GOAT Index

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Willie Mays: the case for the GOAT

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    Willie Mays: the case for the GOAT

    CF · Giants · Born 6 May 1931, Westfield, Alabama, USA · Died 2024 · Career 1951–1973

    Center fielder known as 'the Say Hey Kid' who starred for the New York and San Francisco Giants, finishing with the New York Mets.

    Career highlights

    Why Willie Mays could be the GOAT

    Mays did everything at an elite level: hitting for average and power, running the bases and playing the best center field anyone had seen. He won 12 straight Gold Gloves and hit 660 homers despite losing most of two seasons to military service. He is the ultimate five-tool player.

    What fans say

    Willie Mays is #22 of 25 in the fan ranking, with a 0–1 head-to-head record from 4 MLB votes. See the full MLB GOAT ranking

    Willie Mays head to head

    How the ranking works. Every head-to-head vote is a result, like a game. The standings use a Bradley–Terry model, the same idea behind chess ratings: beating a highly rated legend counts for more than beating a long shot. Ratings are shown on a chess-style scale centred on 1500.

    One vote per matchup per person. If you see a pairing again in another session your new answer replaces the old one, so nobody can stuff the ballot by repeating a matchup.

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