When the heck is Barry Bonds doing a signing?

[MooseDog]

Originally Posted by egri

From what I've heard, Mays is bitter about Mickey Mantle being more popular than him, and about today's athletes making several times what he did.

The first part may be true but certainly isn't the case for those of us in the Bay Area, the majority of us would take Willie over Mickey in a heartbeat.

As to the 2nd part Mays has had many lucrative endorsement deals since he retired and has long lived in an exclusive community here in the Bay Area and by that I mean exclusive even by Silicon Valley standards (there is literally a wall around the whole of he city limits).

Any perceived bitterness is likely rooted in something much deeper I doubt any of us are equipped to understand.

[egri]

Originally Posted by Topps206

Okay, and how is the second one the fault of the fans? It has nothing to with them. As far as Mantle goes, he played for the Yankees, and on a dynasty, too.

Originally Posted by MooseDog

The first part may be true but certainly isn't the case for those of us in the Bay Area, the majority of us would take Willie over Mickey in a heartbeat.

As to the 2nd part Mays has had many lucrative endorsement deals since he retired and has long lived in an exclusive community here in the Bay Area and by that I mean exclusive even by Silicon Valley standards (there is literally a wall around the whole of he city limits).

Any perceived bitterness is likely rooted in something much deeper I doubt any of us are equipped to understand.

It's what I've heard his feelings are, from this site and other places. I did not say I agreed with it.

[maniac_73]

Originally Posted by egri

It's what I've heard his feelings are, from this site and other places. I did not say I agreed with it.

Willie came up in an era where he was the greatest player on the field and served his country but yet heard every slur in the book and was still treated as a second class citizen by a lot of people at the time. That doesn't leave you.

[Bigdaddy]

Originally Posted by maniac_73

Willie came up in an era where he was the greatest player on the field and served his country but yet heard every slur in the book and was still treated as a second class citizen by a lot of people at the time. That doesn't leave you.

How did Mr. Aaron respond? Or Mr. Robinson?

[maniac_73]

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy

How did Mr. Aaron respond? Or Mr. Robinson?

Everyone deals with things differently.

[packs]

Racism aside (if it can be put aside) I always hear that Mays had a serious beef with money. But if you look at his earnings it doesn't seem to match up with his perception that he was short changed in some way.

The most amount of money made per year according to Baseball Reference was $165,000 in 1973. The median household income in 1973 is listed as $12,157. In essence, Mays made more than 10 times the average family at a time when purchasing power was overwhelmingly in his favor. I'm not sure he has room to complain.

[tazdmb]

Originally Posted by packs

Racism aside (if it can be put aside) I always hear that Mays had a serious beef with money. But if you look at his earnings it doesn't seem to match up with his perception that he was short changed in some way.

The most amount of money made per year according to Baseball Reference was $165,000 in 1973. The median household income in 1973 is listed as $12,157. In essence, Mays made more than 10 times the average family at a time when purchasing power was overwhelmingly in his favor. I'm not sure he has room to complain.

HOWEVER, the median income today is around $31k, so the top stars are making nearly 1000 times that average.

[egri]

Originally Posted by packs

Racism aside (if it can be put aside) I always hear that Mays had a serious beef with money. But if you look at his earnings it doesn't seem to match up with his perception that he was short changed in some way.

The most amount of money made per year according to Baseball Reference was $165,000 in 1973. The median household income in 1973 is listed as $12,157. In essence, Mays made more than 10 times the average family at a time when purchasing power was overwhelmingly in his favor. I'm not sure he has room to complain.

On top of being very well compensated during his career, Mays could have easily made six figures with each appearance at an autograph signing. His last show (that I'm aware of) was in 2010/2011, where cards were $300 apiece. Then figure higher prices for rookie cards, balls, flats up to 8"x10", flats over 8"x10", premium items, plus fees for inscriptions and personalizations, and he would've done very well spending an afternoon writing his name. If he'd done that two or three times a year, well, that's about as close as someone in the private sector will ever come to printing money.

[egri]

Originally Posted by maniac_73

Willie came up in an era where he was the greatest player on the field and served his country but yet heard every slur in the book and was still treated as a second class citizen by a lot of people at the time. That doesn't leave you.

The people who treated him that way are all either dead or in nursing homes, and they aren't the same people who paid Mays hundreds of dollars only for him to sign their cards on the back or otherwise mess up their items. He's being a grouch because he wants to be a grouch.