Couple gripes 1. Indians went 111-43 that year. Giants went 97-57 by comparison. 2. Mays didn’t win World Series MVP, as the award didn’t exist. The award is, however, named after him to celebrate his heroics in 1954. Overall, I’d have to I say I liked the video and that the narrator sounds handsome. Now please pin my comment and stop misleading people.
RIP Willie. I remember freezing in the shade under the upper decks at Candlestick. The wind coming in from left field, which kept a lot of your shots in the park, was cutting. The hot dogs with Guldne's mustard, the best. You were my idol growing up. Thank you, Mr. Mays.
Same experience as a kid shade and breeze were a killer but you didn't care cause you were at the game, I was lucky enough to be at a game where Juan Marichal the starter, Willie McCovey was on first, Willie Mays in center and Bobby Bonds in right.🥶
@@richardochoa9462I was at many a game featuring the players you cited, in addition there was Dick Dietz, Tito Fuentes and Alan Gallagher. Went to the game where Mays hit number 3000.
I completely agree. As a German who somehow fell in love with MLB this channel is perfect. I could watch it for hours. There are literally NO German YT channels about basebal whatsoever. It's like looking for camel polo in English.
@@victorbonilla4634 Well, Willie Mays was asked who did he know that could come close to making that catch. He said Roberto Clemente. I agree with Mr. Mays. He and Clemente were tied with 12 Gold Glove Awards, most by any Major League outfielders in modern history. I'll tell you that I saw Roberto Clemente come from deep right centerfield to chase an Ed Kranepool fly ball down the right field line at Shea Stadium and made a running, sliding catch a foot off the ground...Typical Clemente catch. Hey you're right, Clemente would have caught it from right field in Cincinnati. That reminds me of a story about Clemente's abilities. ...The immortal Vin Scully put it best: "Clemente could field the ball in New York, and throw out a guy in Pennsylvania." Clemente could also make catches in the same manner he made throws.
@@victorbonilla4634 I saw Wille Mays, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle play. I'm probably older than you. I remember Roberto Clemente from 1961 and most vividly, the mid 1960s. I should mention that my Dad (Carlos Bernier) played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1953. He played for the San Juan Senators of the Puerto Rican Winter League Baseball along with Roberto Clemente. My Dad played center field, Roberto Clemente played right field.
@@isaacpadron3211 Actually, I recently saw some old clips of Hank Aaron and this man could run back on a long drive and make a catch after climbing a fence, but I don't know if he could have made the catch because the drive hit by Wertz was really traveling fast. Clearly, Mays has no equals as an outfielder, except Roberto Clemente.
This has to be one of the coolest, most in-depth analysis of a play I have ever seen in my life. Serious props, you studied that play like a freaking thesis. That editing is insane, too.
@@chuckwalla2967 And yet, the guys we all know were the greatest, hold all the records. RNG existed before video games; it was called nature, and even Willie and Babe had to account for it.
Its just not the catch and how he managed to do it, but its also the size of the stadium and how he threw the ball back to prevent any potential runners. A very awesome and cool piece of baseball history. We can argue all day on this, but Mays has twelve gold gloves to prove his defensive ability. Outstanding ballplayer! One of the greatest all-around players to ever play the game!
@MickeyMantle7 No question. Undoubtedly the best to play the game. There are many good players who can play well in one or two categories, but there are only a very few GREAT players can play well in ALL categories. Those are the five-tool players like Mays. Anyone who questions his greatness simply doesn't know baseball very well.
@MickeyMantle7 Mantle and Griffey both were excellent, but I think Griffeys stats are a little closer to Mays' stats than Mantle. Theres no denying that all were the best three players in their time. Mays is the only centerfielder in history to record over 7,000 putouts, which is impressive.
@SheepofChrist818You’re forgetting Clemente. Playing in Forbes killed his power numbers. The ‘Stick was an awful park, but it was heaven for homers compared to Forbes.
@@robloxsportsnetwork-peter4538 there's a book called "the year Babe Ruth hit 104 home runs". This book goes over the different rules back then. Like the rule of "if the ball curves foul after passing over the wall it's called foul not a home run." Rules like that actually impeded Ruth's home run total. He would of hit 104 home runs in the 1921 season. According to that book.
What I didn't ever notice was how deep this ballpark was. Thanks for the enlightenment! Definitely changes my previous opinion. When you think about it, Edmonds catch is 40 ft short of Mays, and that is incredible.
@Costa Zambaras People say Philly fans are rough, but all you have to do is run face first into a steel wall at a dead sprint and the fans will love you forever.
The closest I can think of for a catch with similar magnitude and an almost impossible amount of distance travelled has to be Gregor Blanco's 7th inning catch to preserve Matt Cain's perfect game, going deep into "Triple's Alley" and diving at the warning track all the way from right field
I really enjoyed your comparative analysis; thank you. In every interview I ever saw wherein Mays was asked about "the catch" he always said he was more proud of "the throw" which kept the runner from scoring.
@@FoolishBaseball What Byron Buxton is capable of if he stays healthy. His August 2017 earned him an MVP vote. www.fangraphs.com/statsplits.aspx?playerid=14161&position=OF&season=0&split=2.5
I agree. I have seen Mays say he has made better catches. More important? Probably not. Mays says it was the World Series that made that catch memorable.
Bob Feller said this wasn't Willie's best catch. "Not even close. He's made many better", said Feller. As Mays was growing up and playing the game, he said defense always came first, and he prided himself on playing the outfield.
It's so iconic because of the Polo Grounds setting. It appears that he's running into the infinite when he snags it. That's what gives it that amazing look. And he also had great style out there: he just looked so athletic and breakneck running into that void.
Absolutely. I think most people who are "unimpressed" by this play simply don't understand the Polo Grounds. The distance Mays had to cover to make that catch AND throw is something you don't really SEE in the footage. In a smaller ballpark, it'd be less impressive. You have to understand the distances involved to appreciate this play.
@@ajm5007 Right! There's an old ball field where I live, at it's 485 to dead center--man is it far! Put the Polo Grounds also had that odd configuration, and it makes it seem with that high wall that he's running into the forever. Combine that with Mays running at breakneck speed with the cap flying off, the perfect pivot off a full run and throw (actually the most impressive part), and the total optics make it the greatest center field play ever.
Good guy. He used to play golf at Country Club my dad belonged to among other many other Hall of Famers. I drove into his foursome one day on a blind driving hole. That was our first meeting. He was cool. He asked if that was my drive & when answered yes. He said, "Damn kid. You can hit a long ways." Say hey Willie. ❤️
The catch was dope! An over the shoulder catch at jogging speed is a routine play for most pro's, but you can see he clearly covers alot of ground and his strides are very quick. Plus the quick cannon of a throw to only allow Doby to advance to third on a 425+ ft hit is tremendous. Loved the video keep up the great content.
