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| A-Fraud Can't Touch Willie (Getty Images) |
On July 31st, 1961 your humble scribe was privileged to have a ticket to that year's
All-Star Game at Fenway Park. It's remembered as the first
Mid-Summer Classic to end in a tie (1-1). As a kid, the outcome of the game didn't matter much, just the fact that I was there with my Dad watching the greats of the game was plenty for me. Who were the greats? Let's start with the AL: Well,
Mickey Mantle,
Brooks Robinson,
Al Kaline,
Norm Cash, and
Rocky Colavito were some of the starters. Guys that
couldn't break the opening line-up? How about
Yogi Berra,
Roger Maris,
Harmon Killebrew, and
Nellie Fox? Oh, and
Whitey Ford apparently was not good enough that year to start for the AL. But it was the NL squad that was really eye-popping, especially in the days before fans in AL cities could see these players. How this for some of the starting group:
Willie Mays,
Roberto Clemente,
Orlando Cepeda,
Eddie Matthews, and
Maury Wills? Guys that were riding the pine? How about someone named
Hank Aaron, or
Stan Musial or
Frank Robinson, or—I don' know—
Ernie Banks? Why do I bring all of this up? Yesterday, an
Alex Rodriguez's HR brought him to within 12 of Willie Mays' 660 career total. There's a chance that
The Fraudulent One could catch or pass
The Say Hey Kid on or around the 40th anniversary of his final game—September 9, 1973. That would be a travesty, because A-Fraud should never be mentioned in the same breath as the now 82-year old Willie. I'm one of the few who can say:
"I saw Willie Mays, I watched Willie Mays play. A-Rod, you're no Willie Mays."
