Willie Mays, the electrifying “Say Hey Kid” whose unique combination of talent, drive and energy made him one of baseball’s greatest and most beloved players, has died one. He is 93 years old.
Mays’ family and the San Francisco Giants announced Tuesday night that Mays died early in the afternoon.
“My father passed away peacefully surrounded by his loved ones,” Metz’s son Michael said in a statement released by the club. “I sincerely thank you for the unwavering love you showed him over the years. You were his life.” of blood.
The center fielder is the oldest Hall of Famer in baseball history. His signature catches and hat-flying sprints around the bases embody the joy of the game. His over-the-shoulder catch in the 1954 World Series is baseball’s most famous defensive feat.
It is heartbreaking to learn of the passing of Hall of Famer Willie Mays, one of the most exciting all-around athletes in the history of the sport.
Mays was a two-time MVP, 24-time All-Star, 12-time Gold Glove Award winner and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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His death occurred two days before the Memorial Negro Leagues game between the Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.
“Today, all of Major League Baseball is mourning as we gather at this ballpark, the place where a unique career and legacy began,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “Willie Mays displayed his full range of talents from the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League to the historic Giants. From coast to coast in New York and San Francisco, Willie inspired generations of players. and fans, as the sport grew and truly earned its place as our national pastime… His incredible accomplishments and statistics don’t begin to describe watching Willie Mays in every way imaginable. We will never forget the awe of this true giant on and off the field.
Few are so lucky as to possess all five essential qualities of a superstar—hitting average, batting power, speed, fielding and pitching. Few people can use these qualities with such joy.
“When I play, I try to make sure everyone enjoys what I’m doing,” Mays told NPR in 2010. Blow up from the bottom and the hat will fly up. People love this kind of stuff.
In 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), almost all with the New York/San Francisco Giants, Mays batted .302, hit 660 home runs, totaled 3,283 hits, and scored more than 2,000 runs. and won 12 Gold Gloves. He was the 1951 Rookie of the Year, was named Most Valuable Player twice and finished in the top 10 for MVP 10 additional times.
He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility. (Statistician Bill James ranked him third, behind Ruth Wagner and Honus Wagner). The Giants retired his No. 24 jersey and designated Willie Mays Plaza for their AT&T Stadium in San Francisco.
For millions of people in the 1950s and 1960s and beyond, smiling baseball players and friendly, high-pitched voices were iconic athletes and performers at a time when baseball remained an iconic pastime. In 2015, Mace was awarded the Medal of Freedom by Obama, leaving countless memories for fans. But there was one feat that gave him magic – a feat so famous that it’s simply called “The Capture”.
In Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, the then-New York Giants hosted the Cleveland Indians, who had won 111 games in the regular season and were the playoff favorites. In the first half of the eighth inning, the score was 2-2. Cleveland’s Vic Wertz pitched against reliever Don Liddle with two outs, Larry Doby at second and Al Rosen Rosen ranked first.
With the score 1-2, Watts hit a fastball into deep center field. In an average park, with an average center fielder, Watts would have hit a home run, or at least an easy triple. But the center wall of the oddly shaped polo field was more than 450 feet away. Willie Mays’ skills are also far from average.
Decades of replays haven’t diminished the sense of surprise in seeing Mays run toward the wall with his back to home plate; glove extended, pulling in the drive. What happened next was also extraordinary: Mays successfully turned while moving forward, passed the ball to the infield, and prevented Doby from scoring as Mays spun to the ground. Mays himself would proudly point out that “throwing” is as important as “catching.”
“As soon as the ball was hit, I knew I was going to catch it,” Mays told biographer James S Hirsch, whose book was published in 2010. I kept thinking, ‘Willie, you’ve got to bring the ball back to the infield.'”