Being 64 yrs old, I'm kind of a tweener fan between eras, so I was blown away by the shot of the Polo Grounds. I never knew it was pretty much a rectangle!!!
I love the old school video game aesthetic with your presentation. Reminds me of playing baseball simulator 1.000 with my father when he was alive. Keep the up its fantastic!
I think that's the only World Series ring that the late great Willie Mays won and so that really shows you how important this catch was. Thanks for the great video
According to my calculations Mays also ran about 20 mph to even get to the ball, making it so stopping on a dime and preventing the runner from scoring an even more difficult task
How did you calculate 20 mph ? It's clear Mays did not stop on a dime , he had plenty of time to run down the ball and actually pulled up before the catch which enabled the relatively easy catch turn and throw . The slow runner wasn't sure if he caught it , he spotted the throw to late , which by the way his looping throw had nothing on it . Mays was arguably the most athletic of his era . Great athletes were not at all common in his day The ball hung up , he had a good jump and the over the shoulder is common today .
@@johnk2469 Yes, I get that 115 ft in 5.7 is 20 fps, but MattMatt said 20 mph, not 20 fps. I was providing the mph value since most people are innately familiar with mph (from driving a car) and not fps.
I can't believe I sat through this video. That's what I thought when it was about half over, but it was actually fun to watch. Let's face it, all the catches shown were pretty awesome. Nice to hear legendary Jack Brickhouse announce the winning homer, too. Thanks for making this. Well done!
Mays also caught the ball with two hands, the gloves were much smaller and to catch the ball players often used two hands. Baseball players today have the benefit that gloves make it possible for one to catch it with one hand.
@@qwaszx2 Utter nonsense. The gloves today are much more than "slightly" longer. Gloves before the 1950s were tiny and definitely required two hands -- I've had gloves from the 1930s, 1950s and 1960s. Who got injured catching with two hands?
Possibly the best reason to catch the ball with two hands is that putting your off-hand close to your catching hand positions your body well for the catch, rather than having your off-hand away from your body and possibly affecting your balance. There's also the secondary benefit that if you don't catch the ball cleanly and it deflects or pops out of your glove your off-hand can secure or re-catch the ball. It's not like you're multitasking and your off-hand is needed for something else anyway, so it might as well be well positioned.
@@qwaszx2 Not to argue, but to clarify: Baseball gloves underwent massive changes during the 1950's era, By 1959 gloves were quite different than 1950.
Thank you so much for making this video. I was always one of the "its just a catch running backwards" but you explained it really well and now I can appreciate how good it was
The polo grounds had the biggest outfield to covor, missing that ball could have been a 3 run hr. After the catch a runner on 2nd could score if he's fast enough. So getting that ball back to the infield so quickly was key. I think it was brilliant. Love your videos!!
It wasn’t the flashiest catch ever. But if people look at the context, then it would arguably be under the greatest pressure-situation plays ever. Also, Mays wasn’t named World Series MVP because they didn’t start handing out that award until next year.
Not only that, Dusty Rhodes would probably have been a better pick for the award. An otherwise marginal player, that year Rhodes had an OPS of 1.105 in just 186 plate appearances during the regular season, mostly as a pinch hitter. Judiciously deployed in three of the Series' four games, he went 4-for-6 with a walk, two home runs, and seven RBIs, driving in the winning or tying run in all three games.
Willie Mays was the 1954 NL MVP The World Series MVP wasn't yet awarded, but the Babe Ruth Award, given to the best performing player in the postseason, was given to Dusty Rhodes in 1954 (Not an official MLB award, but was the closest thing at the time)
In '54, my family had not bought their first TV yet and, at age 12, I would watch some shows on our neighbor's' Philco set. I first saw this on a newsreel at a movie theater after hearing it on the radio a week earlier. Your breakdown of 'the catch' was spot on and educational for me at this late date. I had misremembered this ball being hit to dead center. I was a Brooklyn 'Bums' fan in those days and collected the gum cards of the Dodgers and Giants. Many people hated the Yankees. In elementary school in central eastern PA. we were allowed to listen to World Series weekday games. Good times, memory is tricky.
Can you definitively tell me what the best catch of all time is? If not, then the distinction between one of the greatest and the best is blurred a lot then. I'd argue there isn't a distinction between the two, because it's a subjective opinion, and that this is a superlative catch. With that being said, one could argue in the statcast era one could find "the best catch of all time" using metrics, but that can't accurately and objectively be compared to anything before the statcast era.
@@TheNineinchsnails No one can definitively point to any catch as the greatest of all time. It is an impossible task. We can only offer our opinions on the matter.
I for one love the Polo Grounds. Love using it in any ball game I play in! I've the feeling that due to how big the ball park was in center, helped make the play seem legendary. I'd imagine plays like that might not have been too common in those days in that ball park. Definitely impressive when you see just how much real-estate is out there. Also, great vids! Keep up the great content!
I was born in The City of San Francisco in April of 1954 and, because the Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958 I spent my childhood watching Willie Mays at Candlestick Park. I saw him do amazing things: Falling down rounding third only to score after drawing a throw and allowing the batter to take second. Catching the second out as if it were the third out and trotting toward the dugout to fool a runner into tagging up only to be thrown out. Faking a twisted ankle at first base after a throw over only to steal second on the next pitch. He was the most intuitive player on the field. No one had his instincts. No one was so adored. Thank you, Willie, thank you.
I saw Mays play at the LA Coliseum against the Dodgers in 1959. I was behind Mays in the centerfield seats about three rows back. A ball was hit to dead center and Mays casually backed up a few steps and leaped up several inches off the ground to snag the ball in the web of his glove. He then threw the ball submarine-style back to the infield and continued to chew his gum with no other expression on his face, as if he was merely playing catch at the local schoolyard. As a 12-year-old, I was wowed by the whole thing. Over the decades, I have attended many, many MLB games, but that catch has remained imprinted on my mind like no other.
"Was 'the catch' overrated?" I couldn't do it, and I don't know anyone who could. I'm not gonna criticize it. One thing I do think you're underselling is when you mention that only four people scored from second on sac flies last year. Last year we didn't have any cavernous stadiums like the Polo Grounds, old Yankee Stadium, Forbes Field, Ebbets Field, Shibe Park, or Fenway in its original dimensions. It was a lot easier to hit a 400' flyout in ballparks like that, and more 400' flyouts mean more opportunities to score from second. So I'm curious how often people scored from second back then. I'd hazard a guess that it was more than 4. Lastly, largely without meaning to, you make an excellent case that the Polo Grounds stole a game for the NY Baseball Giants in a World Series. That's what I call homefield advantage!
