Last night, during the slate of games on the night’s schedule, the Giants issued a statement that Willie Mays, the 93-year-old Hall of Famer, had passed away earlier in the day. The 24-time All Star spent 23 seasons in the majors, batting .301 with 660 home runs, 339 stolen bases and 3,293 hits. He won only two MVP awards, despite leading the NL in WAR nine times.
Mays began his career in the Negro Leagues, when he was just 16. He played with the Birmingham Black Barons for three seasons, prior to joining the Giants, and was originally scheduled to appear at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, the same stadium he played in 75 years earlier, along with the Giants this week to honor the legacy of the Negro Leagues, but he announced he would not attend late last week.
Both local teams were home and playing last night, with the Cubs hosting the Giants and the White Sox, with Mays’ former teammate Steve Stone in the booth, hosting the Astros. The Cubs held a moment of silence between innings, the first notification some of the Giants starters, including pitcher Logan Webb, had that Mays had passed. On the White Sox broadcast, Stone told stories of his time as a young rookie pitching with the Hall of Fame center fielder behind him.
Mays leaves behind a tremendous legacy, not just in New York and San Francisco, where he starred for those 23 seasons, but across all of baseball. The Say Hey Kid may now be gone, but his spirit lives on and he will never be forgotten.
