Willie Mays: I Could Have Hit 800

Hall of Famer Willie Mays was a guest on ESPN's Sunday Conversation with Peter Gammons this weekend. Amongst other notable topics, Gammons asked Mays whether he thought he could have hit 800 home runs if he hadn't played so many games in the windy and spacious Candlestick Park. Here was Mays' response:

No, not that. I think the Army, if I didn't have to go into the Army, which I had to go for my country, I would've hit 800 home runs or more. Let's say I played the schedule of 110 games in the Army, that's like 40 home runs a year. So you take that and you add it on to the 660, I think I would've been way ahead of everybody.

Well let me just say this -- Wilie Mays is full of crap. I don't know if he's senile in his old age or what, but he only missed one full season, and most of a second. Not even two full seasons. Being generous -- and I mean very generous -- I'll give Willie 100 home runs in the games he missed because of the Army. That still only gives him 760 home runs, which last time I checked, wasn't quite 800. But considering Mays only had four home runs in 34 games during the 1952 season, when he left for the military, it would be a stretch to say he would've even hit 40 on the year. And considering Mays won the MVP in 1954, his first season back, the argument that his skills diminished while he was in the Army does not hold much water.

While Willie's career accomplishments are impressive, his service time in the Army is not a reason why he did not reach 800 home runs. Now if you want to see someone whose career numbers were seriously impaired because of military service time, check out Ted Williams. Man, he missed five seasons during his career for World War II and Korean War service, and as Matt Watson pointed out, Williams didn't even skip a beat upon his return either time.

UPDATE: The Lineup Card examined some data regarding park factors that suggest Mays could have hit over 800 home runs. Looks like Gammons was on-point with his question, while Mays was off-base with his answer.