Willie Mays Stats | Baseball Prospectus

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Willie Mays CFGiants

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Career Summary

Years	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	DRC+	WARP
22	12493	.302	.384	.557	153	153.8

Birth Date	5-6-1931
Height	5' 11"
Weight	180 lbs

Age	92 years, 11 months, 19 days
Bats	R
Throws	R

WARP Summary

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MLB Statistics

YEAR	TEAM	AGE	G	PA	H	2B	3B	HR	BB	SO	HBP	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	DRC+	DRAA	BRR	FRAA	BWARP
1951	NY1	20	121	524	127	22	5	20	57	60	2	7	4	.274	.356	.472	115	13.0	0.2	4.8	3.4
1952	NY1	21	34	144	30	2	4	4	16	17	1	4	1	.236	.326	.409	98	0.5	1.5	4.5	1.1
1954	NY1	23	151	640	195	33	13	41	66	57	2	8	5	.345	.411	.667	161	49.8	1.0	19.4	9.2
1955	NY1	24	152	670	185	18	13	51	79	60	4	24	4	.319	.400	.659	153	45.7	4.5	8.4	8.0
1956	NY1	25	152	650	171	27	8	36	68	65	1	40	10	.296	.369	.557	141	33.8	9.2	16.2	8.0
1957	NY1	26	152	668	195	26	20	35	76	62	1	38	19	.333	.407	.626	163	51.9	2.4	2.7	8.0
1958	SFN	27	152	685	208	33	11	29	78	56	1	31	6	.347	.419	.583	158	51.3	8.2	19.4	10.6
1959	SFN	28	151	648	180	43	5	34	65	58	2	27	4	.313	.381	.583	152	49.1	10.1	-4.4	7.8
1960	SFN	29	153	669	190	29	12	29	61	70	4	25	10	.319	.381	.555	159	52.7	4.4	10.9	9.3
1961	SFN	30	154	659	176	32	3	40	81	77	2	18	9	.308	.393	.584	153	49.0	4.2	16.3	9.2
1962	SFN	31	162	706	189	36	5	49	78	85	4	18	2	.304	.384	.615	164	63.2	5.5	12.3	10.6
1963	SFN	32	157	671	187	32	7	38	66	83	2	8	3	.314	.380	.582	171	58.4	2.1	8.2	9.8
1964	SFN	33	157	665	171	21	9	47	82	72	1	19	5	.296	.383	.607	177	60.6	5.9	9.1	10.5
1965	SFN	34	157	638	177	21	3	52	76	71	0	9	4	.317	.398	.645	197	72.1	2.5	9.8	11.4
1966	SFN	35	152	629	159	29	4	37	70	81	2	5	1	.288	.368	.556	157	41.4	-3.1	11.2	7.5
1967	SFN	36	141	544	128	22	2	22	51	92	2	6	0	.263	.334	.453	127	17.9	5.8	5.6	5.1
1968	SFN	37	148	573	144	20	5	23	67	81	2	12	6	.289	.372	.488	161	39.4	2.2	5.2	7.6
1969	SFN	38	117	459	114	17	3	13	49	71	3	6	2	.283	.362	.437	120	15.2	2.2	-2.8	3.0
1970	SFN	39	139	566	139	15	2	28	79	90	3	5	0	.291	.390	.506	143	33.8	4.3	-6.7	5.0
1971	SFN	40	136	537	113	24	5	18	112	123	3	23	3	.271	.425	.482	157	38.3	5.7	-2.1	6.1
1972	NYN	41	69	242	52	9	1	8	43	43	1	1	5	.267	.402	.446	134	9.8	0.9	-0.7	1.8
1972	SFN	41	19	67	9	2	0	0	17	5	0	3	0	.184	.394	.224	134	2.7	0.4	-0.8	0.5
1973	NYN	42	66	239	44	10	0	6	27	47	1	1	0	.211	.303	.344	90	-1.5	-0.7	-0.2	0.4
Career			2992	12493	3283	523	140	660	1464	1526	44	338	103	.302	.384	.557	153	848.0	79.5	146.5	153.8

Statistics for All Levels

'opp' stats - Quality of opponents faced - have been moved and are available only as OPP_QUAL in the Statistics reports now.
Minor league stats are currently shown —Click to hide.

