Bob Costas: This MLB great is closely compares to Willie Mays
Legendary sportscaster Bob Costas tells OutKick's Dan Dakich on 'Don't @ Me' which former MLB star compares best with Willie Mays.
Willie Mays was one of a kind - literally.
Mays, who died this week at the age of 93, is the only player in baseball history to have 3,000 hits, 600 home runs and double-digit Gold Glove Awards.
There is no argument that Mays is a top-five player in the history of baseball - plenty argue he is No. 1.
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The MLB legend hit 660 home runs in his illustrious career. (Getty Images)
Mays was a true five-tool player, and it is nearly impossible to find anyone like him.
However, Bob Costas listed a few (two current and three former) who remind him of the legendary Mays.
The broadcaster was asked on OutKick's "Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich" who the best living ballplayer is right now, and he had a few people in mind.
"I'm probably overlooking somebody. Shohei Ohtani is making a case, Aaron Judge is making a case," Costas said.
The two-way star in Ohtani, of course, is doing things that not even Babe Ruth did when he was both a pitcher and a hitter. Judge, meanwhile, could threaten his own AL record of 62 home runs this season.
However, he wanted to discuss a few who have retired within the last couple of decades.
Outfielder Willie Mays, #24 of the San Francisco Giants, swings and watches the flight of his ball against the New York Mets during a circa early 1970s Major League Baseball game at Shea Stadium in Flushing, New York. Mays played for the Giants from 1951-72. (Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
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"I would say the healthy, young Ken Griffey Jr., the pre-steroid Barry Bonds. You could make a very good case for those players. As a hitter, Albert Pujols was a terror in his Cardinals years… If you look at Albert Pujols' numbers as a Cardinal, then we're in Ted Williams territory, or pretty close to it."
From 1990 to 2000, Griffey hit .299 with a .963 OPS, hitting 422 home runs while winning 10 Gold Glove Awards. As for Bonds, he invented the 350-350 club in the 1997 season, having already won three MVPs and seven Gold Gloves. His numbers after that year are absurd, as well, but that is when he is widely speculated to have begun taking performance-enhancing drugs.
Pujols is in the 3,000-600 club with Mays (in fact, he and Hank Aaron are the only members of the 3,000-700 club). In 12 seasons as a Cardinal, Pujols hit .326 with a 1.031 OPS.
Mays made his MLB debut as a 20-year-old playing for the New York Giants. He would go on to be a 24-time All-Star, two-time MVP, 12-time Gold Glover, two-time All-Star Game MVP, Rookie of the Year and 1954 World Series champion in an illustrious career that led to an easy Hall of Fame induction.
Willie Mays, #24 of the New York Giants, goes back to catch the batted ball by Vic Wertz, #23 of the Cleveland Indians, during Game 1 of the 1954 World Series on Sept. 29, 1954 at the Polo Ground V in New York, New York. The Mays catch is known as "The Catch." (Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images)
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Mays was known for his ability to wow crowds with thunderous home runs, slick baserunning and miraculous plays in center field. One of the most iconic plays ever in MLB came in that 1954 World Series and was forever called "The Catch."
He ended his career with the New York Mets in 1973, where his No. 24 is also retired.
Fox News' Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
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