Sport: The New Willie

At midseason Willie Mays and his home-run bat were the hottest pair in the National League. Swinging with the delight of a schoolboy and the skill of an old pro, the loose, limber centerfielder of the New York Giants had clouted 30 homers to threaten Babe Ruth’s alltime record of 60 in one season (1927).

Riding on Willie’s power, the Giants romped to a big lead over the second-place Dodgers. Then Willie stopped swinging for the long ball (“I strike out too much when I swing hard”), settled instead for singles and doubles. Still, the Giants stayed in first place.

Since July 10, Willie has hit only nine homers, but his batting average has climbed steadily from .328 to .342, placing him second behind Dodger Duke Snider (.348). More important, Willie has batted in 105 runs and scored 106—more than any other Giant. In centerfield, he still makes the acrobatic catches and long pegs that save ball games.

This week Willie and the Giants looked over their shoulder and saw a stranger scrambling for second place: the Milwaukee Braves. Two months ago the Braves had been out of sight, 15 games back. Then, winning three out of every four games, they leapfrogged over the aging Dodgers and drew a bead on the Giants. The Braves have a tight infield, good pitching, and a magician of their own—former Giant Bobby Thomson, who hit baseball’s most famed home run: a ninthinning playoff blast against the Dodgers to win the 1951 pennant for New York. At week’s end, facing a crucial three-game series with the Giants, the Braves faltered, stood a formidable 4½ games off the pace. But the Giants were ready. By spoonfeeding his puny pitching staff, Manager Leo Durocher had saved his two aces: southpaw, Johnny Antonelli, 24, who has won 20 games, nearly a quarter of all Giant victories, and creaking Sal Maglie, 37, who has won 13 big ones. What is more, the Giants still have Willie Mays.