Willie Mays was baseball's greatest living Hall of Famer — and the heir apparent isn't obvious
Willie Mays may have been baseball’s greatest living Hall of Famer — not just at the time of his death this week, but from the moment he was inducted in 1979
Amid all the tributes and memories about the legendary Willie Mays, consider this perspective on his greatness:
He may have been baseball's greatest living Hall of Famer — not just at the time of his death this week, but from the moment he was inducted in 1979.
Mays' combination of hitting, baserunning and defensive brilliance was so extraordinary that simply calling him an all-time great feels insufficient. Some sort of superlative is warranted, and while “greatest living Hall of Famer” is obviously subjective, few would argue that Mays had a strong case.
As for who deserves that title now — well, it's a much tougher question, especially since Mays was preceded in death in recent years by the likes of Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Tom Seaver and Joe Morgan. It's been a sobering period for baseball fans as so many stars from the 1960s and 1970s have passed on.
