Willie Mays, one of the greatest baseball players to ever step foot on a baseball diamond, died at 93, Major League Baseball announced Tuesday evening.
Mays had been living in an assisted living facility in the Palo Alto, CA area, according to the Giants.
“The Say Hey Kid” was 24x MLB All-Star, 12x Gold Glove winner, Rookie of the Year, and 2x NL MVP who patrolled the massive Polo Grounds center field for the New York Giants before the team relocated to San Francisco in the late-50s.
Mays was with the Giants organization between 1951-1952 and 1954-1974 (he served in the U.S. military and missed most of two seasons) … before joining the NY Mets to end his career.
Willie retired at the end of the 1973 season … finishing with 660 home runs, 3,293 hits, and a .302 batting average.
Mays was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979 (his first time on the ballot) with nearly 95% of the vote. The Giants and Mets have retired his 24 jersey.
“We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Hall of Famer Willie Mays, one of the most exciting all-around players in the history of our sport. Mays was a two-time MVP, 24-time All-Star, 12-time Gold Glove Award winner, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” Major League Baseball wrote on X.
“In commemoration of ‘The Catch’ as perhaps the most famous play in the history of the Fall Classic, the World Series MVP Award was named in his honor in 2017. Mays was 93 years old.”
Of course, “The Catch” — from game 1 of the 1954 World Series — is one of the most famous plays in American sports history … and perfectly encapsulated Mays as a player. There was nothing he couldn’t do. He was the definition of a 5 tool player.
Long after his unmatched playing career, Mays, Barry Bonds’ godfather, served as one of the most prominent ambassadors of the game of baseball.
Perhaps the SF Giants put it best, writing … “There will never be another quite like Willie Mays.”
Rest in peace, Willie.
