Off Topic: Willie Mays has died

[Sarge4Tide]

RIP

[The Crusher]

A name  haven’t heard in awhile, RIp

[Lith]

I am old enough to have seen him play -- end of his career in San Fran, when he was past his prime.  I was in San Francisco on a family vacation in the early 70s when the Mets were playing the Giants at Candlestick Park.  Dad took me to the game.  Mays had a big game as the Giants beat the Mets and I have always felt like on that evening, as a 10-year old kid, I got a glimpse of the greatness of Willie Mays.  Looked up the box score of what probably was the game.  3-3 single, double, triple, stolen base, 2 runs and an RBI.  He did it all.

There may have been other players throughout history who were just as good, but none better.  RIP, Willie.

[slimjasi]

RIP

a true legend 

[bicketybam]

My grandfather came to America from Italy in 1910. He went on to become a doctor and spent most of his life doing house calls in the Bronx. He also was the on call doctor for the Yankees for a number of years.

He saw all the greats play...Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe D, Mickey Mantle, etc.

I asked him once who was the best ballplayer he ever saw play. Without hesitation he said as great as Joe DiMaggio was, Willie Mays was the best. 

[HawkeyeJet]

I’ve shared at various times here baseball is my true passion.  Played in college, lived and breathed it for a long, long time.  Still an enormous fan.

I say all that just to say although I was far too young to watch him play, I’ve always believed Mays was the best player of all time.  5 tools and great at each of them.  He was the player I wanted to be. 

[LockeJET]

The Say Hey Kid! Arguably, the best all-around baseball player that ever lived. 

[Rich Thornburgh]

The greatest 

[GKnight83]

I am old enough to have seen him play -- end of his career in San Fran, when he was passed his prime.  I was in San Francisco on a family vacation in the early 70s when the Mets were playing the Giants at Candlestick Park.  Dad took me to the game.  Mays had a big game as the Giants beat the Mets and I have always felt like on that evening, as a 10-year old kid, I got a glimpse of the greatness of Willie Mays.  Looked up the box score of what probably was the game.  3-3 single, double, triple, stolen base, 2 runs and an RBI.  He did it all.
There may have been other players throughout history who were just as good, but none better.  RIP, Willie.

Dad was a Giant fan. I’m a Dodger fan. First game I watched Koufax make him look like a little leaguer. Saw him many more times as he got older. GOAT amongst OF I have ever seen.


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[Smashmouth]

One of the greatest to ever play RIP Say Hey kid

[Lith]

 

[LockeJET]

Nobody took an extra base on him. He would gun you down.

[chirorob]

19 minutes ago, HawkeyeJet said:

I’ve shared at various times here baseball is my true passion.  Played in college, lived and breathed it for a long, long time.  Still an enormous fan.

I say all that just to say although I was far too young to watch him play, I’ve always believed Mays was the best player of all time.  5 tools and great at each of them.  He was the player I wanted to be. 

He's on the baseball Mount Rushmore for sure.

[Warfish]

One of the best to ever play the game.  RIP.

[TuscanyTile2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Mays#cite_note-34

It is not known for certain how Mays became known as the "Say Hey Kid"; sportswriters Barney Kremenko and Jimmy Cannon have both been attributed as possible creators.^[28][13][29] For his part, Kremenko, who covered the 1951 Giants for the New York Journal-American, definitely used the phrase as early as December 1951, as one of a series of guest columnists filling in for The Afro-American's ailing Sam Lacy.^[30] However, five months prior to that, manager Leo Durocher himself is cited as the nickname's source by longtime Amsterdam News sportswriter Jackie Reemes.^[31] The nickname led people to believe "Say hey!" was a common expression Mays used, when he actually used only "hey" with regularity in his everyday conversations.^[32]

[Jack Straw]

I was unaware that he was still alive. RIP.

[Trotter]

10 hours ago, Lith said:

I am old enough to have seen him play -- end of his career in San Fran, when he was past his prime.  I was in San Francisco on a family vacation in the early 70s when the Mets were playing the Giants at Candlestick Park.  Dad took me to the game.  Mays had a big game as the Giants beat the Mets and I have always felt like on that evening, as a 10-year old kid, I got a glimpse of the greatness of Willie Mays.  Looked up the box score of what probably was the game.  3-3 single, double, triple, stolen base, 2 runs and an RBI.  He did it all.

