Who was better, who would you take, Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays?

[CW]

Mantle was great, but I have to go with Mays on this one. Mays was a pure five-tool, all around player. Mantle may have had the speed, but he didn't have the fielding proficiency that Mays had. Mays had the knack of being in the right place at the right time. Of course, I never saw either of them play, so I am largely talking out of my ass.

[itjclarke]

Mays by far.

[Paul S]

With all the talk about Joe D and Williams, Mantle and Mays...

[hammer]

62 World Series tells all.

[auggiedoggy]

Originally Posted by hammer

62 World Series tells all.

A career isn't defined by one series.

[EvilKing00]

Mays IMO was the better player, but thats no knock on mick.

[itjclarke]

Originally Posted by hammer

62 World Series tells all.

Should be known, Mays doubled with 2 outs in the 9th of game 7. It should've scored Alou with the tying run but Maris made a great play cutting it off and getting it back to the infield. Mays would've been the winning run had McCovey's liner made through the infield.

[nolemmings]

62 World Series tells all.

That's hilarious. You mean the series where Mays hit .250 with no HR and 1 RBI? Wow, epic.

True Mantle stunk in that series. But whose team won? Mays played in 4 World Series and hit zero home runs with 6 RBI, batting under .240. Mantle played in 3 World Series with no home runs; of course he also played in 9 others with 18 Home Runs and 40 RBI . Seven World's Championships to 1, and 12 World Series to 4. We're supposed to focus on what actually happened and not what could have, right? Scoreboard.

A previous poster correctly noted that Mantle's peak years--12 seasons-were notably better than Mays. That sample size is large enough for me, and other than possibly Dimaggio's 1937 season, I do not believe any CF could match Mickey's 1956 campaign. I would like to hear from those who played against both, especially pitchers. I doubt it would be close. Mantle was pitched very carefully, and walked more than 100 times in 10 seasons, including his broken down final two. Mays walked 100 times or more exactly once in 22 years.

[sycks22]

Mays hands down.

[itjclarke]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

That's hilarious. You mean the series where Mays hit .250 with no HR and 1 RBI? Wow, epic.

True Mantle stunk in that series. But whose team won? .

I think he was using the '62 series as argument for Mantle.

[MattyC]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

That's hilarious. You mean the series where Mays hit .250 with no HR and 1 RBI? Wow, epic.

True Mantle stunk in that series. But whose team won? Mays played in 4 World Series and hit zero home runs with 6 RBI, batting under .240. Mantle played in 3 World Series with no home runs; of course he also played in 9 others with 18 Home Runs and 40 RBI . Seven World's Championships to 1, and 12 World Series to 4. We're supposed to focus on what actually happened and not what could have, right? Scoreboard.

A previous poster correctly noted that Mantle's peak years--12 seasons-were notably better than Mays. That sample size is large enough for me, and other than possibly Dimaggio's 1937 season, I do not believe any CF could match Mickey's 1956 campaign. I would like to hear from those who played against both, especially pitchers. I doubt it would be close. Mantle was pitched very carefully, and walked more than 100 times in 10 seasons, including his broken down final two. Mays walked 100 times or more exactly once in 22 years.

I'm with this guy. Mays has better career totals, yes-- but his peak wasn't on Mantle's level. I'd take peak and postseason performance over longevity, because you can win titles with peaks as high as Mantle's were, and with WS performances like that. And winning titles is what you play for.

How about looking at their 162 game averages? They are virtually deadlocked in this regard, with numbers so similar it is almost eerie-- except Mantle has a pretty substantial lead in OBP, BB, OPS(+).