It's film footage converted to video. Of course in modern broadcasting we are using digital video and it is easy to slow down or speed up, render and play out quickly. For a real comparison you would want to take the source film which was likely shot 16:9 at 24 frames per second and then convert it to 1080 at 30 frames per second. Now you can compare the speed of the plays based on the real time play out of the recorded broadcast. If you take the slow motion replays then you would need to find out by how much they have slowed it down and do a conversion. Context matters. The situation matters. In terms of just the difficulty of the play it is easier to make a catch if the ball is in your line of sight. Much more difficult if you turn your back on the ball and you are trying to calculate the trajectory. Dangers such as walls and railings matter too. Is the player risking injury to get to the ball or are they in a wide open space? Are they likely to collide with teammates?
I am 81 years old and was at the game and saw the catch! My dad and I were somewhere along the first base line. I tell you, it was the greatest, most exiting catch I ever remember seeing! Myonly other clear memory of the game is that Perry Como sang the national anthem with his hands in his pockets!
Great job! Brings me back to my youth. Thanks so much. One small error. Dusty Rhodes was the MVP of that World Series. Sadly, he was unable to field adequately and faded away after his heroics.
I played division three ball and my bat stank. It was my glove and speed in the outfield that kept me on the roster. Accordingly I love timely and magnificent outfield defensive plays.
That was me as well. My dad showed me this catch when I was really young (Mays is his favorite player) and I trained to be able to throw deep catches fast and far back to infielders like this. As miserable as being stuck in the outfield during slow games was, that was where they thought I was best used. Bring able to throw to second base from the left field fence without a cutoff man sealed my fate as an outfielder until my last season, when they let me play second base like I wanted.
Center field fence was 455ft from home plate and Willie made that catch pretty close to the warning track and caught it over his shoulder after run full sprint to the spot of the catch. The spin and frozen rope throw was almost more impressive especially since he was so far away and further than any other outfielder even more than triples ally at Oracle Stadium.
Thanks! Learned a lot about "The Catch". No matter what conclusion you would have come to, I would never change my mind on Say Hey and his greatness. Turns out this was way better than I expected.
Gregor Blanco saving Matt Cain's Perfect Game was the greatest catch I've ever seen in my life time. But growing up all I heard about from my Grandad and Dad was "The Catch."
Excellent analysis and conclusion. The proximity to the wall while running at top speed and having to catch - stop - throw AND with his showmanship of losing his cap and ending on the ground is amazing.
Thank you for doing all that work. I grew up in NYC and was confused the 1st time the Yankees were not in the World Series. I thought the World Series was to see who played the Yankees. This clip of yours is amazing.
In the era before all games were televised. Regular observers at the time said plays like that were common for Willie. The best all around player ever in my opinion.
A truly unbelievable play in every way! My favorite player in junior and high school, since I was a centerfielder, was Fred Lynn. He made two catches that were highlighted at the close of "This Week in Baseball." He also was interviewed in a segment on the "This Week in Baseball" greatest plays video. Many fantastic catches.
I always thought that the Red Sox of that era had an unfair advantage: Evans in right, Lynn in center, Rice in left (following Yaztremski who came after Williams).
Freddy Lynn was a great for sure. Don't you just wish we had more than just The Game of the Week on TV back then? So many great games and great plays we missed, all thru the 50s and 60s!
You did such a good job, I am surprised you didn't discover that scoring from second on a sac fly was more common in the Polo Grounds. That's why it's a catch AND throw. Also, Mays is forced to veer with his back to the plate. There is a movie called Star Chamber, near the early days of free agency, and the character is talking about the salaries of the early 80s Dodgers, and says - if Mays were playing now, they would have to give him his own state.
Fantastic analysis and what a player Mays was! Two shots in the video are compelling: 1. the overhead shot of the stadium layout, that puts The Catch into perspective given the amount of ground that had to be covered, and 2.the fans sitting in the bleachers. All were well dressed, well manored, and stayed seated as if not wanting to distract Mays. Such a contrast to today's society.
My favorite part about playing in the outfield is once you fielded the ball, you could just throw it as hard as you can in a general direction and it more in likely went to where it needed to go lol.
Fabulous, painstaking analysis, that really helps put this great catch in context...especially since we've so many seemingly-more spectacular catches in recent years. Much appreciated.
Some people ignore RUclips comments, some folks write pithy one liners in response.....still others make entire, fact/stat based video responses. This is why I love this channel :P
Still my favorite play of all time followed closely by 3 ridiculous catches by the NY Mets outfielders (2 by Agee in game 3 and Swoboda's in game 4) in the 1969 world series.
I consider the Ron Swoboda the best catch of all time. He dove and slid a foot or two before actually catching the ball, and then he caught it a few inches off the ground. It looked impossible at the time but he did it. The Willie Mays catch was definitely the best "catch and throw" of all time, but when you consider that it is much more difficult running virtually straight back rather than sideways or running in, it still could be considered the best catch of all time. Willie Mays just made it look easy!
Swoboda's catch was unique even in this company as it was a very high risk decision made by a fielder who was, unlike the other three OFs, not a glove man. Agee's 2 plays were more like Mays, where he didn't sell out to make the play (stays on his feet in one, backed up by Cleon Jones on the other). Swoboda's play was the miracle, because of the game situation (ninth inning of a 1-0 game with runners at first and third), because of the angle of the catch (glove actually came DOWN on the ball as Swoboda snagged it, which no one mentions), and because it was Swoboda making it.
I am an Astros fan.. Growing up watching Jose Cruz, his hat would fly off when he sprinted to make a play.. Except with 2 outs.. With 2 outs Jose would grab his hat and run after the ball, so he wouldn’t have to go back for it.. I always thought that was pretty dang stylish..
You're absolutely right, while this play was before my time (I wasn't born until '67), I have watched film of this play for years and amazed every time It's not just the distance covered to make the catch, but the presence of mind to make a quick and strong throw, against his momentum, back in to the infield to save the run Not to mention, how rare this level of athleticism was in the 1950's Willie Mays was more than a stand out player, he was one of the few who redefined what was expected for a player at his position in the sport This is why he is a Hall of Fame player, and his talent will be remembered a century after he played
One thing that old skool baseball got right was the individual nature of the ballparks. We started losing that in the ‘60s and ‘70s with the multipurpose parks and now the pendulum has kind of swung back the other way where you have the open air baseball specific parks that they try to build nostalgia into. I understand that you can’t have Fenway and Wrigley everywhere, but there’s feta charm to older parks, even if they’re minor league joints like Lookout Stadium in Chattanooga.
If you were ever in the Polo Grounds to view a baseball, you would know how great a catch by Willie Mays. The Polo Grounds was like a rectangular shape and cter field was more than very deep, more like mega deep. Mays made a very long run to catch the ball off the bat of Vic Wertz. Abosolutely incredible. David
Watching this just a couple of weeks after the passing of the Say Hey Kid...Rest in Peace Mr. Mays, one of the greatest players and ambassadors of baseball, the game has ever known!
