Willie Mays, the iconic Hall of Fame center fielder considered the greatest all-around baseball player ever, died Tuesday at age 93, announced the San Francisco Giants.
Known as “The Say Hey Kid,” Mays’ career spanned four decades. He started in the Negro Leagues in the late 1940s and ended with the New York Mets in 1972, spending 21 years with the New York Giants, who later moved to San Francisco.
Early baseball passion
Born on May 6, 1931, in Westfield, Alabama, Willie Mays was introduced to baseball by his father, Cat Mays, a semi-pro player. By high school, Mays excelled in multiple sports. He began his professional baseball career in 1948 with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro League. After graduating in 1950, he signed with the Giants and made his major league debut in May 1951, after just over a year in the minors.
Career
Willie Mays was a five-tool player who excelled in speed, throwing, fielding, hitting for average, and hitting for power. He had a career triple-slash line of.301/.384/.557, with 660 home runs, 525 doubles, and 338 stolen bases. Mays was the NL stolen-base leader four times and led the NL in homers four times. He grounded into just 45 double-plays over 24 seasons in the majors. Mays’ career began with his debut on May 25, 1951, and he won Rookie of the Year. He earned the nickname “The Say Hey Kid” in his rookie year, which stuck with him. Mays spoke and sang backup on “Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song)” in 1954. He served two years in the Army during the Korean War, playing on military baseball teams and traveling to entertain the troops.
When he returned home in 1954, Mays had his best season, hitting .345/.411/.667 with 41 home runs, winning MVP, and earning an All-Star selection.
From 1955 to 1966, Mays consistently finished in the top six of MVP voting, winning again in 1965 and placing second twice. He was a 20-time All-Star (24 including the additional games from 1959 to 1962) and won All-Star MVP in 1963 and 1968, the first player to do so twice. He also won 12 Gold Gloves.
Despite his prolific hitting, Mays preferred fielding. “I like to hit,” he said in 1955, “but there’s nothing like running after a ball and throwing somebody out.”
Mays set many records, including signing baseball’s first $100,000 contract on February 20, 1963.
His later life
Mays, a National League-best.425 OBP player, began a slow decline in the late 1960s but still posted a National League-best in 1971. He was traded to the Mets in May 1972 and earned a final nod in 1973. After retiring, he became the Mets hitting coach until 1979 when he terminated his contract to become a greeter at an Atlantic City hotel and casino. The Giants signed him to a lifetime contract in the 1990s, making him a permanent special assistant to the president.
Mays is survived by his son, Michael, and his wife, Mae Louise Allen Mays, who died in 2013 after a long battle with Alzheimers. Mays was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1979, but was not a unanimous choice, with 23 members of the BBWAA not selecting him on their ballots. Despite this, Mays was revered in the industry and considered the best all-around player of his era.
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