Editing Willie Mays (section)

===Negro and minor leagues===
Mays's [[professional baseball]] career began in 1948 when he played briefly during the summer with the [[Chattanooga Choo-Choos]], a [[Negro league baseball|Negro minor league team]].<ref>[[#Barra|Barra]], pp. 76–77.</ref><ref name="negro leagues">{{cite web |title=Willie Mays |url=http://www.nlbemuseum.com/history/players/mays.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217082217/http://www.nlbemuseum.com/history/players/mays.html |archive-date=February 17, 2020 |access-date=March 17, 2020 |website=[[Negro Leagues Baseball Museum]] |publisher=Kansas State University College of Education}}</ref> Later that year, Mays joined the [[Birmingham Black Barons]] of the [[Negro American League]], where he was known as "Buck".<ref name="negro leagues" /> The Black Barons were managed by [[Piper Davis]], a teammate of Mays's father on the industrial team.<ref>[[#Barra|Barra]], pp. 77–78.</ref> When Fairfield Industrial principal E. T. Oliver threatened to suspend Mays for playing professional ball, Davis and Mays's father worked out an agreement. Mays would only play home games for the Black Barons. In return, he could still play high school football.<ref>[[#Mays|Mays and Sahadi]], p. 32.</ref> Mays helped Birmingham advance to the [[1948 Negro World Series]], which they lost 4–1 to the [[Homestead Grays]]. He hit .262 for the season and stood out because of his excellent fielding and base running.<ref>[[#Hirsch|Hirsch]], pp. 38–48.</ref> On May 28, 2024, [[Major League Baseball]] announced that it had integrated Negro league statistics into its records.<ref name="kepner">{{Cite news |last=Kepner |first=Tyler |date=May 28, 2024 |title=As MLB changes its records, Josh Gibson replaces Ty Cobb as all-time batting leader |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5525148/2024/05/28/mlb-negro-leagues-records-josh-gibson-ty-cobb/ |access-date=May 29, 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]] |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Several major league teams were interested in signing Mays, but they had to wait until he graduated from high school to offer him a contract. The [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]] and the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] both scouted him, but [[New York Giants (baseball)|New York Giants]] scout [[Ed Montague (shortstop)|Eddie Montague]] signed him to a $4,000 contract.<ref>[[#Mays|Mays and Sahadi]], pp. 44–45; [[#Hirsch|Hirsch]], pp. 58–61.</ref> Mays spent the rest of 1950 with the [[Class B (baseball)|Class B]] [[Trenton Giants]] of the [[Interstate League]], batting .353 with 20 doubles, eight triples, four home runs and 55 RBI in 81 games.<ref>[[#Mays|Mays and Sahadi]], pp. 45–46; [[#Hirsch|Hirsch]], pp. 65–66.</ref><ref name=":0" /> Promoted to the [[Class AAA (baseball)|Triple-A]] [[Minneapolis Millers]] of the [[American Association (20th century)|American Association]] in 1951, he batted .477 with 18 doubles, eight home runs and 30 RBI in 35 games.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=mays--002wil |title=Willie Mays Minor League Statistics | work=[[Baseball-Reference.com]] |archive-date=June 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621050007/https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=mays--002wil |url-status=live}}</ref>