Baseball legend Willie Mays dies at age 93

Willie Mays, widely considered one of the greatest baseball players in the history of the game, has died at the age of 93.

“It is with great sadness that we announce that San Francisco Giants Legend and Hall of Famer Willie Mays passed away peacefully this afternoon at the age of 93,” the San Francisco Giants posted in a post on X announcing the news on behalf of Mays. family.

In his own statement, Willie Mays’ son Michael Mays expressed his gratitude for fans’ “unwavering love” for his father.

“My father passed away peacefully and among loved ones,” Michael Mays said in his statement. “I want to thank you all from the bottom of my broken heart for the unwavering love you have shown him over the years. You have been his lifeblood.”

From his start in the Negro Leagues with the Birmingham Black Barons to winning rookie of the year with the New York Giants in 1951 and through 24 All-Star Game appearances, including one in his final season, Mays wowed fans with his combination of strength. speed and fun on the field. He was the personification of a “five-tool” player, who excelled at the five basic skills of baseball: throwing, fielding, power-hitting, hitting for average and baserunning.

Willie Howard Mays Jr., known as “the Say Hey Kid” – the origin of the name has remained ambiguous – was born in Westfield, Alabama, on May 6, 1931. He was a star athlete in many high school sports, playing with the Black Barons from 16 years old. He signed with Major League Baseball’s New York Giants after graduating high school two years later and won Rookie of the Year in his first season. Mays was named National League MVP twice, in 1954 and 1965, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.

Mays called it a career after 22 seasons with 660 home runs, which was third most all-time when he retired in 1973, and posted a career batting average of .301. He finished with 2,062 runs scored, 1,323 extra base hits, 6,066 total bases and 136.6 offensive wins above replacement – ​​all in the top 10 of all time.

“The Hall of Fame is something you play baseball for,” Mays said in an interview with the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001. “You start playing and say to yourself, ‘If you make the Hall of Fame, you’ll have good grades .’ … For me, it’s great to be part of the Hall of Fame and to be part of all the guys coming through.”

Despite being one of the greatest hitters of all time, Mays – also one of the sport’s best defensive outfielders – will always be remembered for one of baseball’s greatest catches.

The Giants were playing the Cleveland Indians in game one of the 1954 World Series when Mays made a running basket catch over the shoulder on a deep ball hammered into the immense center field of the New York City Polo Grounds by Cleveland’s Vic Wertz.

The catch in the eighth inning with two runners on base kept the score 2-2 and allowed the Giants to ultimately win in extra innings. It also immediately became deeply ingrained in the minds of baseball fans. Now known simply as ‘The Catch’, the legacy lives on in references to thousands of over-the-shoulder catches since then.

Although many baseball historians believe “The Catch” is the greatest defensive baseball play ever, Mays was always modest about it.

“When Vic hit the ball to center field, I never worried about catching the ball,” Mays told MLB Network in 2010. “I was worried about getting the ball back in the infield. And I say to myself, ‘I’ve got to get this ball back in the infield or Larry (Doby) is going to score.’

But Mays said, “When the ball came down, I knew I had the ball.”

Mays won twelve career Gold Glove awards for exceptional fielding, one per season from 1957 to 1968. He also remained in the top five in career home runs from 1965 to 2020.

Mays would have finished with even more records had he not missed most of 1952 and all of 1953 due to military service. He was drafted into the Army in 1951, during the Korean War, but saw no combat overseas, instead spending most of his service at Fort Eustis in Virginia.

Mays received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, from President Barack Obama in 2015. Perhaps more fittingly, in 2017 – 63 years after “The Catch” – MLB renamed the World Series MVP Award the Willie Mays World Series. MVP Award.

Mays was most recently honored in June 2024 when MLB held a game at historic Rickwood Field in Alabama, home of the Black Barons. Mays, then 93, was unable to attend the game but said he would watch his former team, the San Francisco Giants, take on the St. Louis Cardinals.

“I won’t be able to make it to Birmingham this year, but I will be watching the game here in the Bay Area,” Mays said in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle. “My heart will be with all of you who honor the Negro League ballplayers who should always be remembered, including all my teammates on the Black Barons.”

Mays married twice, the second time in 1971 to wife May Louise Mays. The two remained together until her death in 2013.

Giants chairman Greg Johnson spoke of Mays’ “profound influence” on America and baseball.

“Today we have lost a true legend,” Johnson’s statement read. “In the pantheon of baseball greats, Willie Mays stands out for his combination of immense talent, sharp intellect, showmanship and boundless joy. The Say Hey Kid is a 24-time All-Star and the ultimate Forever Giant.

“He had a profound impact not only on the game of baseball, but on the fabric of America,” Johnson’s statement continued. “He was an inspiration and a hero who will forever be remembered and deeply missed.”

Major League Baseball shared a message on X on Tuesday saying the organization was “heartbroken.”

“We are heartbroken by the passing of Hall of Famer Willie Mays, one of the most exciting all-around players in the history of our sport,” the MLB release said.