YEAR	Team	Lg	LG	G	PA	oppAVG	oppOBP	oppSLG	BABIP	BPF	BRAA	repLVL	POS_ADJ	DRC+	DRC+ SD	FRAA	BRR	DRAA	BWARP
1951	NY1	MLB	NL	121	524	.256	.324	.384	.000	105	15.6	13.9	1.3	115	10	4.8	0.2	13.0	3.4
1952	NY1	MLB	NL	34	144	.263	.331	.394	.000	96	4.3	3.6	0.3	98	21	4.5	1.5	0.5	1.1
1954	NY1	MLB	NL	151	640	.266	.330	.412	.325	116	49.2	16.7	1.5	161	12	19.4	1.0	49.8	9.2
1955	NY1	MLB	NL	152	670	.257	.321	.408	.282	101	59.5	17.2	1.6	153	12	8.4	4.5	45.7	8.0
1956	NY1	MLB	NL	152	650	.255	.313	.401	.281	82	57.6	16.4	1.5	141	8	16.2	9.2	33.8	8.0
1957	NY1	MLB	NL	152	668	.260	.317	.400	.324	102	56.6	16.9	1.5	163	8	2.7	2.4	51.9	8.0
1958	SFN	MLB	NL	152	685	.267	.327	.412	.344	110	50.8	18.5	1.7	158	11	19.4	8.2	51.3	10.6
1959	SFN	MLB	NL	151	648	.259	.318	.397	.299	100	49	17.9	1.6	152	8	-4.4	10.1	49.1	7.8
1960	SFN	MLB	NL	153	669	.258	.317	.396	.319	85	71.7	18.1	1.6	159	10	10.9	4.4	52.7	9.3
1961	SFN	MLB	NL	154	659	.264	.326	.408	.296	96	52.5	18.7	1.7	153	10	16.3	4.2	49.0	9.2
1962	SFN	MLB	NL	162	706	.263	.324	.396	.286	98	63	19.7	1.8	164	8	12.3	5.5	63.2	10.6
1963	SFN	MLB	NL	157	671	.244	.301	.363	.309	97	58.9	16.8	1.5	171	12	8.2	2.1	58.4	9.8
1964	SFN	MLB	NL	157	665	.257	.309	.379	.268	97	63.3	17.0	1.5	177	10	9.1	5.9	60.6	10.5
1965	SFN	MLB	NL	157	638	.253	.309	.378	.286	101	68.5	16.1	1.3	197	10	9.8	2.5	72.1	11.4
1966	SFN	MLB	NL	152	629	.258	.311	.389	.279	99	52.8	16.0	1.2	157	8	11.2	-3.1	41.4	7.5
1967	SFN	MLB	NL	141	544	.249	.307	.365	.283	99	21.1	13.1	1.2	127	14	5.6	5.8	17.9	5.1
1968	SFN	MLB	NL	148	573	.244	.298	.343	.303	87	38.1	12.6	1	161	9	5.2	2.2	39.4	7.6
1969	SFN	MLB	NL	117	459	.252	.318	.373	.313	98	21.9	11.8	0.9	120	13	-2.8	2.2	15.2	3.0
1970	SFN	MLB	NL	139	566	.259	.326	.393	.303	99	37.9	15.4	1	143	9	-6.7	4.3	33.8	5.0
1971	SFN	MLB	NL	136	537	.254	.312	.370	.339	101	37.6	13.3	-2.1	157	9	-2.1	5.7	38.3	6.1
1972	NYN	MLB	NL	69	242	.247	.309	.362	.306	96	13.9	5.7	-0.2	134	12	-0.7	0.9	9.8	1.8
1972	SFN	MLB	NL	19	67	.249	.321	.365	.205	98	0.2	1.6	0.1	134	12	-0.8	0.4	2.7	0.5
1973	NYN	MLB	NL	66	239	.261	.320	.386	.242	97	-5.6	6.3	-0.5	90	14	-0.2	-0.7	-1.5	0.4

Statistics For All Levels

Minor league stats are currently shown —Click to hide.

