Major League Baseball legend Willie Mays died June 18, 2024 in Palo Alto, California at the age of 93. Son Michael noted that Mays passed away peacefully; surrounded by those who loved him.
At 93, Mays was the oldest living Hall of Fame player.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred issued a statement on Mays saying, “all of Major League Baseball is in mourning today as we are gathered at the very ballpark where a career and a legacy like no other began. Willie Mays took his all-around brilliance from the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League to the historic Giants franchise. From coast to coast in New York and San Francisco, Willie inspired generations of players and fans as the game grew and truly earned its place as our National Pastime.”
He ranks sixth on the homerun list with 660; it has to be noted that Mays missed two full seasons of baseball while serving his country during the Korean War in 1952 and 53. He also earn 12 Gold Glove Awards and was named to the All Star game 24 times. He was the first player to have career stats of 300 homeruns and 300 stolen bases. He once noted that winning was more important than hitting a home run.
Former San Francisco Giants teammate Willie McCovey spoke on Mays saying, “he did so many remarkable things, it actually became routine. We were so spoiled. He’d make plays that people would yell and talk about for months. We saw those plays every day, so it was no big deal. Hitting four home runs in one game probably was the least of the spectacular things he did.”
Between 1954 and 1970, Mays hit at least 20 home runs every year – the first player to do so.
Over 50 years after retiring from the game, Mays still holds the records for most putouts by an outfielder with 7,095, home runs by a center fielder with 640, and most homers in extra innings with 22.
When it came time to decide on Mays’ induction into the Hall of Fame, he received 490 of a possible 432 votes – 94.7 percent.
He was born Willie Howard Mays Jr on May 6, 1931 in Westfield, Alabama. He played baseball with his father in Birmingham while barely in his teens. At 15 he was a member of the Negro League team the Birmingham Black Barons.
The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees loss became the New Your Giants gain when they signed the still teenaged Mays (19) in 1950.
After playing in Trenton, New Jersey and the Triple A team in Minneapolis; the Giants called Mays up to “the show” where he made his debut on May 25, 1951. It would be four games before Mays got his first hit – a home run against Boston Braves pitcher Warren Spahn. After a bit of an up and down performance, Mays went on to win the National League Rookie of the Year title.
Mays returned to baseball in 1954 after a two year absence, serving in the Army; and picked up where he left off and went on to earn his first of two Most Valuable Player Awards.
While with the New York Giants, Mays would play stick ball with the kids in Harlem before heading to the Polo Grounds to play ball.
When the Giants headed west, Mays was among the players who made the move and on May 4, 1966 he became the National League home run leader with 512.
In 1972, the San Francisco Giants traded Willie Mays to the New York Mets – owner Horace Stoneham could no longer afford May’s $162,000 salary. Willie Mays ended his career in the city where it all began – New York.
Mays later returned to the San Francisco Giants as a part of the front office as a special assistant to the president in 1986; where he remained the remainder of his career.
In 2015, President Barak Obama presented Mays with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Predeceased by his wife Mae Louise, Mays is survived by his son Michael.
Feature photo credit: Willie Mays 1961.jpg