This action is incredible essentially for two things out of the ordinary: 1-the speed that Willie Mays had to be able to travel the distance that would have allowed him to make the catch 2-the incredible concentration to achieve this catch despite the fact that he was for all the time with his back to the ball and despite him being extremely close from crashing into the wall in order to catch. A God of Baseball
My grandma used to watch Willie Mays play as a kid. She said he moved like a ballerina and made the hardest catches look like the easiest thing in the world. She still calls him the goat.
I know I'm years late, but I never thought that I'd come to fall in love with baseball from this catch. For some reason, at first glance I didn't think "The Catch" was amazing. I didn't think that it was extremely athletic, although I did think it was impressive. But for some reason I was infatuated with it. Maybe it's just the way he ran into the seemingly endless outfield, or the hustle he had. I'm not sure. But one thing is for sure, this catch will always be held in baseball fans hearts.
Couple gripes
1. Indians went 111-43 that year. Giants went 97-57 by comparison.
2. Mays didn’t win World Series MVP, as the award didn’t exist. The award is, however, named after him to celebrate his heroics in 1954.
Overall, I’d have to I say I liked the video and that the narrator sounds handsome. Now please pin my comment and stop misleading people.
Foolish Baseball not the first time the Indians were supposed to win.
Do something on y Ted Williams is the greatest hitter of all time
They have had a rough go in the October classic.
Foolish Baseball yep
Yeah, those sound like valid obj--
_notices who wrote the comment_
*Wait, that's illegal.*
Very well done, FB!
Thanks. You're doing a good job too, baseball.
Omg Hi mlb
Hey mlb I dare you to reply
Hey mlb, get rid of angel Hernandez
Love,
The world
😱
RIP Willie Mays, what a career, what a life
Thanks so much foolish I appreciate your efforts in growing the game of Willie Mays
Most people don't realize just how crazy the dimensions of the Polo Grounds were. One of the weirdest, greatest ballparks of all time.
Affectionately named The Bathtub.
I never realized it until playing the show. Its wild.
Yes, it's gorgeous.
MVP Baseball 2005 fans know
It’s just a meme,pure comedy that stadium
Legends never die. RIP to the "Say Hey" kid.....The best 5 tool player there ever was.
The legend of Willie Mays also will never die.
Also known as "Buck" from the beginning ! R.I.P
RIP Willie. I remember freezing in the shade under the upper decks at Candlestick. The wind coming in from left field, which kept a lot of your shots in the park, was cutting. The hot dogs with Guldne's mustard, the best. You were my idol growing up. Thank you, Mr. Mays.
Same experience as a kid shade and breeze were a killer but you didn't care cause you were at the game, I was lucky enough to be at a game where Juan Marichal the starter, Willie McCovey was on first, Willie Mays in center and Bobby Bonds in right.🥶
@@richardochoa9462I was at many a game featuring the players you cited, in addition there was Dick Dietz, Tito Fuentes and Alan Gallagher. Went to the game where Mays hit number 3000.
My God, man. My only qualm with your channel is that I found it too soon and you don’t have enough content. Keep it up.
Same! It's great content and admittedly has resparked my love for baseball.
I completely agree. As a German who somehow fell in love with MLB this channel is perfect. I could watch it for hours. There are literally NO German YT channels about basebal whatsoever. It's like looking for camel polo in English.
Better nate than lever.
@@FoolishBaseball lol
Meh, I prefer high effort, quality videos every once in a while over mid tier vids every day
"2%, like the freaking milk baby."
I don't know when or where, but if I ever get the chance I'm going say this
so what score did you get on your test today?
Preday ...don't do it...not all that ...
@@jamesvickers9476 I stopped watching after that. The video "jumped the shark" at that moment as far as I was concerned.
@@dylankrejci9965 2% - like the freaking milk baby
@@cygnusrider I almost stopped watching but it was worth continuing
Willie Mays was once asked: "Who else do you think could have made that catch?"
Mays' response: Roberto Clemente
And that's running over from his rightfield position..😲😂
@@victorbonilla4634 Well, Willie Mays was asked who did he know that could come close to making that catch. He said Roberto Clemente. I agree with Mr. Mays. He and Clemente were tied with 12 Gold Glove Awards, most by any Major League outfielders in modern history. I'll tell you that I saw Roberto Clemente come from deep right centerfield to chase an Ed Kranepool fly ball down the right field line at Shea Stadium and made a running, sliding catch a foot off the ground...Typical Clemente catch. Hey you're right, Clemente would have caught it from right field in Cincinnati. That reminds me of a story about Clemente's abilities. ...The immortal Vin Scully put it best: "Clemente could field the ball in New York, and throw out a guy in Pennsylvania." Clemente could also make catches in the same manner he made throws.
@@nrcg2317 The Great One...I saw him play live at Shea vs the Mets 1970..Never saw Willie though..wish I had.
@@victorbonilla4634 I saw Wille Mays, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle play. I'm probably older than you. I remember Roberto Clemente from 1961 and most vividly, the mid 1960s. I should mention that my Dad (Carlos Bernier) played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1953. He played for the San Juan Senators of the Puerto Rican Winter League Baseball along with Roberto Clemente. My Dad played center field, Roberto Clemente played right field.
@@isaacpadron3211 Actually, I recently saw some old clips of Hank Aaron and this man could run back on a long drive and make a catch after climbing a fence, but I don't know if he could have made the catch because the drive hit by Wertz was really traveling fast. Clearly, Mays has no equals as an outfielder, except Roberto Clemente.
RIP Willie, we always knew how great you are
This has to be one of the coolest, most in-depth analysis of a play I have ever seen in my life. Serious props, you studied that play like a freaking thesis. That editing is insane, too.
He's a clown and so are you.
HI, WILLIE MAYS HERE WITH ANOTHER AMAZING CATCH.
Whoever says they didn't read this in Billy Mays' voice is lying
Yesssss!!!!!!!! 😁😆😆😆
lmao
YES
@@paulk6399 I definitely did lol
Ahh the Polo Grounds, where a 430ft missile is an out, and a well placed pop up lands in the bleachers
Makes sense
There's video on RUclips of Duke Snider hitting a homer down the right field line. The ball jumps off his bat and lands in the crowd in 2 seconds.
And that’s not even dead-center ! But it makes for inside-the-park home-run excitement.
Only 3 players hit Home Runs in The Polo Grounds bkeachers.
most 430' missiles in the polo grounds were probably inside-the-park HRs. Willie Mays wasn't always out there :)
The catch was a 450 ft fly out and the game ended on 258 ft home run...