Year	Team	lvl	LG	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	TB	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	ISO	SF	SH
1951	NY1	MLB	NL	524	464	59	127	22	5	20	219	68	57	60	7	4	.274	.356	.472	.198		1
1952	NY1	MLB	NL	144	127	17	30	2	4	4	52	23	16	17	4	1	.236	.326	.409	.173		0
1954	NY1	MLB	NL	640	565	119	195	33	13	41	377	110	66	57	8	5	.345	.411	.667	.322	7	0
1955	NY1	MLB	NL	670	580	123	185	18	13	51	382	127	79	60	24	4	.319	.400	.659	.340	7	0
1956	NY1	MLB	NL	650	578	101	171	27	8	36	322	84	68	65	40	10	.296	.369	.557	.261	3	0
1957	NY1	MLB	NL	668	585	112	195	26	20	35	366	97	76	62	38	19	.333	.407	.626	.292	6	0
1958	SFN	MLB	NL	685	600	121	208	33	11	29	350	96	78	56	31	6	.347	.419	.583	.237	6	0
1959	SFN	MLB	NL	648	575	125	180	43	5	34	335	104	65	58	27	4	.313	.381	.583	.270	6	0
1960	SFN	MLB	NL	669	595	107	190	29	12	29	330	103	61	70	25	10	.319	.381	.555	.235	9	0
1961	SFN	MLB	NL	659	572	129	176	32	3	40	334	123	81	77	18	9	.308	.393	.584	.276	4	0
1962	SFN	MLB	NL	706	621	130	189	36	5	49	382	141	78	85	18	2	.304	.384	.615	.311	3	0
1963	SFN	MLB	NL	671	596	115	187	32	7	38	347	103	66	83	8	3	.314	.380	.582	.268	7	0
1964	SFN	MLB	NL	665	578	121	171	21	9	47	351	111	82	72	19	5	.296	.383	.607	.311	3	1
1965	SFN	MLB	NL	638	558	118	177	21	3	52	360	112	76	71	9	4	.317	.398	.645	.328	2	2
1966	SFN	MLB	NL	629	552	99	159	29	4	37	307	103	70	81	5	1	.288	.368	.556	.268	4	1
1967	SFN	MLB	NL	544	486	83	128	22	2	22	220	70	51	92	6	0	.263	.334	.453	.189	3	2
1968	SFN	MLB	NL	573	498	84	144	20	5	23	243	79	67	81	12	6	.289	.372	.488	.199	6	0
1969	SFN	MLB	NL	459	403	64	114	17	3	13	176	58	49	71	6	2	.283	.362	.437	.154	4	0
1970	SFN	MLB	NL	566	478	94	139	15	2	28	242	83	79	90	5	0	.291	.390	.506	.215	6	0
1971	SFN	MLB	NL	537	417	82	113	24	5	18	201	61	112	123	23	3	.271	.425	.482	.211	4	1
1972	NYN	MLB	NL	242	195	27	52	9	1	8	87	19	43	43	1	5	.267	.402	.446	.179	0	3
1972	SFN	MLB	NL	67	49	8	9	2	0	0	11	3	17	5	3	0	.184	.394	.224	.041	0	1
1973	NYN	MLB	NL	239	209	24	44	10	0	6	72	25	27	47	1	0	.211	.303	.344	.134	1	1

Plate Discipline

YEAR	Pits	Zone%	Swing%	Contact%	Z-Swing%	O-Swing%	Z-Contact%	O-Contact%	SwStr%	CSAA

Injury History — No longer being updated

Last Update: 12/31/2014 23:59 ET

Date On	Date Off	Transaction	Days	Games	Side	Body Part	Injury	Severity	Surgery Date	Reaggravation
1973-05-07	1973-06-05	15-DL	29	22	Right	Shoulder	Strain		-	-

Compensation

Year	Team	Salary

Service Time	Agent	Contract Status

Details

2019 Preseason Forecast

Last Update: 1/27/2017 12:35 ET

PCT	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	DRC+	VORP	FRAA	WARP
Weighted Mean	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	0	0	?	?	.000	.000	.000	0	0.0	?	0.0

