BREAKING: Willie Mays, Giants’ electrifying ‘Say Hey Kid,’ has died at 93
Published 8:19 pm Tuesday, June 18, 2024
- New York Giants' Willie Mays, takes a batting practice swing on June 24, 1954, in New York. Major League Baseball said Tuesday that it has incorporated records for more than 2,300 Negro Leagues players following a three-year research project. Mays was credited with 10 hits for the 1948 Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League, raising his total to 3,293. (Associated Press Archives)
Willie Mays, the electrifying “Say Hey Kid” whose singular combination of talent, drive and exuberance made him one of baseball’s greatest and most beloved players, has died. He was 93.
Mays’ family and the San Francisco Giants jointly announced Tuesday night he had “passed away peacefully” Tuesday afternoon surrounded by loved ones.
The center fielder was baseball’s oldest living Hall of Famer. His signature basket catch and his dashes around the bases with his cap flying off personified the joy of the game. His over-the shoulder catch of a long drive in the 1954 World Series is baseball’s most celebrated defensive feat.
Over 22 seasons, virtually all with the New York/San Francisco Giants, Mays batted .302, hit 660 home runs, totaled 3,283 hits, scored more than 2,000 runs and won 12 Gold Gloves.
He was Rookie of the Year in 1951, twice was named the Most Valuable Player and finished in the top 10 for the MVP 10 other times.
