
| .312 | Batting Average | .316 |
| .442 | On-Base Percentage | .395 |
| .604 | Slugging Percentage | .605 |
| 81.9 | Wins Above Replacement | 100.5 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
Across their decades of dominance, the same general career trends hold, with Mays accumulating better counting statistics vs. Mantle being the on-base machine. Encapsulating things into one number, Mays’ WAR for his 10 best years again outpaces Mantle, though Mantle has the best single season WAR (11.3 in both his Triple Crown 1956 season and 1957 to 11.2 for Mays’ 1965 MVP season).
My Thoughts
In the head-to-head matchup between Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays, I think the key factor that differentiates the two is health. While both fit the mold of quintessential five-tool players and had the overall career production to back it up, Mantle’s career leaves a bit of “What could have been?” due to the numerous and lingering injuries he sustained – could he have won another Triple Crown, could he have stolen more bases, could he have produced at a high level beyond his age-32 season in 1964, could he have reached 600+ career home runs, etc.? Nevertheless, even with his injuries, Mantle’s career peaks were as high as any player in baseball history and he goes down as arguably the greatest switch-hitter ever. Also in Mantle’s favor is his status as a winner, having won seven World Series titles in his career, though that is as much a function of the Yankees’ dominance as his own brilliance. Mays’ offensive apex was on-par with Mantle’s best, but he was able to sustain a similar level of greatness over a more prolonged period of time and with more year-to-year stability. Moreover, defense is half the game, and while no knock to Mantle, Mays was an unparalleled defender in center field (as evidenced by his dozen Gold Gloves).
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Willie Mays
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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