That's why I don't give much weight to sports records. Too many unfair elements and human errors that change the outcome of the games.
and wertz went 4 for 5 that day i think
@@chuckwalla2967 And yet, the guys we all know were the greatest, hold all the records. RNG existed before video games; it was called nature, and even Willie and Babe had to account for it.
And Mays went hitless
That’s baseball for you.
Willie Mays greatest player in my lifetime I am 70 and felt no one was better.
@@huglife3155 late
@@Kerosenearoundsomethingtodo W pfp
@@huglife3155 L kid
@@huglife3155 That’s right baby boy
Willie Mays Hayes was pretty good too.
Its just not the catch and how he managed to do it, but its also the size of the stadium and how he threw the ball back to prevent any potential runners. A very awesome and cool piece of baseball history. We can argue all day on this, but Mays has twelve gold gloves to prove his defensive ability. Outstanding ballplayer! One of the greatest all-around players to ever play the game!
The Greatest bar none.
@MickeyMantle7 No question. Undoubtedly the best to play the game. There are many good players who can play well in one or two categories, but there are only a very few GREAT players can play well in ALL categories. Those are the five-tool players like Mays. Anyone who questions his greatness simply doesn't know baseball very well.
@MickeyMantle7 Mantle and Griffey both were excellent, but I think Griffeys stats are a little closer to Mays' stats than Mantle. Theres no denying that all were the best three players in their time. Mays is the only centerfielder in history to record over 7,000 putouts, which is impressive.
@MickeyMantle7 I agree. Mantle and Griffey both ended up injured much too often. If not for that, they both would've had even better careers.
@SheepofChrist818You’re forgetting Clemente. Playing in Forbes killed his power numbers. The ‘Stick was an awful park, but it was heaven for homers compared to Forbes.
Imagine hitting a ball 450 feet and still be out..... Ouch!
On top of that, your team goes on to lose later on a cheapie. Shows how painful irony can be sometimes.
That's most of Babe Ruth's outs in his career. He played in this park for the Yankees from 1920-1922 Yankee Stadium opened in 1923.
@@JoeGuitarEducation imagine Ruth playing in ball parks of the sizes today.. hed hit 100 hr in a season
@@robloxsportsnetwork-peter4538 there's a book called "the year Babe Ruth hit 104 home runs". This book goes over the different rules back then. Like the rule of "if the ball curves foul after passing over the wall it's called foul not a home run." Rules like that actually impeded Ruth's home run total. He would of hit 104 home runs in the 1921 season. According to that book.
@@JoeGuitarEducation I'll definately check it out. The walls were farther back is a huge reason I think Babe Ruth is the actual home run champion.
The Catch was just really good, but the play is legend for his awareness of the situation and the unbelievable throw.
The throw was as amayzing as the catch
Even better: Benintendi's catch against Houston.
@Fuck Google as a red sox fan i agree. hes a fucktard
@petey1214
Yep. And Willie did both.
How about that!
He over ran it
this video came up on my recommended after he passed, around 3 years after first watched it. rip willie mays.
The catch, the awareness, the throw, the setting and implications. All reasons why this is a legendary play
What I didn't ever notice was how deep this ballpark was. Thanks for the enlightenment! Definitely changes my previous opinion. When you think about it, Edmonds catch is 40 ft short of Mays, and that is incredible.
That's a good way of looking at it.
Mays was a much better athlete than Edmonds.
yeah this mamojam is super long but also super short. it’s like fenway; super short corners but hella deep outfield
Edmunds even admitted that he was playing SUPER shallow
Edmunds was the king of slowing up to make an easy catch an “amazing diving coach”
Why is nobody mentioning that the batter hit the ball like 450 feet
And still popped out lol. I never knew it was that far.
Probably one of the longest outs in baseball history, if not the longest.
Imagine if all those games were in a ballpark today, there could be some new home run leaders
@@jdholtz But a lot of homers back then were cheap and down the line, so those would be lost.
It be like that in polo grounds
Dewayne Wise's "The Catch" that saved Mark Buerhle's Perfect Game will always be my favorite outfield catch of all time.
Oh yeah
No shame in that pick!
That just reminded me of how damn good Mark Buerhle was for like 15 minutes.
I feel the same way about Gregor Blancos catch during Matt Cains perfect game. A severely underrated catch that never gets talked about.
@Costa Zambaras People say Philly fans are rough, but all you have to do is run face first into a steel wall at a dead sprint and the fans will love you forever.
The closest I can think of for a catch with similar magnitude and an almost impossible amount of distance travelled has to be Gregor Blanco's 7th inning catch to preserve Matt Cain's perfect game, going deep into "Triple's Alley" and diving at the warning track all the way from right field
I watched that game. Almost shit myself when that ball was hit
What's amazing about Mays is the catch AND throw.
Agreed.
Its what May's himself said was the real good part. He said he knew he'd catch it.
"And a StatCast Catch Probability of 2%..."
*goes insane*
"...like the FREAKING MILK B A B Y"
You got me at "like the freakin' milk, baby!" 🤣
TWO PERCENT
@@FoolishBaseball yah, that is crazy as heck. LoCain is on another level.
fuck i just said that then scrolled down
Here before the MLB youtube account comments.
?
@@PG-Lang_enjoyerandYeGlazer on many of foolish baseball's videos, the MLB youtube account comments on his page
Idk
Here's hoping!
*demonitizes
"Willie Mays glove is where triples go to die" JimMurray
I really enjoyed your comparative analysis; thank you. In every interview I ever saw wherein Mays was asked about "the catch" he always said he was more proud of "the throw" which kept the runner from scoring.
Why I subscribed...
A) I love the throwback sega sounds. Nostalgia
B) I love your content and scientific approach
C) I love baseball
D) All the above
Why I replied
(A) The kind words
(B) Because it's polite
(C) That's it really
Foolish Baseball I laughed out loud actually.
Hi
These videos are on another level, incredible stuff again 🙌🏻
Hi Marc I would like to ask if u can do a video on reasons y Ted Williams is the greatest hitter of all time, please this would be a great video
Thanks. Now give me more topics to steal.
Hey Marc
@@FoolishBaseball What Byron Buxton is capable of if he stays healthy. His August 2017 earned him an MVP vote. www.fangraphs.com/statsplits.aspx?playerid=14161&position=OF&season=0&split=2.5
LFGM Marc
Mays routinely deprecated the superlatives accorded this catch. For him, it was nothing out of the ordinary. But then, he was Willie Mays.
I agree. I have seen Mays say he has made better catches. More important? Probably not. Mays says it was the World Series that made that catch memorable.
Bob Feller said this wasn't Willie's best catch. "Not even close. He's made many better", said Feller. As Mays was growing up and playing the game, he said defense always came first, and he prided himself on playing the outfield.
It's so iconic because of the Polo Grounds setting. It appears that he's running into the infinite when he snags it. That's what gives it that amazing look. And he also had great style out there: he just looked so athletic and breakneck running into that void.
