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- Author, Max Matza and Samantha Granville
- Paper, KeynoteUSA News
- June 19, 2024, 02:19 BST
Updated 12 minutes ago
The baseball world has hailed the achievements of Willie Mays, considered one of the sport’s greatest players, after his death at age 93.
Mays was twice declared the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) and won the World Series with the New York Giants in 1954.
His famous catch during the championship remains one of the most iconic plays ever seen in America’s so-called “national pastime.”
In addition to his achievements on the field, Mays embodied an attitude of “keep playing and having fun,” one former player told the KeynoteUSA.
Nicknamed “Say Hey Kid,” the center fielder had been baseball’s oldest living Hall of Famer.
His death was announced “with great sadness” on Tuesday by his former team, which is now the San Francisco Giants.
Mays’ son, Michael, told the KeynoteUSA that his father died in the presence of his family and wanted to thank his fans for their years of support.
“My father has passed away peacefully and among his loved ones. I want to thank you all from the bottom of my broken heart for the unwavering love you have shown him over the years,” she said. “You have been his life blood.”
Major League Baseball (MLB) said it was “heartbroken” by the death of “one of the most exciting players in the history of our sport.”
Mays was a “true giant on and off the field,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said.
“His incredible accomplishments and statistics don’t begin to describe the amazement I felt watching Willie Mays dominate the game in every way imaginable,” Manfred added.
But Mays was “more than just a baseball icon,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “He broke barriers and inspired millions of Americans: he set records, brought joy to countless fans, and became a role model for a generation of future athletes.”
Despite not having played professional sports for more than 50 years, MLB added 10 more hits to Mays’ career record earlier this month after deciding to incorporate statistics from the Negro League.
His record now stands at 3,293 hits, including the 10 he had for the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948.
On Monday, Mays said he would not be able to attend a game in his honor scheduled for Thursday in Birmingham.
“My heart will go out to all of you who honor the players of the Negro League, who should always be remembered, including all of my Black Barons teammates,” he said. “It will be a special day, and I hope that the children will enjoy it and be inspired.”
Mays was born and raised in Westfield, Alabama, and began his professional baseball career while still in high school in 1948.
In 1950, he joined the New York Giants, which later became the San Francisco Giants, and in 1951 he hit 20 home runs for the team when he was 20 years old.
After the 1951 season, Mays was drafted into the U.S. Army to serve in the Korean War.
The famous capture
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Image caption, Mays makes his famous over-the-shoulder catch in 1954.
After missing the 1952 and 1953 seasons due to military service, Mays returned in 1954 to win his first MVP award.
That same year, he helped the team defeat Cleveland in the World Series.
The famous over-the-shoulder catch he made during the game helped the team to victory with a score of 5-2 after 10 innings.
In 1972 he was traded to the New York Mets at the age of 41, where he played two more seasons before retiring.
Following his playing career, he remained a regular face in the Giants’ dugout, offering advice on and off the field to young players.
“He always had time for you. He had a way of talking to him about baseball and he would give you honest opinions,” retired Giants player JT Snow told the KeynoteUSA.
“Baseball is a difficult game and we go through ups and downs. I remember him saying, ‘Keep playing and having fun.'”
Snow said Mays kept the noise of analytics and statistics out of his head, sticking to a simple philosophy that led him to change the game: “I see the ball and I hit it, I run the bases and I catch it.”
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