BP Annual Player Comments

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BP Articles

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BP Chats

Date	Question	Answer
2017-10-24 20:00:00 (link to chat)	Similarly to Kershaw, has anyone ever looked into why Willie Mays was so bad in the postseason? And why does no one seem to care, except for the '73 Series? (answerdave from 2400 baud)	Everybody who played prior to 1969 (beginning of the multi-level postseason), the numbers for everybody who didn't play for the Yankees has small-sample-size warnings. Mays had 99 postseason plate appearances in his career. That's not enough to be able to say anything about. He had an .802 OPS in the 1954 Series (to go with The Catch) and .989 in the 1972 NLCS (when he was 40!). He was bad in 1951 and not good in '62. And yeah, in '73 he was like AARP eligible. So ignore that one, and say he had two good postseasons and two that weren't good. That doesn't say "chokes under pressure" to me - Rob M (World Series Chat)
2015-06-08 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Should the Twins be concerned about Byron Buxton's relatively slow start? Remember just last year he was being compared to Willie Mays and Mike Trout. (John from CT)	Well, he shouldn't have been compared to those guys anyway, because...well...those are hall-of-famers and you shouldn't compare prospects to hall-of-famers. I'm a little disappointed, but I still think he's the best prospect in baseball. Have patience. (Christopher Crawford)
2014-07-24 19:00:00 (link to chat)	With all the hype around Byron Buxton, what are the chances he actually reaches his ceiling? We are still waiting for guys like Jason Heyward and Justin Upton to reach theirs (I know they're still young). (Shawnykid23 from CT)	extraordinarily low because his ceiling is extraordinarily high. I was talking about this with J.P. Breen last night on the way home from Kane County, just because a player doesn't reach lofty heights doesn't make him worthless or a bust. His ceiling allows for a lot of value even if he falls short. If he's 80% of Willie Mays that's still incredibly valuable. (Mauricio Rubio)
2013-04-15 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Might STL claim the top defensive player all time at FOUR of the eight fielding positions? Edmonds, Molina, Ozzie, Keith Hernandez? (Willie McGee from STL)	Willie Mays says no. (Geoff Young)
2012-12-28 13:00:00 (link to chat)	It seemed like James McDonald put everything together before the All-star break last year, however, he slowly fell apart thereafter. What do you expect from McDonald next year? Thanks for the chat, Geoff. (Jim from Philly)	Hi Jim, thanks for stopping by to chat. I'm going to get crazy and predict an ERA between 4.00 and 4.21 for McDonald this year, same as every year. But yikes, that second half is scary. I don't know how you go from having opponents hit like Jeff Mathis to having them hit like Willie Mays in such a short span. The positive spin is that McDonald showed the ability to dominate over a decent stretch of games. The flip side is... yuck. (Geoff Young)
2012-10-23 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Re the (way) earlier question about long swings, check out film of Willie Mays some time. For a guy 5'11", that was some long swing, and he did better than all right. (frampton from Oakland)	Willie Mays also loves pancakes and makes his own syrup (Jason Parks)
2012-08-23 13:00:00 (link to chat)	You have just finished watching a complex league game. You saw, for the first time, a player you had never before heard about. He is now your favorite prospect ever, filling you with feelings of Francisco Lindor, Oscar Taveres and Yu Darvish, held together by Willie Mays' maple syrup and choir robe. What position does he play? Where is he from? What makes him so special? Have you ever stumbled onto such a prospect without any prior knowledge of the kid's existence? (Nick from Michigan)	He plays shortstop; he's special because he's 6'7'' and weighs 250 lbs; he hits bombs, he steals bases, and he thinks Mike Trout's ceiling is a bag of #slack. He's the first of his kind; the wave of the future. Power-forward body with Venezuelan shortstop actions, Mike Trout's speed, and Stanton's power. He's also a sweetheart that has grit. (Jason Parks)
2011-04-14 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Travis Snider and Adam Jones are piling disappointing starts on top of disappointing careers. Do you think either or both will turn it around? (Rex Little from Big Bear CA)	Well, KG tells me Adam Jones is better than Willie Mays, so he has to turn it around, right? (Of course, that's just his standard intro into how average players today are better conditioned, better trained, etc. -- of course Willie Mays born at the same time as Adam Jones would be better than Adam Jones). Seriously, though, I fear Adam Jones is turning into Corey Patterson, and I'm losing my optimism about him. Snider is younger and has a better chance of turning things around. (Ken Funck)
2011-01-05 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Hi Jay! greetings from your southern-most follower (unless someone in the southern island of NZ is also out there?) Quick question, who would be the 5 charter members of the Baseball HoF if it was founded today? (Guillermo from Montevideo, Uruguay)	Hey Guillermo! I think if you were to start today, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Cy Young would be four of those five. I'm not sure who the fifth would be, though - probably another pitcher. Maybe Tom Seaver given that he had the highest vote percentage of all time. (Jay Jaffe)