Absolutely. I think most people who are "unimpressed" by this play simply don't understand the Polo Grounds. The distance Mays had to cover to make that catch AND throw is something you don't really SEE in the footage. In a smaller ballpark, it'd be less impressive. You have to understand the distances involved to appreciate this play.
@@ajm5007 Right! There's an old ball field where I live, at it's 485 to dead center--man is it far! Put the Polo Grounds also had that odd configuration, and it makes it seem with that high wall that he's running into the forever. Combine that with Mays running at breakneck speed with the cap flying off, the perfect pivot off a full run and throw (actually the most impressive part), and the total optics make it the greatest center field play ever.
Good guy. He used to play golf at Country Club my dad belonged to among other many other Hall of Famers. I drove into his foursome one day on a blind driving hole. That was our first meeting. He was cool. He asked if that was my drive & when answered yes. He said, "Damn kid. You can hit a long ways." Say hey Willie. ❤️
The catch was dope! An over the shoulder catch at jogging speed is a routine play for most pro's, but you can see he clearly covers alot of ground and his strides are very quick. Plus the quick cannon of a throw to only allow Doby to advance to third on a 425+ ft hit is tremendous. Loved the video keep up the great content.
Being 64 yrs old, I'm kind of a tweener fan between eras, so I was blown away by the shot of the Polo Grounds. I never knew it was pretty much a rectangle!!!
I wish it was still there .
I love the old school video game aesthetic with your presentation. Reminds me of playing baseball simulator 1.000 with my father when he was alive. Keep the up its fantastic!
Willie is truly one of the greatest ever. This play is incredible, top 5 play by a top 5 player turned into a top 5 video by a top 5 RUclipsr
I think that's the only World Series ring that the late great Willie Mays won and so that really shows you how important this catch was. Thanks for the great video
One of the greatest plays in MLB history, thank you for taking it seriously by putting some rigor to the details.
According to my calculations Mays also ran about 20 mph to even get to the ball, making it so stopping on a dime and preventing the runner from scoring an even more difficult task
How did you calculate 20 mph ?
It's clear Mays did not stop on a dime , he had plenty of time to run down the ball and actually pulled up before the catch which enabled the relatively easy catch turn and throw . The slow runner wasn't sure if he caught it , he spotted the throw to late , which by the way his looping throw had nothing on it .
Mays was arguably the most athletic of his era . Great athletes were not at all common in his day
The ball hung up , he had a good jump and the over the shoulder is common today .
115 ft in 5.7 s = 13.8 mph
skysurfer5cva That is feet per second lmaoo
@@skysurfer5cva that's how many feet he was running per second
@@johnk2469 Yes, I get that 115 ft in 5.7 is 20 fps, but MattMatt said 20 mph, not 20 fps. I was providing the mph value since most people are innately familiar with mph (from driving a car) and not fps.
As a Giants fan, I thank you for the history lesson and the great analysis.
you are indeed Giants Fan
I can't believe I sat through this video. That's what I thought when it was about half over, but it was actually fun to watch. Let's face it, all the catches shown were pretty awesome. Nice to hear legendary Jack Brickhouse announce the winning homer, too. Thanks for making this. Well done!
That why Willie is the GOAT of baseball. He done it ALL.Great piece my friend.👍
Ernie Harwell said Willie Mays was the best he ever saw..... That is saying something.
Mays also caught the ball with two hands, the gloves were much smaller and to catch the ball players often used two hands. Baseball players today have the benefit that gloves make it possible for one to catch it with one hand.
@@qwaszx2 Utter nonsense. The gloves today are much more than "slightly" longer. Gloves before the 1950s were tiny and definitely required two hands -- I've had gloves from the 1930s, 1950s and 1960s. Who got injured catching with two hands?
Possibly the best reason to catch the ball with two hands is that putting your off-hand close to your catching hand positions your body well for the catch, rather than having your off-hand away from your body and possibly affecting your balance. There's also the secondary benefit that if you don't catch the ball cleanly and it deflects or pops out of your glove your off-hand can secure or re-catch the ball. It's not like you're multitasking and your off-hand is needed for something else anyway, so it might as well be well positioned.
@@qwaszx2 Not to argue, but to clarify: Baseball gloves underwent massive changes during the 1950's era, By 1959 gloves were quite different than 1950.
@@killercapo You're absolutely right. I was a kid in the 1950's and I remember the evolution. Huge difference between a '50 and '59 glove.
Gregor Blancos catch to preserve Matt Cain’s perfect game is my favorite. Dude covered hella ground and still had to dive to save the perfection.
Definitely not overrated in my book. Excellent work, young sir!
Thanks, old geezer.
Only considered overrated because Willie made it look so easy.
The Sonic beats work so well in this video.....and there's not a single reason why that should be. You, my friend, are an artist.
Thank you so much for making this video. I was always one of the "its just a catch running backwards" but you explained it really well and now I can appreciate how good it was
The polo grounds had the biggest outfield to covor, missing that ball could have been a 3 run hr. After the catch a runner on 2nd could score if he's fast enough. So getting that ball back to the infield so quickly was key. I think it was brilliant. Love your videos!!
Much appreciated! Thank you for the kind words.
Say Hey's catch DEFINITELY deserves all of its praise.
And more.
Dwight Evans' catch (Game 6, 1975) was better.
@@davidlafleche1142 deserves all its praise.
It wasn’t the flashiest catch ever. But if people look at the context, then it would arguably be under the greatest pressure-situation plays ever.
Also, Mays wasn’t named World Series MVP because they didn’t start handing out that award until next year.
Jermaine Dyes catch in Mark Bhurhles perfect game is a close number 2
Brandon Winchester that was actually Dwayne Wise who made the catch.
Not only that, Dusty Rhodes would probably have been a better pick for the award. An otherwise marginal player, that year Rhodes had an OPS of 1.105 in just 186 plate appearances during the regular season, mostly as a pinch hitter. Judiciously deployed in three of the Series' four games, he went 4-for-6 with a walk, two home runs, and seven RBIs, driving in the winning or tying run in all three games.
Willie Mays was the 1954 NL MVP
The World Series MVP wasn't yet awarded, but the Babe Ruth Award, given to the best performing player in the postseason, was given to Dusty Rhodes in 1954 (Not an official MLB award, but was the closest thing at the time)
Thank you. Have amended the World Series MVP thing in a pinned comment.
In '54, my family had not bought their first TV yet and, at age 12, I would watch some shows on our neighbor's' Philco set. I first saw this on a newsreel at a movie theater after hearing it on the radio a week earlier. Your breakdown of 'the catch' was spot on and educational for me at this late date. I had misremembered this ball being hit to dead center. I was a Brooklyn 'Bums' fan in those days and collected the gum cards of the Dodgers and Giants. Many people hated the Yankees. In elementary school in central eastern PA. we were allowed to listen to World Series weekday games. Good times, memory is tricky.
