First let me say thanks to Scott Fennessy for sending me a photo of this yummy card. The card du jour is Willie Mays of 1957. For those who have not seen the 1957 set, it is one that is well worth looking into. If you are into the greats of the 1950s, the ’57 set has some fun cards from great players like Stan Musial, Hank Aaron and Ted Williams.
…and yes, Willie Mays.
1957 Willie Mays
.333 batting average
35 homeruns
Led NL in:
- 20 triples
- .626 slugging percentage
- 38 steals
This was a transitional year for Willie Mays and the Giants. It would be the last time they would play in New York. By 1958, they would move all the way to San Francisco. Mays definitely gave the New York faithful something to remember.
Batting .333 and slugging 35 homers was just the beginning. Mays accumulated TWENTY triples while stealing 38 bases (considered a lot in the fifties era). He scored 112 runs while driving in 97. His OPS+ led the NL.
And of course, Mays played excellent defense in center field.
| Split | G | GS | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 Totals | 152 | 149 | 669 | 585 | 112 | 195 | 26 | 20 | 35 | 97 | 38 | 19 | 77 | 62 | .333 | .408 | .626 |
Unfortunately, the New York Giants ended up in last place in 1957 pushing them westwards. Regardless, Mays was an All-Star, a Gold Glove honoree and came in 4th for the NL MVP.
A look at Mays’ 1957 card
Okay, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Willie Mays’ 1957 card has two 3s on his card!
With his actual twenty triples in 669 plate appearances, that shouldn’t be too surprising. Overall, Mays 1957 has extra base hit numbers 1-3-3-5. With a runner on second base, Willie is extra powerful with all four numbers resulting in a dinger.
Players with speed numbers (11 and 10) are always tricky. In this case, Mays has a 15-11 and a 25-11 which is very good. The 11 is equivalent to a 7 in hit value (better actually since the 7 can sometimes be an out depending on the pitcher’s grade) so the APBA cardmakers need to “take away” a 7 or two that he normally would get.
So Mays does get a 44-8 but the cardmakers gave him an extra 8 (most generally get three). As it is, Mays’ 1957 card has four 8s and that will give him an advantage against C and D pitchers.
I’m counting just two 13s on Mays’ card against four 14s. Of course, Mays is fast and rated as an OF-3.
This is why:
Mays’ SB and CS
It is worth mentioning that Willie Mays led the NL in caught steals with 19. That was his career high by a total of nine. Will this make a difference on his APBA card?
Conventional wisdom says no if you are only playing the Basic Game. It seems that the card makers only take the total amount of successful steals when doling out 11s and 10s. When it comes to Mays’ Steal rating used in the Master Game and Baseball Game for Windows, that’s another story.
I don’t know what Mays’ ST rating is. This card was published before Master Game symbols were printed on every card (thanks, APBA for doing that!). But my guess is that his letter grade is pretty good, maybe close to A or B. His chance number though, will be somewhat lower since his steal success rate is somewhat lower.
If you know his ST rating, I am genuinely curious.
Thanks Scott for an awesome card!
What about Willie Wilson 1979 or 1980?
What about Mike “Turkey Mike” Donlin 1905 NYG card? It is AWESOME!!!
Actually, that was one of my early submissions to Tom. If you do a search by his name, you can find the story on this blog.
Thanks Scott – Thanksgiving time is when you put to him. Great Card!!