Dustin,
In 1964 Ken Boyer had what amounted to his career year, helping the Cards make it to the Series. He had a lot of help with Lou Brock and Bob Gibson; but apparently to the sportswriters, Ken's performance stood out the most. Same scenario with Dick Groat in 1960. I'm sure the same was true for Orlando Cepeda in 1967, Don Newcombe in 1956, and certainly Henry Aaron in 1957. Obviously, these gents did not get their team into the World Series single-handedly. However, and this is where pure stat metrics fall short to a degree, the sportswriters who covered baseball in those given years, game by game, and who were given the right to cast their ballots for the MVP awards, had a really good handle on who was indespenseible to their team, and came through in clutch situations most often.
Being an Ernie Banks fan, I was happy he won those two years. The Cubs would have been toast without him. Sure, they had some decent players, but Ernie drove in so many runs and kept the Cubs a serious threat to any team that looked on them as a doormat. Their biggest weakness in those years was weak pitching, among other things.
Please, do not think I feel Willie was not an all-time great. He most assuredly was. The feeling in my neighborhood (Chicago suburbs) was that Willie Mays was the number one player in the NL. That's how I felt, too. You are sure right about Willie helping the Giants get to the Series in '62; he had a terrific season. Again, we have Maury Wills having his career-defining year, as well as Don Drysdale and Tommy Davis, for that matter. Sandy Koufax's late season finger problem hurt them badly. Obviously, he turned that around in '63.
As far as his autograph signing manners, I guess I have heard far too many horror stories going back to the late 1980s for me to cut him any slack. It was bad enough that I sold most of my Willie Mays cards. I should of held on to them, as I would have made some decent money, but I made top dollar for the time, and that was fine by me. True, there are lousy people who are not nice about getting their autograph from an athlete. For quite some time now, show promoters and their minions have carefully culled crazies from the line to Mr. Mays. Yet time after time, Willie kept being true to himself, and embarrassed everybody by his rude behavior. Who was he going to listen to if someone got in his face about it? He thought he was above everybody, and entitled to act any way he wanted because he was Willie Mays. Again, the little boy within a collector's heart has been murdered by Mays so often it would fill, proverbially, the largest graveyard.
Years ago someone wrote some good advice. If you're a Mays fan, collect all you want, but don't risk going to a show to meet him and get his autograph.
Probably too much said. Sorry.
Just part of the hot stove league of discussion.
Have a great week, bro. Seriously. Keep enjoying the hobby.
--Brian Powell