This is incredibly well made. Must’ve taking a lot of effort but the final product certainly pays off
There’s a difference between the *BEST* catches and the *GREATEST* catches of all time. This was one of the greatest.
Harrison Nord u are wise beyond your years harrison lol well said
Can you definitively tell me what the best catch of all time is? If not, then the distinction between one of the greatest and the best is blurred a lot then. I'd argue there isn't a distinction between the two, because it's a subjective opinion, and that this is a superlative catch. With that being said, one could argue in the statcast era one could find "the best catch of all time" using metrics, but that can't accurately and objectively be compared to anything before the statcast era.
@@TheNineinchsnails No one can definitively point to any catch as the greatest of all time. It is an impossible task. We can only offer our opinions on the matter.
@@TheNineinchsnails Best catch ever was Kenny Lofton's in CF. Makes this catch look like an amateur.
C'est un bon joue par Willie Mays,
fais-tu d'accord Monsieur Harrison North?
I for one love the Polo Grounds. Love using it in any ball game I play in! I've the feeling that due to how big the ball park was in center, helped make the play seem legendary. I'd imagine plays like that might not have been too common in those days in that ball park. Definitely impressive when you see just how much real-estate is out there.
Also, great vids! Keep up the great content!
I was born in The City of San Francisco in April of 1954 and, because the Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958 I spent my childhood watching Willie Mays at Candlestick Park. I saw him do amazing things: Falling down rounding third only to score after drawing a throw and allowing the batter to take second. Catching the second out as if it were the third out and trotting toward the dugout to fool a runner into tagging up only to be thrown out. Faking a twisted ankle at first base after a throw over only to steal second on the next pitch. He was the most intuitive player on the field. No one had his instincts. No one was so adored. Thank you, Willie, thank you.
I saw Mays play at the LA Coliseum against the Dodgers in 1959. I was behind Mays in the centerfield seats about three rows back. A ball was hit to dead center and Mays casually backed up a few steps and leaped up several inches off the ground to snag the ball in the web of his glove. He then threw the ball submarine-style back to the infield and continued to chew his gum with no other expression on his face, as if he was merely playing catch at the local schoolyard. As a 12-year-old, I was wowed by the whole thing. Over the decades, I have attended many, many MLB games, but that catch has remained imprinted on my mind like no other.
"Was 'the catch' overrated?"
I couldn't do it, and I don't know anyone who could. I'm not gonna criticize it.
One thing I do think you're underselling is when you mention that only four people scored from second on sac flies last year. Last year we didn't have any cavernous stadiums like the Polo Grounds, old Yankee Stadium, Forbes Field, Ebbets Field, Shibe Park, or Fenway in its original dimensions. It was a lot easier to hit a 400' flyout in ballparks like that, and more 400' flyouts mean more opportunities to score from second. So I'm curious how often people scored from second back then. I'd hazard a guess that it was more than 4.
Lastly, largely without meaning to, you make an excellent case that the Polo Grounds stole a game for the NY Baseball Giants in a World Series. That's what I call homefield advantage!
He over ran it,he could've caught it normally
RIP Willie. The greatest Baseball player ever.
It's film footage converted to video. Of course in modern broadcasting we are using digital video and it is easy to slow down or speed up, render and play out quickly. For a real comparison you would want to take the source film which was likely shot 16:9 at 24 frames per second and then convert it to 1080 at 30 frames per second. Now you can compare the speed of the plays based on the real time play out of the recorded broadcast. If you take the slow motion replays then you would need to find out by how much they have slowed it down and do a conversion.
Context matters. The situation matters. In terms of just the difficulty of the play it is easier to make a catch if the ball is in your line of sight. Much more difficult if you turn your back on the ball and you are trying to calculate the trajectory. Dangers such as walls and railings matter too. Is the player risking injury to get to the ball or are they in a wide open space? Are they likely to collide with teammates?
I am 81 years old and was at the game and saw the catch! My dad and I were somewhere along the first base line. I tell you, it was the greatest, most exiting catch I ever remember seeing! Myonly other clear memory of the game is that Perry Como sang the national anthem with his hands in his pockets!
BTW, I was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, but my dad loved the Giants and Leo Durocher!
Great job! Brings me back to my youth. Thanks so much. One small error. Dusty Rhodes was the MVP of that World Series. Sadly, he was unable to field adequately and faded away after his heroics.
Didnt know the American Dream played baseball
Rest in Piece Willie...Baseball's Greatest Living Player has gone to the Field of Dreams in Heaven and they now have a helluva Center Fielder !
I played division three ball and my bat stank. It was my glove and speed in the outfield that kept me on the roster.
Accordingly I love timely and magnificent outfield defensive plays.
That was me as well. My dad showed me this catch when I was really young (Mays is his favorite player) and I trained to be able to throw deep catches fast and far back to infielders like this.
As miserable as being stuck in the outfield during slow games was, that was where they thought I was best used. Bring able to throw to second base from the left field fence without a cutoff man sealed my fate as an outfielder until my last season, when they let me play second base like I wanted.
Center field fence was 455ft from home plate and Willie made that catch pretty close to the warning track and caught it over his shoulder after run full sprint to the spot of the catch.
The spin and frozen rope throw was almost more impressive especially since he was so far away and further than any other outfielder even more than triples ally at Oracle Stadium.
Willie, God blessed you with as long a life as that sprint you took to catch that ball. RIH King!!
Thanks! Learned a lot about "The Catch". No matter what conclusion you would have come to, I would never change my mind on Say Hey and his greatness. Turns out this was way better than I expected.
This is absolutely tremendous - well done. Please make more content!!!
Will do!
Gregor Blanco saving Matt Cain's Perfect Game was the greatest catch I've ever seen in my life time. But growing up all I heard about from my Grandad and Dad was "The Catch."
Two percent... LIKE THE MILK BABY!!! 😂😂😂
This legit had me dying
Excellent analysis and conclusion. The proximity to the wall while running at top speed and having to catch - stop - throw AND with his showmanship of losing his cap and ending on the ground is amazing.
Thank you for doing all that work. I grew up in NYC and was confused the 1st time the Yankees were not in the World Series. I thought the World Series was to see who played the Yankees.
This clip of yours is amazing.
Have we ever seen foolish baseball and SNES drunk in the same place at the same time?
I'm like 50% sure that guy is subscribed to me.
In the era before all games were televised. Regular observers at the time said plays like that were common for Willie. The best all around player ever in my opinion.
A truly unbelievable play in every way! My favorite player in junior and high school, since I was a centerfielder, was Fred Lynn. He made two catches that were highlighted at the close of "This Week in Baseball." He also was interviewed in a segment on the "This Week in Baseball" greatest plays video. Many fantastic catches.
