Iconic
I tend to go with the iconic argument. Yes, I’m sure race could be a small factor and his personality could be a small factor, but there are plenty players that suffer from those challenges. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, Clemente is the symbol of the Latino community and died tragically. Mantle was the best player on the most iconic team in professional sports. Mantle was great, but much like DiMaggio or Jeter, the Yankee factor magnified it.
Mays by almost any measure was one of the dozen greatest players of all time. He just didn’t have the headline. No “61” or “715”, only one championship, etc. Sort of gets overlooked like Musial.
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