Mays Says He Tried to Steal an Edge in His Last Season

Willie Mays, one of the game’s greatest players, admitted Wednesday: “My last year in baseball, I used to cheat a lot.”

What the Hall of Fame star meant was he began to glance down, hoping to steal the catcher’s sign on what pitch was coming.

“Once, when Johnny Bench was catching, it seemed like he was waiting a minute before making a sign.

“Bench told me: ‘You quit looking down, then we’ll hit.’

“ ‘John, I’m 43 years old,’ I said.

“Johnny said: ‘I don’t care if you’re 10.’ ”

Mays, Bench and Hall of Fame pitchers Warren Spahn and Bob Gibson attended a news conference Wednesday, which was Mays’ 56th birthday, to announce that about 50 million ballots will be available for voting for the All-Star Game July 14 at the Oakland Coliseum.

More than 5.2 million ballots were cast last year, when voting was conducted by the office of Commissioner Peter Ueberroth. This year, the voting, sponsored by USA Today, will involve newspapers and commercial enterprises.

“I loved the All-Star Game,” said Mays, who played his entire career in the National League. “I just loved to play in it even though we thought the guys in the American League were Little Leaguers.”

Spahn and Gibson are members of the Baseball Alumni Team. Also attending the news conference was former pitcher Ralph Branca, president of BAT, which provides financial assistance to former major league players who do not benefit from the baseball pension plan. It also helps pensioned players who might need financial aid beyond a monthly pension.

USA Today will contribute $5 to BAT for every 1,000 ballots cast.

The newspaper also has agreements for ballots to be printed in the Toronto Star and Le Journal de Montreal. Voting will begin May 11 and run through July 5 in ballparks. It will run from May 12 through June 25 in the newspapers.