Major League Baseball legend Willie Howard Mays Jr. died of natural causes on Tuesday. He was 93.
It is with great sadness that we announce that San Francisco Giants Legend and Hall of Famer Willie Mays passed away peacefully this afternoon at the age of 93. pic.twitter.com/Qk4NySCFZQ
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) June 19, 2024
Mays, nicknamed “the Say Hey Kid”, is considered one of the greatest baseball players who ever lived. He ranks second behind only Babe Ruth.
Mays was born and raised in Westfield, Alabama. His father, Cat Mays, was a talented baseball player with the Black team at the local iron plant.
Willie Mays played for the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League in 1948. The New York Giants signed him upon his graduation from high school in 1950.
Mays won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1951 after hitting 20 home runs to help the Giants win their first pennant in 14 years.
In 1954, he won the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, leading the Giants to their last World Series title before the team moved to San Francisco.
“It’s because of giants like Willie that someone like me could even think about running for president,” President Barack Obama said when he gave Mays the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.
Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. said: “He’ll always be the godfather of all center fielders.”