Amid all the tributes and memories about the legendary Willie Mays, consider this perspective on his greatness: He may have been baseball's greatest living Hall of Famer — not just at the time of his death this week, but from the moment he was inducted in 1979. Mays' combination of hitting, baserunning and defensive brilliance was so extraordinary that simply calling him an all-time great feels insufficient. Some sort of superlative is warranted, and while "greatest living Hall of Famer" is obviously subjective, few would argue that Mays had a strong case.
As for who deserves that title now — well, it's a much tougher question, especially since Mays was preceded in death in recent years by the likes of Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Tom Seaver and Joe Morgan. It's been a sobering period for baseball fans as so many stars from the 1960s and 1970s have passed on. FILE - Oakland Athletics' Rickey Henderson dives for third base to steal his 939th career base to set the all-time stolen base record during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, May 1, 1991, in Oakland.
(AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File) If Mays' godson, Barry Bonds, were in the Hall, he'd be a pretty easy choice as the game's greatest living Hall of Famer, but PED-related controversy continues to keep him out. Here are a few other candidates for this unofficial but compelling honor: Henderson is the leader among living Hall of Famers in Baseball Reference's version of wins above replacement, .
