Who was the best center fielder of all time?

[Zone91]

Why then is Mantle SO MUCH more popular and has millions of people who collect his cards? I do not get it if Mays was so much better??? Same with Hank Aaron (I know he has no place here) he had way better stats than Mantle...but almost nobody collects his stuff compared to the Mick!!!

What am I missing here is it just because he played for the Yankees and was a above average player? Why is his name legendary along with the likes of Babe Ruth?

Post # 8

[Eric72]

I say Mays; however, this guy was pretty good, too...

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by Zone91

Why then is Mantle SO MUCH more popular and has millions of people who collect his cards? I do not get it if Mays was so much better??? Same with Hank Aaron (I know he has no place here) he had way better stats than Mantle...but almost nobody collects his stuff compared to the Mick!!!

What am I missing here is it just because he played for the Yankees and was a above average player? Why is his name legendary along with the likes of Babe Ruth?

Post # 8

It's easy....you don't have to be a "Rocket Scientist" to realize why Mantle is beloved more than Mays.

I'm old enough to have seen Mantle and Mays play from 1951 to their career's end. Mantle was a tremendous force on the Yankees
that got them into 12 World Series from 1951 - 1964. He "wowed" us with clutch hitting and 18 HR's in those World Series.

While Mays with the Giants during those years was only in 3 World Series. Incidently, he hit NO HR's in those Series.

Now, my daughters know more about Mickey Mantle than any other ballplayer, because like most Dad's, I passed on to them the legacy
of the mighty Mantle performances. My point that I'm making here is that there is a generational multiplying factor in play.

I could spend pages of story-telling why Mantle is more popular than Mays.

But, I'll leave you with this......Mantle was always a great person to get his autograph from....he was always very friendly.

Contrast that with Mays, who most of the time is an old grouch and not too friendly (this has really turned off many of his fans).


TED Z

[E93]

No brainer, Cobb was the best player ever to walk onto a ball field. He single-handedly transformed the game in which he was playing.
JimB

[oldjudge]

Steve--I'm confused by your last statement. You clearly rank DiMaggio as the best hitting centerfielder ever. He was not just a good fielder, he was a great fielder. If he beat Mays by a decent margin on offense there is no way that Mays catches him based on defense. Mays MAY have been slightly better on defense, but DiMaggio was one of the greatest fielding centerfielders of his era.

BTW, I don't think championships mean much when ranking players. Baseball is a team game, one guy can't carry the team. Mantle on Mays' Giants don't win any more pennants than the Giants did; they may win less. Similarly, Mays replacing Mantle on the Yankees (which would have made him the first Black Yankee--they didn't rush out to sign Black ball players) would have not cost them any pennants. Might have won them an extra World Series too.

[RCMcKenzie]

I guess I understood the question to mean who would I want in centerfield if I were the manager. If it's based on offensive stats, I'd want a hopped-up Barry Bonds in CF.

[SteveMitchell]

My system (which is merely the way a cross country meet is/was scored) isn't perfected (yet). Like most baseball cranks, sometimes my opinion overrides even the best of systems.

I do agree with you, however, in your second paragraph with regard to the fact that one player (even great players like these center-fielders) cannot carry a whole team. And, quite possibly, any one of them might have been inserted in place of another with similar team results.

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Steve--I'm confused by your last statement. You clearly rank DiMaggio as the best hitting centerfielder ever. He was not just a good fielder, he was a great fielder. If he beat Mays by a decent margin on offense there is no way that Mays catches him based on defense. Mays MAY have been slightly better on defense, but DiMaggio was one of the greatest fielding centerfielders of his era.

BTW, I don't think championships mean much when ranking players. Baseball is a team game, one guy can't carry the team. Mantle on Mays' Giants don't win any more pennants than the Giants did; they may win less. Similarly, Mays replacing Mantle on the Yankees (which would have made him the first Black Yankee--they didn't rush out to sign Black ball players) would have not cost them any pennants. Might have won them an extra World Series too.