4. Willie Mays
When you ask those who lived through the era of seeing him on television or had the pleasure of watching him in person, Mays is the guy who constantly gets mentioned as having just something extra off the bat. My grandfather once told me that “Mantle could murder a ball, Aaron flicked it over the fence, but Mays scared it so badly that it ran over the fence in fear.”
Indeed, Mays hit 660 home runs, a feat that even in the “steroid era” was a number only two players have passed since his era (technically Aaron retired after him, but they shared the era). Interestingly, it’s very possible that Mays gave up some of his best power hitting youth to the military in 1952 and 1953.
It was assumed that when the Home Run Derby show was created, the ultimate goal was to pit Mays against Mantle. Lo and behold, that was the first matchup, and Mantle narrowly defeated Mays, 9-8. Mays would go on to a 3-2 record on the show in his five appearances, the second-most on the show.
3. Mickey Mantle
Mantle was the premier hitter in the media in the era, and he was about to embark on a two-year run of power hitting that included a league-leading season in 1960 and then the big home run chase of 1961 with teammate Roger Maris. He was assumed to be the major draw of the show, and many figured he would easily be the best hitter there.
He did have the second-most victories on the show, finishing with a 4-1 record in his five appearances on the show. Mantle batted right-handed in the competition, though he did have tremendous power from both sides of the plate in his career.
Mantle hit 536 home runs in his career, but many who saw him play say he’s the most incredible home run hitter they ever saw. His injury his rookie year really affected the rest of his career, causing him constant pain, and he never once played every game of a season.
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