Willie Mays turns 89. Is he baseball's greatest living player?

When it comes to longevity as a major league baseball player, it's hard to beat Willie Mays. The Hall of Fame outfielder won Rookie of the Year honors in 1951 ... and played in the World Series in 1973. With so many accomplishments in between.

When it comes to longevity as a human being, Mays' list of accomplishments is pretty lengthy as well, as Wednesday marks his 89th birthday. 

It seems like an appropriate time to reflect on Mays' place in history – and ponder the question: Is he Major League Baseball's greatest living player? Here are one writer's top five candidates.

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5. Rickey Henderson (1979-2003)

There are plenty of candidates to lead off this list, but there's never been a better leadoff hitter in baseball history, so Henderson seems like a fitting choice. The name of the game is to score more runs than the other team – and in that regard, Henderson was the ultimate weapon. 

Over 25 seasons in the majors, he had 3,055 hits and 2,190 walks (second-most all-time) – good for a .401 on-base percentage. And once Rickey got on base, he was a threat to run at any time. He set the all-time record with 130 stolen bases in 1982 and finished with 1,406 (568 more than second-place Lou Brock). 

Going back to the goal of scoring runs ... Henderson holds that record too, with 2,295. He also owns a pair of World Series rings and an MVP award. 

(Alex Rodriguez, Mike Schmidt, Greg Maddux, Albert Pujols and Mike Trout all deserve to be in the conversation, but Rickey himself will tell you he's underrated at No. 5.)

4. Roger Clemens (1984-2007)

Now we get into the controversial characters. Say what you will about Clemens, but he was as dominant a pitcher as we've ever seen – especially considering how long he continued to perform at a high level. 

He won his first Cy Young Award and led the Boston Red Sox to the World Series as a 23-year-old. Eighteen years later, he won a record seventh Cy Young at the age of 41 (and then finished third the following season at age 42).

All told, Clemens won seven ERA titles, struck out 4,672 batters (third all-time) and amassed 354 career wins (ninth all-time) over 24 MLB seasons. 

3. Barry Bonds (1986-2007)

He may not have been the most popular player in the game, but it didn't matter on the field. In fact, Bonds used the acrimony as motivation as he hit more home runs in a single season (73 in 2001) and in a career (762) than anyone who's ever played.

Bonds may have been the most feared hitter in history, judging from the damage he did at the plate and opposing pitchers' reluctance to throw him anything near the strike zone. No other player is even close to his total of 2,558 career walks.

Likewise, he laps the field with seven MVP awards; no one else has more than three.

2. Henry Aaron (1954-76).

His 25 All-Star Game appearances are unmatched in baseball history, which helps illustrate Aaron's incredible consistency. Fifteen times in his career, Aaron hit at least 30 home runs. He passed Babe Ruth on the way to a then-record 755 homers in his career. Many baseball fans still consider "Hammerin' Hank" the true Home Run King, given Bonds' connection to PEDs. 

Although he no longer holds the home run record, Aaron is still baseball's all-time leader in RBI with 2,297 and total bases with 6,856. (In fact, Aaron has over 700 more total bases than runner-up Stan Musial.)

1. Willie Mays (1950-73).

There's more than just sentimentality in this selection. To be the greatest, a player must excel in every aspect of the game. The "Say Hey Kid" could do it all: hit for average, hit for power, run, throw and field. 

Mays won a batting title and an MVP award at age 23. He led the league in home runs four times, the last as a 34-year-old, when he won another MVP. Mays' total of 660 career home runs ranked third on the all-time list when he retired after 22 seasons in the majors.

He could run like the wind, leading the NL in stolen bases for four consecutive seasons from 1956-59. And who could forget perhaps the greatest catch in baseball history, off the bat of Cleveland's Vic Wertz in deep center field in the 1954 World Series? Mays' defense (12 Gold Gloves) was perhaps his greatest superpower. Or maybe it was his love for the game, the thrill he got playing it ... and the thrill he gave fans who watched him.

Follow Gardner on Twitter @SteveAGardner