#500 Vic Wertz

Getting the obvious out of the way first... yes, this is the guy that hit the shot in the 1954 World Series that Willie Mays pulled in for one of the most famous baseball plays ever.

But Vic Wertz is much more than a trivia answer. He's a four time All Star and a four time Top 10 MVP vote getter. He's also a World War II vet, a 17 season American Leaguer and a guy with an 8 for 16 World Series batting mark. A Pennsylvania native Wertz spent three seasons in the minors after signing with the Detroit Tigers in the early 40s. He sandwiched in an Army stint and then made the Tigers major league squad in 1947.

As an outfielder Wertz put up some solid seasons with good power for the Tigers until he was traded to the Browns in 1953. He moved with the Browns to Baltimore for 1964 but a slow start prompted a trade to the Indians. He took over at first base for the Tribe and helped them reach the World Series against the Giants. In that Series Wertz batted .500 and hit a homer. Even though the Giants swept the Series Wertz must have been thanking his lucky stars for the trade that had brought him from a team on its way to a 100 loss season to the American League champs.

Wertz continued to star for the Indians until, as noted on the back of his card, he lost most of the 1958 season to a broken ankle. He was traded to the Red Sox where he had some hitting success. As his career wound down he was back in Detroit and finally a short stay with the Twins in 1963.

He finished with 266 homers and a .277 career average. Although he never led the league in an significant category he had many top five and top ten totals in power numbers throughout his career.

Vic, in his Indians gear (now disguised) gazes towards the upper deck at Yankee Stadium from the usual spot in front of the third base side dugout. If the shot was from about three or four years later I'd say he was looking up at me and my father.

Oh, yes... The Catch

#50 Willie Mays

Attempting to write a relevant post on Willie Mays is pretty silly. What can I had that can't be seen in about 5,000 other places, and much more comprehensively? Hell, even his page on the Hall of Fame's site refers readers to Baseball Reference!

I'll just do what I've done with superstars before, toss out someone else's list of the Say Hey Kid's accomplishments and talk about what I saw of Mays and a bit about this card.

Try these on for size... cribbed from Willie's Baseball Reference Bullpen page:

Notable Achievements

• 1951 NL Rookie of the Year Award
• 20-time NL All-Star (1954-1973)
• 2-time NL MVP (1954 & 1965)
• 1963 All-Star Game MVP
• 1968 All-Star Game MVP
• 12-time Gold Glove Winner (1957/ML-CF, 1958-1960/NL-CF & 1961-1968/NL-OF)
• NL Batting Average Leader (1954)
• 2-time NL On-Base Percentage Leader (1965 & 1971)
• 5-time NL Slugging Percentage Leader (1954, 1955, 1957, 1964 & 1965)
• 5-time NL OPS Leader (1954, 1955, 1958, 1964 & 1965)
• 2-time NL Runs Scored Leader (1958-1961)
• NL Hits Leader (1960)
• 3-time NL Total Bases Leader (1955, 1962 & 1965)
• 3-time NL Triples Leader (1954, 1955 & 1957)
• 4-time NL Home Runs Leader (1955, 1962, 1964 & 1965)
• NL Bases on Balls Leader (1971)
• 4-time NL Stolen Bases Leader (1956-1959)
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 17 (1951, 1954-1968 & 1970)
• 30-Home Run Seasons: 11 (1954-1957, 1959 & 1961-1966)
• 40-Home Run Seasons: 6 (1954, 1955, 1961, 1962, 1964 & 1965)
• 50-Home Run Seasons: 2 (1955 & 1965)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 10 (1954, 1955 & 1959-1966)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 12 (1954-1965)
• 200 Hits Seasons: 1 (1958)
• Won a World Series with the New York Giants in 1954
• Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1979

Wanna read about Willie Mays? Try this page on Amazon. 

Here's a look at his famous 1954 World Series catch for the one guy who's been held captive on a remote island for 60 years:

My best friend growing up was a Giant fan, as was his father. I made lots of trips out to Shea Stadium when the Giants were in town. My friend, of course, idolized Willie Mays. I was pretty much just awed by him. (My favorite Giant was Jim Ray Hart.)

My copy of this card, as you can see, isn't among my best from the set. It's got one dinged corner and suffers from some discoloration. But over-all it's very presentable. If your going to collect a vintage set and not sell off most of your assets you have to make some compromises when it comes to the big ticket cards.

This was likely a '58 shot of Mays. I wonder if he missed New York at that point?

#464 Mays' Catch Makes Series History

This may not be the best catch in baseball history, even Willie Mays said he made better ones himself, but it's surely the most famous. As the back of the card states Willie made this nab on a ball hit by Vic Wertz in Game One of the 1954 World Series between the Giants and Indians. He snared it with his back to the plate, wheeled and threw to the infield forcing Al Rosen to return to first. The Giants won the game in 10 innings and swept the Series.

What has added to the fame of the catch is the fact that it was televised in a era when TV was still a bit away from being the universal presence that it is nowadays. Watching the Series on the tube was an opportunity that was hard to pass up. Thus Willie's effort was seen by many. 

The best catch I've ever seen live was made by Roberto Clemente at Shea Stadium on September 20, 1969. With two out in the sixth inning Bob Moose seemed about to lose a no hit bid on a drive to the deep right field corner by Wayne Garrett. But Clemente ran/flew/dove and somehow speared the ball before if hit the warning track. It was the most athletic play I've ever seen. And yes, Bob Moose went on to finish his no hitter, the only one I've ever witnessed in person.