Tuesday, June 18, 2024
Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2024
Tuesday, baseball lost its oldest Hall of Famer. At 93, Willie Mays, arguably the best center fielder ever, died.
As a Dodger writer, it is funny to honor a former New York/San Francisco Giant player, but whomever you root for, Mays is a legend in the major leagues. Before baseball widely used the term of a five-tool player, Mays was one.
Born on May 6, 1931, Willie Howard Mays lived in Westfield, Alabama. He was an all-around athlete. He played in the Negro Leagues, for the Birmingham Black Barons before his high school graduation. After he graduated, he signed with the New York Giants. In 1951, the “Say Hay Kid” won the National League Rookie of the Year while he helped the Giants to go to the World Series.
Mays missed the 1952 and 1953 seasons while he served in the United States Army. When he returned to the New York Giants in 1954, he won the National League MVP and his only world championship. During the 1954 World Series against the Cleveland Indians, Mays made “the catch,” arguably the best defensive play in the history of baseball. Even now, people see highlights of the catch.
Mays’ outgoing personality made him a fan favorite. Even in Brooklyn, while playing the Giants’ fierce rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers’ fans cheered Mays. Vin Scully, the Dodger broadcaster for 67 years, said that Mays was his favorite player to watch.
Mays went to 24 All-Star Games. In 1965, he won his second National League MVP. In 1972, the San Francisco Giants traded Mays to the New York Mets. Mays retired in 1973 with 660 home runs and 12 Gold Gloves. In 1979, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Baseball is holding a game in the same stadium that Mays debuted in the Negro Leagues on Thursday. Mays didn’t accept the invitation.
