Willie Mays – Beesquared

Alex Rodriguez said so long to the Say Hey Kid.

The Yankees slugger bashed a two-run homer in the third inning against Baltimore on Thursday, passing Willie Mays to claim sole possession of fourth place on baseball’s all-time home run list.

The home run, which came in the third inning against Baltimore, marks the 661st of A-Rod’s career. Rodriguez had been tied with Mays, who turned 84 on Wednesday, since hitting his 660th last Friday against Boston.

Only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) have hit more.

After Rodriguez returned to the dugout, fans continued to cheer, eliciting a curtain call from the slugger, who sat out last season after being suspended by the league for using performance-enhancing drugs. As the Daily News’ John Harper observes:

The way the fans roared for the curtain call, you’d have thought Derek Jeter had hit home run No. 661. OK, well, that may be a stretch, but you get the idea. The same fans who never really warmed up to A-Rod over the years are suddenly showering him with affection, and that may be more remarkable than his comeback itself.

The Yankees have said they would forego the option A-Rod’s contract gives them not to pay Rodriguez a $6 million bonus in return for the rights to market the achievement.

As one who attended Thursday’s game, I can report that the team is upholding its end of the pact. Had you not known A-Rod’s home run tally, you might have missed the moment. The LED display that fills the stadium above center field said nothing of A-Rod’s chase or the significance of the moment.

“The Yankees could have added to the excitement had they told fans that Rodriguez was poised to overtake Mays,” my girlfriend commented afterward.

Instead, we walked back over the bridge to Manhattan on a lovely May night, talking about why a player as gifted as Rodriguez had used PEDs and whether he had already alighted in the helicopter that we imagined whisks him home.

Willie Mays turned 84 years old on Wednesday.

Over a career that spanned 22 years beginning in 1951, the “Say Hey Kid” amassed a .302 batting average and 3,283 hits, the fifth most of all time in the National League and 11th overall in baseball.

Mays smacked 600 home runs, third best in the league and tied for fourth best of all time.

According to Leo Durocher, who managed the Giants during Mays’ first four years with the club:

He could do the five things you have to do to be a superstar: hit, hit with power, run, throw, and field. And he had that other magic ingredient that turns a superstar into a super superstar. He lit up the room. He was a joy to be around.

As one who lives five blocks from the site of the former Polo Grounds, I feel a connection to Mays, who played the first six seasons of his professional career there before the Giants decamped to San Francisco.

On autumn days, one can imagine the crowd spilling out of the Polo Grounds in 1951, after Bobby Thomson’s walk-off home run to win the National League pennant. Or “The Catch,” Mays’ over-the-shoulder grab in deep center field in the first game of the 1954 World Series.

Mays, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979, also logged:

1,903 runs batted in, fourth best in the league and 10th best of all time

2,062 runs, fourth best of all time in the league and seventh best of all time

1,323 extra base hits, fourth best of all time in the league and fifth best of all time

2,992 games, fourth best of all time in the league and ninth best of all time

10,881 at bats, fourth best of all time in the league and 12th overall in baseball

6,066 total bases, third best of all time in both the league and in baseball

12,493 plate appearances, sixth best of all time in the league and 12th best of all time

11 consecutive NL Rawlings Gold Glove seasons starting in 1958

Mays also holds the record for hitting home runs in the most different innings.

On July 15, 2009, Mays accompanied President Obama aboard Air Force One for a flight to St. Louis, where the president threw the first pitch for the All-Star game.

“I’m so proud,” Mays told the president, referring to Obama’s election. “I didn’t go to bed until maybe 7:15 that morning. I just want to thank you.”

“Let me tell you, you helped us get there,” the president replied. “If it hadn’t been for folks like you and Jackie [Robinson], I’m not sure I would get elected to the White House.”