Willie Mays dead at 93; San Francisco Giants legend and Hall of Famer blazed trails in baseball

SAN FRANCISCO -- Willie Mays, the electrifying "Say Hey Kid" whose singular operation of talent, thrust and exuberance made him 1 of baseball's top and astir beloved players, has died. He was 93.

Mays' household and the San Francisco Giants jointly announced Tuesday nighttime helium had died earlier successful the afternoon.

"My begetter has passed distant peacefully and among loved ones," lad Michael Mays said successful a connection released by the club. "I privation to convey you each from the bottommost of my breached bosom for the unwavering emotion you person shown him implicit the years. You person been his life's blood."

The halfway fielder was baseball's oldest surviving Hall of Famer. His signature handbasket drawback and his dashes astir the bases with his headdress flying disconnected personified the joyousness of the game. His over-the enarthrosis drawback of a agelong thrust successful the 1954 World Series is baseball's astir celebrated antiaircraft feat.

Mays died 2 days earlier a crippled betwixt the Giants and St. Louis Cardinals to grant the Negro Leagues astatine Rickwood Field successful Birmingham, Alabama.

"All of Major League Baseball is successful mourning contiguous arsenic we are gathered astatine the precise ballpark wherever a vocation and a bequest similar nary different began," Commissioner Rob Manfred said. "Willie Mays took his all-around brilliance from the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League to the historical Giants franchise. From seashore to seashore successful New York and San Francisco, Willie inspired generations of players and fans arsenic the crippled grew and genuinely earned its spot arsenic our National Pastime. ... His unthinkable achievements and statistic bash not statesman to picture the awe that came with watching Willie Mays predominate the crippled successful each mode imaginable. We volition ne'er hide this existent Giant connected and disconnected the field."

Few were truthful blessed with each of the 5 indispensable qualities for a superstar -- hitting for average, hitting for power, speed, fielding and throwing. Fewer truthful joyously exerted those qualities -- whether launching location runs; dashing astir the bases, loose-fitting headdress flying disconnected his head; oregon chasing down alert balls successful halfway tract and finishing the occupation with his trademark handbasket catch.

"When I played ball, I tried to marque definite everybody enjoyed what I was doing," Mays told NPR successful 2010. "I made the clubhouse feline acceptable maine a headdress that erstwhile I ran, the upwind gets up successful the bottommost and it flies close off. People emotion that benignant of stuff."

Over 22 MLB seasons, virtually each with the New York/San Francisco Giants, Mays batted .302, deed 660 location runs, totaled 3,283 hits, scored much than 2,000 runs and won 12 Gold Gloves. He was Rookie of the Year successful 1951, doubly was named the Most Valuable Player and finished successful the apical 10 for the MVP 10 different times. His lightning sprint and over-the-shoulder drawback of an evident other basal deed successful the 1954 World Series remains the astir celebrated antiaircraft play successful shot history.

He was voted into the Hall successful 1979, his archetypal twelvemonth of eligibility, and successful 1999 followed lone Babe Ruth connected The Sporting News' database of the game's apical stars. (Statistician Bill James ranked him third, down Ruth and Honus Wagner). The Giants retired his azygous number, 24, and acceptable their AT&T Park successful San Francisco connected Willie Mays Plaza.

For millions successful the 1950s and '60s and after, the smiling shot subordinate with the friendly, high-pitched dependable was a signature jock and showman during an epoch erstwhile shot was inactive the signature pastime. Awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama successful 2015, Mays near his fans with countless memories. But a azygous feat served to seizure his magic -- 1 truthful untoppable it was simply called "The Catch."

In Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, the then-New York Giants hosted the Cleveland Indians, who had won 111 games successful the regular play and were beardown favorites successful the postseason. The people was 2-2 successful the apical of the eighth inning. Cleveland's Vic Wertz faced reliever Don Liddle with nary out, Larry Doby connected 2nd and Al Rosen connected first.

With the number 1-2, Wertz smashed a fastball to heavy halfway field. In an mean park, with an mean halfway fielder, Wertz would person homered, oregon astatine slightest had an casual triple. But the halfway tract partition successful the eccentrically shaped Polo Grounds was much than 450 feet away. And determination was thing adjacent to mean astir the skills of Willie Mays.

Decades of taped replays person not diminished the astonishment of watching Mays contention toward the wall, his backmost to location plate; scope retired his mitt and haul successful the drive. What followed was besides extraordinary: Mays managed to crook astir portion inactive moving forward, heave the shot to the infield and forestall Doby from scoring adjacent arsenic Mays spun to the ground. Mays himself would proudly constituent retired that "the throw" was arsenic important arsenic "the catch."

"Soon arsenic it got hit, I knew I'd drawback the ball," Mays told biographer James S. Hirsch, whose publication came retired successful 2010.

"All the clip I'm moving back, I'm thinking, 'Willie, you've got to get this shot backmost to the infield.'"

Mays was Rookie of the Year successful 1951, doubly was named the Most Valuable Player and finished successful the apical 10 for the MVP 10 different times.

The San Francisco Giants look the St. Louis Cardinals astatine Rickwood Field connected Thursday successful a crippled honoring Mays and the Negro Leagues. He began his vocation successful Alabama with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues and played for the Giants from 1951-72.

MLB has been moving with the metropolis of Birmingham and Friends of Rickwood nonprofit radical to renovate the 10,800-seat ballpark, which astatine 114 years aged is the oldest nonrecreational ballpark successful the United States.

There besides volition beryllium a Double-A crippled astatine the ballpark betwixt the Birmingham Barons and Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League connected June 18.