Both Willie Mays' hitting and center fielding performances are historically great

The argument

The case for Willie Mays rests on the rarity of excellence at both ends of the game. He displayed real versatility in all facets of the game, serving as the most valuable defensive piece in the MLB at center field each inning and immediately morphing into a batting juggernaut. Most claims to the title of greatest rest on one of those two things; the argument here is that Mays has an unusually strong claim on each, and that the combination is what settles the question. The hitting record establishes the first half. In terms of his hitting game, he ranks top 10 all-time in WAR, Offensive WAR, WAR for position players, runs scored, and home runs, at 660. With a remarkable career batting average of .302 and an OPS+ of 156, the case does not rest on accumulated totals alone but on rate as well, so he was not merely a long career but a consistently outstanding one, and he triumphed in many facets of slugging. The fielding record establishes the second, and on this account an even further level of his greatness came in his 12 Gold Glove awards for his mastery at center fielding. With 7,096 total putouts and a fielding percentage of 98.1%, the defensive claim rests on both volume and reliability at the most demanding outfield position. The honours also span every category of achievement: he won rookie of the year, a batting title, National League MVP twice, and the 1954 World Series. Mays could simply do everything on the field every night, and few in baseball history could even come close to his domination in both offensive and defensive prowess. Willie Mays is the greatest ever because of his proficiency in every aspect of baseball, from center field to home plate.

Premises

Counter-arguments

Versatility does not immediately equate to greatness. Electing versatility as containing precedence over "greatness" in a single attribute excludes the players in history who were superior to Willie Mays in slugging, and those who were better than him at defensive play. His center fielding, aside, Mays is not ranked highly on many major statistical lists of fielding history, including putouts and assists. Since statistics are such a highly valued prerogative today, Mays' historical longevity on defense is severely lacking in these categories.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Versatility is an arbitrary gauge of historical prominence, and placing priority in multiple playing classifications over excellence in one category is illogical. [Rejecting P2] Versatility does not intrinsically express greatness. [Rejecting P3] Willie Mays' record in some major defensive historical statistics is lacking. [Rejecting P4] The jump from "most versatile" to "greatest" is unfounded.

Framing

An individual player's adaptability is not determined by their proficiency in multiple subsets of one category, but by their skill in all categories. Versatility through all categories , as well as historical excellence in those categories, governs a player's bid for all-time greatness. Willie Mays displays more all-time distinction in offensive and defensive capability simultaneously than any other player in history, making him the best to ever do it.