2011-01-05 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Can't we all feel more comfortable with an opening class of 10 of Babe Ruth, Cy Young, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Walter Johnson, Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, Rogers Hornsby, Honus Wanger? (Bernard from Jersey City)	That's a great place to start. (Jay Jaffe)
2010-03-26 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Jay, have you read the new Willie Mays biography? I'm eager to read that side-by-side with Howard Bryant's forthcoming Hank Aarron bio. Will you be checking either or both out? Any other baseball books you eager to read this spring? (AlexBelth from Bronx)	Hey Alex! I haven't read the Mays book yet, but I'm dying to; it's been sitting in my reading pile for weeks now. I'm torn about the Aaron book, though. On the one hand I think he's the more interesting and complicated character of the two, but on the other hand I think I already know that. And while I really liked Bryant's book on steroids, his subsequent columns on that subject have been so insufferable I'm not sure I'm willing to dive into that in the context of the longtime record holder. Hell, Aaron himself seems to have better perspective on that subject these days. (Jay Jaffe)
2008-09-16 13:00:00 (link to chat)	"If you could take one guy from any time period to build your franchise around, who do you pick?" I think I'd go with Willie Mays. (mattymatty from Philly)	You can't go wrong. (Steven Goldman)
2008-09-16 13:00:00 (link to chat)	What about Bonds? He was pretty good, too. (Adam from DC)	Juiced or virgin? There's no wrong answer, but I don't think you can ever go wrong building with strength up the middle. Hence Jackie, hence Willie Mays, but maybe not the Babe or Teddy Ballgame. (Steven Goldman)
2008-09-10 13:00:00 (link to chat)	I don't recall exactly when Eric Davis retired, and I have to acknowledge that his career numbers don't come close to HOF material. However, he stands out to this Reds fan as one of the most exciting players of his era, and I'll forever wonder what might have been had he stayed healthy. What's your top-5 list of "coulda shoulda" players? (BelongstotheReds from Seattle)	No joke, I got all verklempt when I wrote up Davis' blurb for a JAWS piece a couple years back. The man possessed the most electrifying speed/power combo to hit the majors between Willie Mays and Barry Bonds, period. What I wouldn't give to see him play at his peak again... Davis and his childhood pal Darryl Strawberry make a good strat to a top five for the Hall of Should aWouldaCoulda, and you can't mention the straw without calling upon Dwight Gooden too. Add David Cone and Fernando Valenzuela and you've got an easy five from me, though I'm certain there are others I could include particularly from other eras. (Jay Jaffe)
2008-07-24 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Hi Christina! Love your work! Who gets your vote for greatest living baseball player... (Mary Beth from St. Louis, MO)	Thank you Mary Beth... Willie Mays is 77 years young, making this a pretty easy call. (Christina Kahrl)
2008-07-24 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Joe Posnanski made a good case for Stan Musial as one of the best living ballplayers the other day... where is he on your list? (BL from Bozeman, MT)	Where's Jay Jaffe when I need him? I don't keep lists like this, but it would definitely be behind Willie Mays. It isn't like it's ever going to be an Olympic event, where Musial's got to stand around on a podium and subsequently explain his disappointment for getting the bronze behind Mike Schmidt or Frank Robinson or something. Maybe I'm being lazy, but Mays seems like a solid enough selection for an off-the-cuff answer. ;) (Christina Kahrl)
2008-07-22 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Would you say that Willie Mays is a good comp for Colby Rasmus. (Clonod from St. Louis)	Comparing anyone to Willie Mays is ridiculous. Don't do that. (Kevin Goldstein)
2008-06-20 13:30:00 (link to chat)	Considering how far ahead of the pack he is at his position, is it fair to call Brooks Robinson the best defensive player in history? (costa24 from Montreal)	Ozzie Smith is, and it's not close. Followed then by Bill Mazeroski, then probably Willie Mays. (Joe Sheehan)
2008-06-04 16:00:00 (link to chat)	Anthony Hewitt seems to have shot up the draft boards like no other (with maybe the exception of Lawrie) I remember in recent years. From everything you've heard about him is he worth the risk for top 15? (Thomas from Newark)	I wish I had a better answer than Maybe!, but I don't. Go get a hold of two scouts. One will tell you that he just might be the next Willie Mays, and the next will tell you that he barely turned him in and there's no way they'd take him. It really is THAT divergent a range of opinions on him. (Kevin Goldstein)
2008-05-22 13:00:00 (link to chat)	I'm stealing this question from Joe Posnanski, but who do you think is the best Mets position player of all time? (Tommy from OPS,FL)	Willie Mays? Mike Piazza? Daryl Strawberry? That's one for Jay Jaffe. (Will Carroll)

BP Roundtables

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