Willie Mays: More than a Baseball Player

Today another pillar of Major League Baseball has left us. His memory etched in our minds for generations. His legend as big as any ballplayer who ever set foot on baseball's spongy-grass surface. Willie Mays was more than a baseball player. He was an icon who transcended the sport. Willie Mays passed away on June 18, 2024. He was 93. Born Willie Howard Mays Jr. in Birmingham, Alabama, the "Say Hey Kid" as he would come to be known, began his career in the Negro Leagues, playing professionally for the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948. It is ironic with Mays passing on Tuesday night that baseball is returning to Alabama on June 20 to play at Rickwood Field in honor of the Negro Leagues. Mays' San Francisco Giants are playing in that game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Suddenly this game takes on a new meaning. https://twitter.com/korkedbats/status/1803238532951024052 MORE THAN THE NUMBERS When you rattle off the stat sheet, Willie Mays is one of the most prolific players of all time. He crushed 660 home runs, hit .302, and amassed over 3,293 hits in 23 seasons. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1979. He was the best of the best. Mays played for the Giants for 22 years, with the first six seasons patrolling the Polo Grounds in New York City, just off the FDR Drive. https://twitter.com/BaseballQuotes1/status/1803230822268280869 While the Bronx had its plethora of legends: The Babe, Mantel, DiMaggio, Gerhig. And Brooklyn had Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, and Pee Wee Reese. The Giants had their mega star in Mays. A Rookie of the Year title in 1951, and World Series Champion in 1954. Not to mention the greatest catch EVER in Major League history. https://youtu.be/7bLt2xKaNH0?si=dJCgwbK-Q6QPGJck Of course, it wasn't easy. This was the mid-20th Century when racism and segregation was still a problem in America. Mays, like many African American ballplayers at that time faced it. And in the end, he beat those barriers with not only his play but class and dignity. RETURN TO NEW YORK After spending his prime years by the Bay in San Francisco for the Giants, Mays returned home to where his MLB journey began: New York. Mets owner Joan Payson - a long-time New York Baseball Giants fan - coveted the very idea of bringing Mays back, and she succeeded. In 1972, Mays returned, via trade - not to the Polo Grounds, but to Shea Stadium in Flushing Meadows to play for the Mets. He was a key member of the Amazin's 1973 National League Championship team. https://twitter.com/SNY_Mets/status/1803238619307712585 Mays' number 24 is retired by both the Giants and Mets. The Giants retired his number in 1972; the Mets on Old Timer's Day in 2022. In many ways Mays chronicled the lives of so many. He saw it all. In the years following his baseball career, he made numerous appearances in television and film, met numerous U.S. presidents; met Queen Elizabeth II in 1976 at the White House, and was a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient of former President Barack Obama in 2015. He also stood firmly by the side of his godson Barry Bonds, who despite what allegations you may believe on steroids, set the Major League Baseball home run record with their beloved Giants. https://twitter.com/MLBONFOX/status/1803245062308221276 Not bad at all. A life well lived.