No one would accuse me of being a baseball fan. I am a World Series fan. My time investment in the game is compressed into about eight or ten days when the national championship is determined by seven games. I’m always happy when it’s played out to the most dramatic possible end - one team winning four, the other, three.

But there are other baseball times when my attention is caught by the drama of some record in the making. Such was my interest in Willie Mays, that phenomenal hitter who caused all America to hold its breath as he pressed on to his record-breaking batting goal.

William Goldman wrote about Willie, a word that sets Willie apart, and presents him up as the incarnation of all that baseball should be.

Willie’s Time (1951—1973)

“I fell in love with him that afternoon. And wa…