Quote:
Originally Posted by cgjackson222
Its true that Mays was not his dominant self at the bat in the postseason. Unfortunately for him, much of his postseason experience was well before and after his prime. I believe the stat line you sight includes the Negro League World Series, when Willie was just 17 years old. Mays also struggled in the WS during his rookie year in the MLB in 1951 when he was 20. In limited playing time, he also wasn't his dominant self with the Mets in 1973, his final season, at age 42.
But if you look at his other postseason appearances (ages 23, 31 and 40) he was was a little better. His slash line for those years was .263/.353/.403. Not great for Willie, but not a total disaster either.
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He was ROY in 1951, so I don't think it is fair to discount that WS. I forgot bbref adds the NMLBs. Taking just his Giants postseasons .241 BA .342 SLG and 1 HR in 22 games. Mays was always great in the field, but he never had a great offensive postseason. Compare that to Clemente and Aaron who were exceptional and Mantle, although his BA was . 257, slugged .535 with 18 HRs.