Baseball legend Willie Mays dies at 93: family – Firstpost

Baseball icon Willie Mays, one of the greatest players in the history of the sport and beloved for his dazzling skill and athletic grace, died Tuesday at the age of 93, his family said.

Mays’ family confirmed the baseball icon’s death in a joint statement with his former team, the San Francisco Giants.

“My father died peacefully and surrounded by his loved ones,” son Michael Mays said in the statement.

“I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the unwavering love you have shown him over the years. You were his lifeblood.”

Giants chairman Greg Johnson said Mays, the first black player to lead a Major League Baseball club, left a mark that went far beyond his sport.

“Today we lost a true legend,” Johnson said. “Willie Mays stood out in the pantheon of baseball greats with his combination of tremendous talent, sharp mind, showmanship and boundless joy.”

“He had a profound impact not only on baseball, but on the fabric of America. He was an inspiration and a hero who will be remembered forever and sorely missed.”

Rob Manfred, commissioner of Major League Baseball, praised centerfielder Mays as a star who inspired “generations of players and fans.”

“His incredible accomplishments and statistics cannot begin to describe the awe that comes from watching Willie Mays dominate the game in every way imaginable,” Manfred said.

“On behalf of Major League Baseball, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to Willie’s family, his friends in our game, Giants fans everywhere and his countless admirers around the world.”

Mays, affectionately known as “Say Hey Kid,” was born in Alabama in 1931 and first played baseball in 1948 with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League.

In 1950, he was signed by the Giants, then based in New York, and made his debut in the 1951 season, where he hit 20 home runs and won the Rookie of the Year award.

Three years later, he helped the Giants win the World Series, the franchise’s last baseball title before moving to San Francisco.

During the 1954 World Series, Mays made one of the most famous plays in baseball history: a breathtaking over-the-shoulder catch during the first game won, which became known simply as “The Catch.”

This showstopper in the eighth inning against the Cleveland Indians made it 2-2 and the Giants won again 5-2 in overtime.

Mays later downplayed his successes, stressing that he never kept a record of his many spectacular catches and hits, but preferred to concentrate on winning.

“I can’t tell you about those moments because I wasn’t into them,” he once said in an interview.

“I just played every day and enjoyed what I was doing. When I made a great catch, it was just routine. I didn’t think about it. The win was important. The win.”

His philosophical approach to baseball was rooted in simplicity.

“You throw the ball, I hit it. You hit the ball, I catch it,” he once said.

Mays retired from baseball in 1973 and finished his career with the New York Mets after playing with the Giants from 1951 to 1972.

Not only did he help the Giants to the 1954 World Series, he also won the Most Valuable Player award twice, eleven years apart. He hit 660 home runs, putting him sixth on the MLB’s all-time list.

As a 24-time All-Star, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.

In 2015, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by US President Barack Obama.

“Willie Mays was not only an extraordinary athlete, blessed with an unmatched combination of grace, skill and strength,” Obama wrote on Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter.

“He was also a wonderfully warm and generous person – and an inspiration to a whole generation.”

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