Hirsch, James S. Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend.strong>
Long before steroids and sky-high salaries baseball's greatest players were also good will ambassadors of the sport. Leading that select club was Willie Mays who was treated as royalty in visiting ballparks. Hirsch goes into great detail about Willie's sheltered childhood in segregated post-war Alabama. Also explained is how Mays learned game smarts and the desire to win from first major league manager Leo Durocher but fortunately not "The Lip's" use of obscenity. A surprising fact is that the winds of San Fransisco's Candlestick Park most likely cost Willie Mays 100 home runs during his career with the Giants (he hit 660 of them). Those who recall or who would like to picture a time when big league ball had an air of joy to it should look no further than this welcome biography.
No comments:
Post a Comment