When Willie Mays made his trademark over-the-shoulder catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, the question for the New York Giants' center fielder wasn't if he would haul in Vic Wertz's shot at the Polo Grounds, but what he was going to do after he made the play that is now simply known as "The Catch."
"I never was worried about catching the ball, I was worried about getting the ball back into the infield," Mays told MLB Network's Bob Costas recently. "And I'm saying to myself, 'I gotta get this ball back in the infield or Larry [Doby] is going to score.' But as the ball was coming down, I knew I had the ball, but it was just a matter of getting it back into the infield."
In a wide-ranging interview that will air on MLB Network's Studio 42 next Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET and PT, Mays and Costas delved into a wide range of topics -- from his team-oriented approach to the game, to Jackie Robinson's influence on his life, to his godson, Barry Bonds, who's been widely accused of using performance-enhancing substances throughout his stellar career.
"I think he's going to be in the Hall of Fame, and I don't think he did anything other that what other guys were doing," Mays said. "I don't even really know that, but I don't like to get involved in things that I don't know about -- controversial stuff -- and that's why a lot of times I don't even go on shows, because they're going to ask me the same kind of questions. As far as what he was using, I don't really know. I really didn't ask him about his problems because it wasn't my duty. He never asked me about anything, so why should I get involved in what he was doing? So I really don't know. I don't get involved unless he calls. I don't know what he does. If he did something, I'd be right there. I don't care what it is, I'm never going to leave someone that I like very much, and I think if he picks up the phone and calls me, I would be right there."
Mays has an autobiography coming out next week, titled "Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend." Mays said most of the money collected from sales will go toward his Say Hey Foundation and called it "a book for the people."
"It's probably four or five hundred different things that people tell you that I did for them, and I didn't know anything about it," Mays told Costas. "So that's the type of book I wanted, not just me talking about me, because I have, like, four or five books already out. And how much can you talk about baseball when you're doing things?"
Mays, considered by some to be the greatest baseball player of all-time, finished his Hall of Fame career with a World Series ring in '54, a Rookie of the Year award in '51, two Most Valuable Player Awards, 20 All-Star Game appearances, 12 Gold Gloves, 660 home runs and a .302 batting average.
But all along, Mays described himself as a "team player."
"I liked for the team to win," he told Costas. "I would go in the clubhouse, sit in my locker and just laugh and have a good time. The guy would bring me a sandwich over and I would see the guys smiling. That was more fun to me than hitting four home runs and going in the clubhouse and everybody's mad because we lost the game.
"I would have rather been known as a complete player, a team player, not showing up anybody on the field or off the field. Just, you know, a nice guy."
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