Posted By:
peter chaoPaul S.,
There aren't that many ballplayers that had more natural ability than Mays. But Mantle probably was one of them. Before his leg injuries started piling up on him, batting left-handed he was the fastest AL player going from home to first.
He could also hit 500 foot home runs from each side of the plate.
I'm a Giants fan and Mays was one of my favorites, but if I were to pick an all-time greats batting line-up I would have Mantle batting lead-off and Mays would be a late inning defensive replacement. Just my opinion.
It's true that one time Mays was pretty surly at card shows but it seems like he's mellowed in the last 10 years. I guess having a statute of himself in front of AT and T Park helped make him more mellow.
Peter C.