I knew he could steal home (five times) and hit inside-the-park home runs (believed to be seven) and even hit four home runs in the same game. He almost threw out a runner at first, second, third and home in the same game, too, missing only because a teammate screwed up a play at second.

I read all about the "Say Hey Kid" and heard all about him from my New York relatives. People always said Willie Mays could beat you in more ways than anyone, that his photo should be in the baseball dictionary next to the phrase "five-tool player."

Greatest player of all time?

"No worse than top five," Blass said. "Maybe top three."

Maybe even top one. ESPN's Tim Kurkjian wrote a phenomenal piece on Mays three years ago, when Mays turned 90. Andrew McCutchen was right when he told reporters Tuesday, "Anyone who has ever come in contact with Mays for even a day is going to have a story, is going to have something."

Growing up in the Bay Area, legendary Penguins broadcaster Mike Lange used to listen to Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons describe his beloved Giants of Mays and Willie McCovey. Blass recalls listening to his favorite childhood team, the Cleveland Indians, lose to Mays and the New York Giants in the 1954 World Series, a matchup remembered for Mays' iconic, over-the-shoulder snag of a Vic Wertz blast in Game 1. If you want to see some all-time athletic swag, watch that catch and throw.

Ten years later, Blass stood on a mound facing Mays.

"My rookie year, Mays steps to the plate and hits a ground ball off first base," Blass recalled. "I guess I was so stunned he didn't hit it out of the ballpark that I was late getting over there. He beat me by a step. The next day, I'm told (manager) Danny Murtaugh wants to see me. I'm thinking, great, a nice father-and-son type conversation. Murtaugh says, 'That Mays can really get down the line, can't he?' I said, 'He sure can.' He says, 'It'll cost you $100. See if you can beat him next time.'"

Turns out there was a fine for pitchers who didn't cover such plays in time — even against Willie Mays.

"That hurt," Blass said. "I only made $7,000 that year."

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