Yes sir, Fred Lynn, played all out all the time. What a centerfielder and hitter for the Sox. My boyhood idle from 1975.
I always thought that the Red Sox of that era had an unfair advantage: Evans in right, Lynn in center, Rice in left (following Yaztremski who came after Williams).
Freddy Lynn was a great for sure. Don't you just wish we had more than just The Game of the Week on TV back then? So many great games and great plays we missed, all thru the 50s and 60s!
You did such a good job, I am surprised you didn't discover that scoring from second on a sac fly was more common in the Polo Grounds. That's why it's a catch AND throw. Also, Mays is forced to veer with his back to the plate.
There is a movie called Star Chamber, near the early days of free agency, and the character is talking about the salaries of the early 80s Dodgers, and says - if Mays were playing now, they would have to give him his own state.
Fantastic analysis and what a player Mays was! Two shots in the video are compelling:
1. the overhead shot of the stadium layout, that puts The Catch into perspective given the amount of ground that had to be covered, and
2.the fans sitting in the bleachers. All were well dressed, well manored, and stayed seated as if not wanting to distract Mays. Such a contrast to today's society.
Endy Chavez' catch would be the GREATEST ever if the Mets had won that game/series.
Fr, it’s definitely one of the best, if not THE best, in recent memory, coupled with a classic Gary Cohen call.
Ugh.... I'm still triggered that the Cardinals won the World Series. -_- I'm always triggered whenever they win it all -- I hate them!
That was an incredible play.
IF...
@@heartman6314 :'(
My favorite part about playing in the outfield is once you fielded the ball, you could just throw it as hard as you can in a general direction and it more in likely went to where it needed to go lol.
Wait... no...?
I never knew THAT was what the field looked like for this play. Way more impressive than I previously thought.
Fabulous, painstaking analysis, that really helps put this great catch in context...especially since we've so many seemingly-more spectacular catches in recent years. Much appreciated.
Some people ignore RUclips comments, some folks write pithy one liners in response.....still others make entire, fact/stat based video responses.
This is why I love this channel :P
Not to mention, gloves were a lot worse back then
And the playing surfaces
@@mikecooney8422 and the shoes
Disagree. Old timers will argue that gloves were better. Softer, easier to grab a ball.
Still my favorite play of all time followed closely by 3 ridiculous catches by the NY Mets outfielders (2 by Agee in game 3 and Swoboda's in game 4) in the 1969 world series.
I consider the Ron Swoboda the best catch of all time. He dove and slid a foot or two before actually catching the ball, and then he caught it a few inches off the ground. It looked impossible at the time but he did it. The Willie Mays catch was definitely the best "catch and throw" of all time, but when you consider that it is much more difficult running virtually straight back rather than sideways or running in, it still could be considered the best catch of all time. Willie Mays just made it look easy!
Yes!!!...And that Swoboda catch still amazes everytime I see it, over 50 years later!
'AMAZIN'"!!!
LFGM, finally someone isn’t bashing on the Mets lol
Endy's catch is better than all of them. And would be properly recognized had the Mets won that game
Swoboda's catch was unique even in this company as it was a very high risk decision made by a fielder who was, unlike the other three OFs, not a glove man. Agee's 2 plays were more like Mays, where he didn't sell out to make the play (stays on his feet in one, backed up by Cleon Jones on the other). Swoboda's play was the miracle, because of the game situation (ninth inning of a 1-0 game with runners at first and third), because of the angle of the catch (glove actually came DOWN on the ball as Swoboda snagged it, which no one mentions), and because it was Swoboda making it.
You left out the most important part - his cap came off. That's what made it a great catch.
a lot of players back then said that Willie would purposely wear his cap so it would fly off, for dramatic effect
@@gregoryboyer4846 yeah he’d either get it a couple sizes too big or a couple sizes too small.
I am an Astros fan.. Growing up watching Jose Cruz, his hat would fly off when he sprinted to make a play.. Except with 2 outs.. With 2 outs Jose would grab his hat and run after the ball, so he wouldn’t have to go back for it.. I always thought that was pretty dang stylish..
You're absolutely right, while this play was before my time (I wasn't born until '67), I have watched film of this play for years and amazed every time
It's not just the distance covered to make the catch, but the presence of mind to make a quick and strong throw, against his momentum, back in to the infield to save the run
Not to mention, how rare this level of athleticism was in the 1950's
Willie Mays was more than a stand out player, he was one of the few who redefined what was expected for a player at his position in the sport
This is why he is a Hall of Fame player, and his talent will be remembered a century after he played
One thing that old skool baseball got right was the individual nature of the ballparks. We started losing that in the ‘60s and ‘70s with the multipurpose parks and now the pendulum has kind of swung back the other way where you have the open air baseball specific parks that they try to build nostalgia into.
I understand that you can’t have Fenway and Wrigley everywhere, but there’s feta charm to older parks, even if they’re minor league joints like Lookout Stadium in Chattanooga.
If you were ever in the
Polo Grounds to view a baseball, you would know how great a catch by Willie Mays. The Polo Grounds was like a rectangular shape and cter field was more than very deep, more like mega deep. Mays made a very long run to catch the ball off the bat of Vic Wertz. Abosolutely incredible. David
The throw back into the infield was the most impressive part of the play.
Watching this after I found out Willie Mays passed. RIP ❤
Watching this just a couple of weeks after the passing of the Say Hey Kid...Rest in Peace Mr. Mays, one of the greatest players and ambassadors of baseball, the game has ever known!
This action is incredible essentially for two things out of the ordinary:
1-the speed that Willie Mays had to be able to travel the distance that would have allowed him to make the catch
2-the incredible concentration to achieve this catch despite the fact that he was for all the time with his back to the ball and despite him being extremely close from crashing into the wall in order to catch.
A God of Baseball
My grandma used to watch Willie Mays play as a kid. She said he moved like a ballerina and made the hardest catches look like the easiest thing in the world. She still calls him the goat.
After this catch, Liddle was replaced by another reliever. According to legend, he went back to the dugout and said "Well, I got MY man."
This definitely deserves the hype, because they did not have the sports technology to help train, nearly as good diets, or anything like that
I know I'm years late, but I never thought that I'd come to fall in love with baseball from this catch. For some reason, at first glance I didn't think "The Catch" was amazing. I didn't think that it was extremely athletic, although I did think it was impressive. But for some reason I was infatuated with it. Maybe it's just the way he ran into the seemingly endless outfield, or the hustle he had. I'm not sure. But one thing is for sure, this catch will always be held in baseball fans hearts.
I appreciate all the hard work you put into this video.. Well done! :)
“Willie Mayz has just brought this crowd to there feet”🐐