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Let's remember two of baseball's greatest moments and players.
First, the Willie Mays' catch in the 1954 World Series.
It introduced Willie Mays to the world and gave the center field position a whole new meaning.
I finally got to see Willie Mays play in 1972 when our family visited friends in New York. He was no longer a regular and could not do what he used to on the field. It was still a thrill to say that I got to watch him play. I can tell my sons that I got to see Willie Mays run to center field or come to bat.
Willie Mays is the greatest player ever. He was the ultimate 5-tool player and still the gold standard when it comes to playing center field.
It's a shame that we did not have the ESPN Top 10 back then. Mays would have been on the highlights every day.
The second memory is Roger Maris hitting # 61 on the last day of the 1961 season.
Maris was very young when he died from cancer in 1985. He did not live to see the McGwire-Sosa home run chase of 1998 or the removal of that stupid "asterisk" next to his name on the record books.
Mays and Maris, two of my favorites: