By his averages, he would have surpassed Mays's 660.I agree with you 100%, strider. However, don't forget that Mays played very little, if at all, during 1952-1953, because of military service.
IMHO, Mays would've ended up with at least 714, but we're splittin' hairs.
RIP Teddy Baseball.
Yes, both Ted Williams and Willie Mays (especially Williams) lost prime years due to military service and otherwise may have passed Ruth's career total in home runs. But then Babe Ruth himself lost some years when he could have been pounding more homers: Ruth spent his first four-five years in the majors as the best left-handed pitcher in baseball, before he became a full-time outfielder!