Editing Willie Mays (section)

====1962 pennant race====
Though he had continued to play at a high level since coming to San Francisco, Mays endured booing from the San Francisco fans during his first four seasons in California. Barra speculates this may have been because San Francisco fans were comparing Mays unfavorably with Joe DiMaggio, the most famous center fielder ever to come from San Francisco.<ref>[[#Barra|Barra]], pp. 263–264.</ref> Hal Wood mentioned the DiMaggio theory, as well as two other explanations: 1) the fans had heard so many wonderful things about Mays's play in New York that they expected him to be a better player than he actually was, and 2) Mays tended to keep to himself.<ref name="Wood">{{Cite news |last=Wood |first=Hal |date=June 23, 1961 |title=Willie Mays Finally Has Love Of San Francisco Giants Fans |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/alabama-tribune-willie-mays-finally-has/160313689/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241205003555/https://www.newspapers.com/article/alabama-tribune-willie-mays-finally-has/160313689/ |archive-date=December 5, 2024 |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=[[Alabama Tribune]] |page=3 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |agency=[[United Press International]]}}</ref> Mays said in 1959 that he did not mind the booing, but he admitted in a 1961 article that the catcalls were bothering him.<ref name="Wood" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Richman |first=Milton |date=January 11, 1959 |title=Willie Mays Says Watch Pirates Next Season |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/honolulu-star-advertiser-willie-mays-say/160313885/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241205004145/https://www.newspapers.com/article/honolulu-star-advertiser-willie-mays-say/160313885/ |archive-date=December 5, 2024 |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=[[Honolulu Star-Advertiser]] |page=29 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |agency=[[United Press International]]}}</ref> Whatever the reason, the boos, which had begun to subside after Mays's four–home-run game in 1961, grew even quieter in 1962, as the Giants enjoyed their best season since moving to San Francisco.<ref>[[#Barra|Barra]], pp. 293, 301.</ref>

Mays led the team in eight offensive categories in 1962: runs (130), doubles (36), home runs (49), RBI (141), stolen bases (18), walks (78), [[on-base percentage]] (.384), and slugging percentage (.613).<ref>{{cite web |title=1962 San Francisco Giants Batting Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SFG/1962-batting.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706020234/https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SFG/1962-batting.shtml |archive-date=July 6, 2020 |access-date=July 6, 2020 |website=[[Baseball Reference]]}}</ref> He finished second in NL MVP voting to [[Maury Wills]], who had broken [[Ty Cobb]]'s record for stolen bases in a season.<ref>[[#Barra|Barra]], p. 310.</ref> On September 30, Mays hit a game-winning home run in the Giants' final regularly scheduled game of the year, forcing the team into a tie for first place with the [[1962 Los Angeles Dodgers season|Los Angeles Dodgers]].<ref>[[#Mays|Mays and Sahadi]], p. 176.</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=September 30, 1962 |title=Houston Colt .45s vs San Francisco Giants Box Score: September 30, 1962 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN196209300.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728222438/https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN196209300.shtml |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |work=[[Baseball Reference]]}}</ref> The Giants faced the Dodgers in a [[1962 National League tie-breaker series|three-game playoff series]]. With the Giants trailing 4–2 in the top of the ninth inning of Game 3, Mays hit an RBI single, eventually scoring as the Giants took a 6–4 lead. With two outs in the bottom of the inning, [[Lee Walls]] hit a fly ball to center field, which Mays caught for the final out as the Giants advanced to the [[1962 World Series|World Series]] against the Yankees.<ref>[[#Barra|Barra]], pp. 302–303.</ref>

In Game 1 of the World Series, a 6–2 loss to New York, Mays recorded three hits. He would bat merely .250 in the series overall.<ref name="postseason">{{cite web |title=Willie Mays Postseason Batting Game Logs |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=mayswi01&t=b&year=0&post=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625155352/https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=mayswi01&t=b&year=0&post=1 |archive-date=June 25, 2020 |access-date=July 7, 2020 |website=[[Baseball Reference]]}}</ref> The Series went all the way to a Game 7, which the Yankees led 1–0 in the bottom of the ninth inning. [[Matty Alou]] led off the inning with a bunt single but was still at first two outs later when Mays came up with the Giants one out from elimination. Batting against [[Ralph Terry]], he hit a ball into the right-field corner that might have been deep enough to score Alou, but Giants third base coach [[Whitey Lockman]] opted to hold Alou at third. The next batter, McCovey, hit a line drive that was caught by [[Bobby Richardson]], and the Yankees won the deciding game 1–0.<ref>[[#Schoor|Schoor]], pp. 276–279.</ref> It was Mays's last World Series appearance as a Giant.<ref name="postseason"/> Mays reveled in the fact that he had finally won the support of San Francisco fans; "It only took them five years," he later said.<ref>[[#Barra|Barra]], pp. 304–306.</ref>