The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
53°F
Current Conditions
Clear sky
View complete weather report

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

Willie, Mickey Or Duke? Say, Hey! Mantle Says Figures Answer Age-Old Question: Mays Was Best Of The Three

Associated Press

Willie, Mickey or the Duke. Who was the best?

If you want a good, long argument with seasoned New York baseball fans, just ask that question.

It’s one that was debated throughout the 1950s, when the three - Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider - played center field for the three New York teams of the era, the Giants, Yankees and Dodgers.

It’s a question that was debated in the years after they retired.

It’s a question that was even put to song.

And it’s a question that Mantle answered, finally, on Sunday night.

“Willie Mays was probably the best of the three of us,” Mantle said at the New York chapter dinner of the Baseball Writers Association.

“I’m still asked all the time who was the best of us, Willie, Mickey or the Duke?” Mantle said. “Well, you just have to look at the statistics.”

Mays, in a 22-year career spanning three decades, hit .302 with 3,283 hits, 660 home runs and 1,903 RBIs. He played in the World Series four times, winning once with the 1954 Giants.

Mantle, in an 18-year career ending in 1968, hit .298 with 2,415 hits, 536 home runs and 1,509 RBIs. He played in the World Series 12 times, winning seven championships with the Yankees.

Snider, in an 18-year career that began in 1947, hit .295 with 2,116 hits, 407 home runs and 1,333 RBIs. He played in the World Series six times and won the championship twice with the Dodgers.

Mays, Mantle and Snider sat together on the dais Sunday night and were serenaded by baseball balladeer Terry Cashman, who sang (of course) “Will-ie, Mickey and the Duke.”

Afterward, Snider was asked who was the best.

“Joe DiMaggio,” he deadpanned.

The dinner also featured the acceptance of several awards from the strike-shortened 1994 season: Frank Thomas and Jeff Bagwell (MVP), David Cone and Greg Maddux (Cy Young), Buck Showalter and Felipe Alou (manager) and Bob Hamelin (A.L. Rookie). Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda accepted on behalf of N.L. Rookie of the Year Raul Mondesi.