The baseball world misplaced one in every of its legends on Tuesday afternoon.
Willie Mays, one of many biggest gamers within the historical past of baseball, died Tuesday on the age of 93.
“My father has handed away peacefully and amongst family members,” Mays’s son, Michael Mays, stated in an announcement. “I wish to thanks all from the underside of my damaged coronary heart for the unwavering love you’ve proven him over time. You could have been his life’s blood.”
Nicknamed the “Say Hey Child,” Mays performed for the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League as a youngster till he signed with the New York Giants in 1951.
Over 23 seasons within the massive leagues—21 of them with the Giants—Mays batted .301/.384/.557 with 660 house runs and 1,909 RBIs. He ranks sixth on the all-time house run leaderboard behind his godson Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714) and Alex Rodriguez (696).
Mays was a 24-time All-Star—the second-most in MLB historical past—in addition to a 12-time Gold Glove outfielder, the 1951 Rookie of the 12 months and two-time NL MVP, profitable in 1954 and ’65.
As a 23-year-old in 1951, Mays helped the Giants sweep the Cleveland Indians in 4 video games to win the World Collection. He additionally made maybe essentially the most well-known catch in baseball historical past in Sport 1 of that sequence, robbing Vic Wertz of an extra-base hit with an over-the-shoulder catch in deep middle area.
— MLB Vault (@MLBVault) September 29, 2020
Mays was inducted into the Baseball Corridor of Fame in his first yr of eligibility in 1979.
The Giants and St. Louis Cardinals will sq. off Thursday in a sport performed at Rickwood Area, a park in Birmingham, Ala., the place Mays grew up enjoying. MLB planned to honor Mays on the occasion earlier than the information of his loss of life.
