**Willie Mays Appreciation: The ‘Say Hey Kid’ Inspired Generations with Talent and Exuberance**
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Long after his 660 home runs and those electrifying sprints around the bases with his hat flying off, Willie Mays could still captivate a room like no other.
Mays was a regular presence at the downtown ballpark in San Francisco, located at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, where his statue stands proudly outside the stadium. He often engaged with both his contemporaries and the younger generation of players, who eagerly absorbed every word from a legend they were too young to have seen play.
His distinctive voice and high-pitched laugh were instantly recognizable. He was forever the “Say Hey Kid,” from his days patrolling center field at the Polo Grounds in the 1950s, when baseball reigned supreme in New York City, to his appearances on Tuesday afternoons.
As Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. aptly put it: “He’ll always be the godfather of all center fielders.”
While some players may have hit more home runs, won more Gold Gloves, amassed more hits, or captured more World Series titles than Mays, none matched his dazzling and entertaining presence on the field for over two decades on both coasts.
With a hat too small that it flew off his head as he raced around the field and his signature basket catches, Mays was a showman and the epitome of a “five-tool player.” Perhaps no one else combined the ability to hit for both average and power, run the bases, field, and throw like Mays did during his career, primarily with the Giants in New York and San Francisco.
“Willie could do everything from the day he joined the Giants,” Hall of Fame manager Leo Durocher once said. “Mays could do all the things you look for in a player better than anybody I ever saw.”
While Joe DiMaggio famously insisted on being introduced as the “Greatest Living Ballplayer” until his death in 1999, that title truly belonged to Mays for more than half a century.
The statistics are staggering: 660 home runs, 3,293 hits, 6,080 total bases, 2,068 runs scored, two MVP awards, and 24 All-Star games, despite missing nearly two full seasons serving in the Korean War. He also earned 12 Gold Gloves, even though the award wasn’t introduced until his fifth season in the majors.
But it was his infectious joy that truly inspired, whether on the streets of Harlem, where he famously played stickball games with local kids before heading to the nearby Polo Grounds for his real job with the Giants, or at ballparks around the National League.
“You wanted to play like Willie and make those catches that he did,” Yankees slugger Aaron Judge said. “The numbers he put up on the field and what he did are impressive, but him as a person and as a human being is even bigger. He was bigger than baseball. He was something special, and the baseball world is definitely going to be missing a great one.”
His greatness is best described by the reverence his contemporaries had for him.
“He played the game as if he was the only one out there,” Hall of Famer Ernie Banks once said. “His eyes would light up. His energy would kick in, and he’d be ready to go. I had the privilege of watching and playing against a great talent.
“He played so hard, it inspired me to get out there every game. I couldn’t wait to play the Giants and watch him.”
Mays’ ability to inspire extended far beyond the baseball field. Born in 1931 in segregated Alabama, he began his professional career in the Negro Leagues and became one of the early Black stars in baseball, eventually becoming the first Black player in the majors to be captain of his team.
However, he also faced racism, from his time in the minors in the previously all-white Interstate League to his experiences in San Francisco, where he and his wife were initially rejected when they tried to buy a house in an exclusive neighborhood.
Yet, later in life, he became almost universally loved.
“It’s because of giants like Willie that someone like me could even think about running for president,” said President Barack Obama when he awarded Mays the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.
Mays played his career when baseball truly was America’s pastime, and its best players were the biggest stars in all of American sports.
He was immortalized in song, such as Terry Cashman’s “Talkin’ Baseball (Willie, Mickey, and the Duke),” and his legacy continues to inspire generations.