New York Mets History: Willie Mays Hits Final Home Run
By David Hill
The image of the graceful Willie Mays patrolling the outfield with the San Francisco Giants will forever be ingrained in our minds. When he joined the New York Mets, he was not the same player.
It is always sad when a player hangs on for too long. Even though their skills have obviously deteriorated over time, the player still thinks that they can hold down a Major League job. When that player is an icon, such as Willie Mays, that descent is even more painful.
Yet, that is the image when it comes to Mays’ time with the Mets. In his 40’s by that point, Mays was a shell of his former self. He was, however, capable of occasionally turning back the clock, and showing that brilliance of his past self. One of those moments came on this day in 1973, when he took Don Gullett deep for his 660th career home run.
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That blast in the bottom of the fourth would be the final home run of his career. As Mays continued to struggle, he received less playing time as the New York Mets clawed their way into the postseason, appearing in only twelve games from that point on. He finished the season with a .211/.303/.344 batting line with six homers, a far cry from the numbers of his heyday.
He still managed to leave the game on a relatively high note. Although the Mets lost to the Oakland A’s in the World Series that year, Mays was relatively productive. In his seven plate appearances, he had two hits, scoring a run while driving in another. Yes, the Mets lost, but Mays still had a bit of productivity left in his aging bat.
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It is easy to mock Willie Mays for his time with the New York Mets, but he was still able to provide the occasional moment. He certainly did so on this day, as he hit his final home run.