Another great one gone, alas.
Baseball Legend Willie Mays Passes Away at 93
The San Francisco Giants announced that baseball legend and Hall of Famer Willie Mays passed away peacefully this afternoon at 93. Known for his exceptional skills and enduring legacy, Mays leaves behind an indelible mark on the sport and the Giants organization.Willie Howard Mays Jr. was born in Westfield, Alabama, on May 6, 1931. From an early age, Mays displayed extraordinary athletic talent, excelling in baseball during high school. His prowess on the field caught the attention of the New York Giants, who signed him in 1950.
Mays made his major league debut in 1951, quickly becoming a standout player. Known as “The Say Hey Kid,” Mays captivated fans with his remarkable defensive skills, powerful hitting, and base-running prowess. His over-the-shoulder catch in the 1954 World Series remains one of the most iconic moments in baseball history.
You’ve all seen the famous Mays “basket catch”—as technically-incorrect a way of fielding a baseball as ever there was, by the by; many’s the coach that would have been driven to apoplectic fits by it over the course of Willie’s baseball lifetime—a thousand and one times over the years, we all have. But that ain’t gonna dissuade me from running it here one mo’ time ag’in, as Jimi Hendrix said.
24 times an All Star, 12 Golden Gloves, 660 career dingers, twice an NLMVP. Say what you will about Willie Mays, but one thing’s for sure and certain: you’d never have seen the Say-Hey Kid taking a knee during the national anthem, not even once you wouldn’t have. in fact, I strongly suspect Mays would have been more than happy to reach over and smack benchwarming shitheels like Bawlin’ Copperdink upside his empty haid for daring to do such an outlandish thing right in front of him. Another heartwarming vid, from Willie Mays’s home field in Allybammer.
Willie Mays’ passing is announced to the Rickwood Field crowd, and rising as one, it salutes the Alabama native and former Birmingham Black Baron. pic.twitter.com/e2EHJT1udb
— Sam Dykstra (@SamDykstraMiLB)
May God forever bless and keep you, Willie Mays.
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My father met/played against him in the Army. He always had great things to say about him as a person as well as a ballplayer.
The greatest men are leaving us at an ever increasing rate.
RIP Willie Mays.