Celebrating Willie Mays
Mays turned 92 on Saturday. His baseball legacy continues to make an impact on fans who never had the privilege of watching him play.
Happy belated birthday to Willie Mays, the greatest baseball player I never saw.
It’s been 50 years since Mays played his final major league game, but I can still envision Mays’ sweet right-handed swing, how he seemed to glide around the base paths and the way he raced back toward center field at the Polo Grounds to make the iconic catch that robbed Vic Wertz and saved Game 1 of the 1954 World Series.
Mays celebrated his 92nd birthday on Saturday, and for the last several years, I’ve had the privilege of either writing about the Hall of Famer in the newspaper or talking about him on the radio.
How is it that someone who never saw Mays play live can play a part in telling his remarkable story?
That’s a question I’ve wrestled with for a long time, but I think I found my answer.
Mays is one of the rare athletes whose career, achievements and impact bridge a generational gap.
When the Giants moved west from New York in 1958, Mays was already a star. He was a World Series champion, a MVP, a Gold Glove winner and a perennial All-Star.
Fans in San Francisco who welcomed the team to the city didn’t have to wait for the team to take the field to figure out who to fall in love with. Mays had a reputation that preceded him, and he was the leader who ushered a new era of baseball into the region.
In the five seasons I spent covering the Giants as a beat reporter, I received countless emails that started like this: “I’ve been a fan since 1958…”
Somehow, someway, most of these emails would include this line: “Willie Mays was the greatest player I ever saw.”
Forty-plus years after the franchise moved west, fans are still eager to talk about the memories Mays created for them.
Sure, Barry Bonds holds the all-time home run record. Yes, Buster Posey won three World Series titles and an MVP. And a slew of players from Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal to Will Clark and Tim Lincecum became fan favorites and authored amazing legacies, but no one created as many fans as Mays.
The main reason I grew up watching the Giants is because my mom loved the Giants. She loved the Giants because she went to games at Candlestick Park with my grandfather, who loved the Giants in no small part because of Willie Mays.
My story isn’t unique.
It’s the same one hundreds of thousands of people can tell. They grew up watching baseball because their parents or grandparents loved the game, and those parents or grandparents loved the game because of the way Willie Mays played it.
There are plenty of old and grainy highlights where I can go back and watch Mays’ best moments. There are photos at every juncture of his career, and there are newspaper stories detailing every bit of his excellence.
But Mays’ legacy is so much more than that.
To me, Mays was the star who turned casual observers into passionate, devoted and lifelong fans. And those fans welcomed children and grandchildren, whose love for the game can be traced back to watching him take the field.
So happy belated birthday, Willie.
Thanks for all you’ve done for the game.
Love the stories of Mays playing baseball in the streets (of NY I believe) before games.
Also, Mays got drafted for the Korean War and missed 266 games after winning rookie of the year in 51. Had he played those 2 seasons and played at any other ballpark besides Candlestick (where fly balls went to die in the cross wind) , Mays may have hit upwards of 800 home runs total. Sadly I don't think he gets the recognition that he deserves because of this.
Met Mr Mays on several occasions. A gentleman in every sense of the word!! Thanks Kerry!