Giants Beat Mets Again

June 9, 1965 - Willie Mays is a big boy now. He doesn’t play stickball in the street after a doubleheader. But he still needs somebody to tell him when not to play the doubleheader. (Pictured below, Mets rookie Ron Swoboda poses with Mays and Willie McCovey.)

The grind of 14 years in the major leagues and the disturbing realization that he is 34 years old have taught Mays some of the restrictions of his body. However, he is still reluctant to go to the manager and say he needs a day off.

Maybe Mays should have had a 24-hour pass tonight at Shea Stadium. It would have been all right with the Mets. The first time up, Mays crashed a two-run homer, and the last time up he lined a run-scoring single that broke the 2-2 tie in the top of the eighth. The Giants beat the Mets, 4-2, with Mays accounting for three of the runs. That’s one reason why it’s difficult for a manager to go to Mays and tell him not to come to the park.

“My biggest problem,” said Willie, who has a lingering cold, “is sometimes I shouldn’t be playing. I should be home in bed. I have to learn that. When I’m not really up to par, I have to learn what to do.”The biggest problem breaks down into little problems. For one, Mays understands how much he means at the box office — and not just in New York.

“People come to see me play,” he said. “It’s the same thing with Mickey Mantle. If people knew I wasn’t going to play tonight, maybe 10,000 wouldn’t come.” He says it without bragging. That’s a fact of life, and that pays the salary.

Mays also understands how much he means to the Giants. “The more I hit, the more the club wins,” he said.

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