Willie Mays 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.
“Greatest living Hall of Famer” is obviously subjective, but few would dispute 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.
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: • Rickey Henderson: Henderson is the leader among living Hall of Famers in Baseball Reference’s version of wins above replacement, and while he’s known largely for his speed, at his peak he was an all-around offensive force. Henderson dominated the 1989 playoffs with Oakland and then won his lone MVP award the following year.
He retired with a career on-base percentage of .401 and is still the all-time leader in stolen bases and runs. The gap in steals .
