Tributes to the “the true giant” of baseball Willie Mays

Baseball star Barry Bonds said Mays “helped shape who I am today”.

By Max Matza and Samantha Granville

Jun 19, 2024 01:13 PM

The baseball world has saluted the achievements of Willie Mays, widely considered one of the sport’s best ever players, after his death at age 93.

Mays was twice voted to be the League’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) and also won his first World Series with the New York Giants in 1954.

The catch that he famously made during the championship is among the top famous games ever played in the United States'”official “national pastime”.

In addition to his field accomplishments, Mays embodied an attitude of “just keep playing and having fun” an ex- player said to the BBC.

Also known as the “Say Hey Kid”, the centre fielder was the oldest living Hall of Famer.

The news of his death was made “with great sadness” on Tuesday by his former team now known as known as the San Francisco Giants.

Michael, the son of Mays Michael Michael, has told Michael Mays’s son, told the Associated Press that his father passed away in the presence his family. He also wanted to thank his followers for their support throughout the years.

“My father has passed away peacefully and among 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,” the man said. “You have been his life’s blood.”

Major League Baseball (MLB) stated that the league was “heartbroken” over the death of “one of the most exciting all-around players in the history of our sport”.

Mays is an “true Giant on and off the field”, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said.

“His incredible achievements and statistics do not begin to describe the awe that came with watching Willie Mays dominate the game in every way imaginable,” Manfred said.

However, Mays proved to be “more than just a baseball icon”, California Governor Gavin Newsom said.

“He broke barriers and inspired millions of Americans – setting records, bringing joy to countless fans, and becoming a role model for a generation of future athletes.”

Barry Bonds, Mays’s godson and a former Giants player, also believed as one of the top players in the game, gave a special tribute to the legendary baseball player and said “you helped shape who I am today”.

“I have no words to describe what you mean to me,” Bonds wrote in a blog post in social media.

MLB Sportswriter Sarah Langs said that Mays was her mom’s hero.

“I am where I am today because of how he captivated her from a young age,” she said.

“His joy for the game inspired her, and she passed that love onto me.”

Another former player from baseball, CC Sabathia, wrote that Mays “changed the game forever and inspired kids like me to chase our dream.”

Although he hasn’t played professionally for more than 50 years in the past, the MLB added another 10 hits to Mays’s record for career at the beginning of this month, after the league decided to include data taken from the Negro League.

His current record is 3,293 hits. This includes the 10 he scored in 1948 for his team the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948.

On Monday morning, Mays stated that he wouldn’t be able attend a event in his honor which was set for Thursday at Birmingham.

“My heart will be with all of you who are honouring the Negro League ballplayers, who should always be remembered, including all my teammates on the Black Barons,” he stated. “It’ll be a special day, and I hope the kids will enjoy it and be inspired by it.”

Mays was raised and born in Westfield, Alabama, and began his professional baseball career when he was still in high school 1948.

The year was 1950. He was a part of his first team, the New York Giants – who later changed their name to The San Francisco Giants – and in 1951, he hit twenty homers for his team when he was an 20-year-old.

Following the season of 1951, Mays was called up to the US Army to serve in the Korean War.