Many people think so..but, it is such a subjective question that there is really no correct answer. Certainly, Mays was one of the best, a "five tool" player, i. e., hit for average, hit for power, great speed, great fielder and terrific throwing arm.
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Honus Wagner is actually the best baseball player to ever live. The reason Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, etc. wouldn't be considered the best is because they are not all around. They have one great feature but Honus Wagner is all around. Others would say Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter. etc. There are varying opinions on the answer to this question.
Mae Louise Allen(m. 1971-2013), Margherite Wendell Chapman (m. 1956-1961)
In 1951, Willie Mays played for the New York Giants. On Base Percentage (OBP) is considered by many to be a better measure of a great hitter than the Batting Average. It is calculated with the formula (Hits + Walks + Hit by Pitch) / (At Bats + Walks + Hit by Pitch + Sacrifice Flies). In 1951, Willie Mays had 464 at bats, 127 hits, 57 walks, and was hit by the pitch 2 times. Sacrifice flies weren't counted before 1954. That gives him an On Base Percentage of .356. Slugging Percentage (SLG) is a popular measure of a batter's power. It is calculated as (Total Bases) / (At Bats). Another way to look at it is (Singles + 2 x Doubles + 3 x Triples + 4 x Home Runs) / (At Bats). In 1951, Willie Mays had 464 at bats, and hit 80 singles, 22 doubles, 5 triples, and 20 home runs, for a .472 slugging percentage. Being able to get on base and to hit for power are two of the most important offensive skills in baseball, so the On Base Percentage and Slugging Percentage are often added together. On-base plus slugging (OPS) is a sabermetric baseball statistic. The best hitters in Major League Baseball can achieve an OPS of .900 or higher. In 1951, Willie Mays had a .356 On Base Percentage and a .472 Slugging Percentage for an OPS of .828. Runs Created (RC) is a baseball statistic invented by Bill James to estimate the number of runs a hitter contributes to his team. There are a number of formulas used to calculate it. One of the simplest is (On Base Percentage) × (Total Bases). In 1951, Willie Mays had a .356 On Base Percentage and 219 Total Bases for 77.89 Runs Created.
In 1952, Willie Mays played for the New York Giants. On Base Percentage (OBP) is considered by many to be a better measure of a great hitter than the Batting Average. It is calculated with the formula (Hits + Walks + Hit by Pitch) / (At Bats + Walks + Hit by Pitch + Sacrifice Flies). In 1952, Willie Mays had 127 at bats, 30 hits, 16 walks, and was hit by the pitch 1 time. Sacrifice flies weren't counted before 1954. That gives him an On Base Percentage of .326. Slugging Percentage (SLG) is a popular measure of a batter's power. It is calculated as (Total Bases) / (At Bats). Another way to look at it is (Singles + 2 x Doubles + 3 x Triples + 4 x Home Runs) / (At Bats). In 1952, Willie Mays had 127 at bats, and hit 20 singles, 2 doubles, 4 triples, and 4 home runs, for a .409 slugging percentage. Being able to get on base and to hit for power are two of the most important offensive skills in baseball, so the On Base Percentage and Slugging Percentage are often added together. On-base plus slugging (OPS) is a sabermetric baseball statistic. The best hitters in Major League Baseball can achieve an OPS of .900 or higher. In 1952, Willie Mays had a .326 On Base Percentage and a .409 Slugging Percentage for an OPS of .736. Runs Created (RC) is a baseball statistic invented by Bill James to estimate the number of runs a hitter contributes to his team. There are a number of formulas used to calculate it. One of the simplest is (On Base Percentage) × (Total Bases). In 1952, Willie Mays had a .326 On Base Percentage and 52 Total Bases for 16.97 Runs Created.
In 1962, Willie Mays played for the San Francisco Giants. On Base Percentage (OBP) is considered by many to be a better measure of a great hitter than the Batting Average. It is calculated with the formula (Hits + Walks + Hit by Pitch) / (At Bats + Walks + Hit by Pitch + Sacrifice Flies). In 1962, Willie Mays had 621 at bats, 189 hits, 78 walks, and was hit by the pitch 4 times. He had 3 sacrifice flies. That gives him an On Base Percentage of .384. Slugging Percentage (SLG) is a popular measure of a batter's power. It is calculated as (Total Bases) / (At Bats). Another way to look at it is (Singles + 2 x Doubles + 3 x Triples + 4 x Home Runs) / (At Bats). In 1962, Willie Mays had 621 at bats, and hit 99 singles, 36 doubles, 5 triples, and 49 home runs, for a .615 slugging percentage. Being able to get on base and to hit for power are two of the most important offensive skills in baseball, so the On Base Percentage and Slugging Percentage are often added together. On-base plus slugging (OPS) is a sabermetric baseball statistic. The best hitters in Major League Baseball can achieve an OPS of .900 or higher. In 1962, Willie Mays had a .384 On Base Percentage and a .615 Slugging Percentage for an OPS of .999. Runs Created (RC) is a baseball statistic invented by Bill James to estimate the number of runs a hitter contributes to his team. There are a number of formulas used to calculate it. One of the simplest is (On Base Percentage) × (Total Bases). In 1962, Willie Mays had a .384 On Base Percentage and 382 Total Bases for 146.63 Runs Created.