There may have been other players throughout history who were just as good, but none better.  RIP, Willie.

Old and fortunate as well to see him play

still can hear Linsey Nelson and kiner doing the lineups with mays in center  and mc covey in right

[OilfieldJet]

One of the greatest ever. I just read some of his career statistics and they are almost unreal. How much would a player like him be worth in todays market, $1 billion for 10 years?

I also wonder if the numbers I read will be (or have been) adjusted for the recent change to include the Negro League statistics? I think he played there for 2-3 years before joining the Giants.

[JetsFanatic]

I remember watching him late in his career with both the Giants then the Mets. RIP Willie

[Claymation]

The Say Hey kid, Godspeed

I saw him play in '73, My father said he was the greatest player he has ever seen, and he saw Ruth play.

Fun Fact: He had a pink Cadillac with the License plate that said "SayHey".

 

[SAM SAM HE'S OUR MAN]

Willie , the Mick  and Duke ; what an outfield in heaven !!  

[RutgersJetFan]

My old man was a huge Mays fan and has tons of stories. His favorite one is that he was at the game where Pete Rose fought Bud Harrelson. The fans in Queens went batsh*t and could not be calmed down after they went at it, throwing tons of everything onto the field, and the only thing that worked was Mays walking onto the field with his arms outstretched. Most baseball fans know that one but the way my dad tells it gives some depth to it, like as soon as the whole stadium saw him everyone stopped immediately. He still held that much clout in NY even at the end of things.

[Jet Nut]

I was a little guy when they built Shea and that first season my father took me to a Mets Giants game, my first game ever.  Dad was a huge Brooklyn fan and disliked the Giants and Yankees.  He saw DiMaggio, saw most of the greats and when we watched Mays taking BP he said “son, watch #24  during the game, he’s the greatest player of all time”

RIP Willie

 

[shawn306]

One of the great photos. RIP

[Jetsfan80]

Mays is one of the last of the greats to go of the “old guard”.  I.E. guys whose careers or prime years were wrapping up in the 60s and represented a golden era of baseball.

Aaron, Musial, Mantle, Bob Gibson, Frank Robinson, Ernie Banks, Spahn, Killebrew, Drysdale, Snider, Ford, Berra, Lou Brock, McCovey, Clemente and now Mays….all gone.

Koufax is really the only one left from that era.  He’s 88 and has never really seemed to age much over the years. 

[JiFtheOracle]

RIP to a legend!  

[Biggs]

One of the great things about getting old is I remember Mays near the end of his prime years and forgot everything after that.  He and McCovey made a carreer playing the Mets in the mid 60's.  

I wasn't a big fan of the Mets signing him.  It seemed wrong to bring him back to NY when he was well past his prime.  Thankfully I have little memory of him playing for the Mets and a lot of memories of him killing them with the Giants. 

RIP!

[Scotty Wooty Doo Doo]

RIP

[Dcat]

Part of my childhood watching him on the SF Giants.  Later on, his brief stint with the NY Mets.

RIP.  One of the greatest.

Say Hey!

[Lith]

1 hour ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Mays is one of the last of the greats to go of the “old guard”.  I.E. guys whose careers or prime years were wrapping up in the 60s and represented a golden era of baseball.

Aaron, Musial, Mantle, Bob Gibson, Frank Robinson, Spahn, Killebrew, Drysdale, Snider, Ford, Berra, McCovey, Clemente and now Mays….all gone.

Koufax is really the only one left from that era.  He’s 88 and has never really seemed to age much over the years. 

Maybe you could consider Carl Yastrzemski as part of that era.  Came up around 1960 and he is still alive too.  But you are right.  Pretty much all of the greats who played most of their careers before 1970 are gone.

[Jetsfan80]

5 minutes ago, Lith said:

Maybe you could consider Carl Yastrzemski as part of that era.  Came up around 1960 and he is still alive too.  But you are right.  Pretty much all of the greats who played most of their careers before 1970 are gone.

Yep, Yaz is 84, and thus still able to watch his grandson play pro ball.  In addition:  Marichal is 86, as is Billy Williams.

[chirorob]

2 hours ago, OilfieldJet said:

One of the greatest ever. I just read some of his career statistics and they are almost unreal. How much would a player like him be worth in todays market, $1 billion for 10 years?

I also wonder if the numbers I read will be (or have been) adjusted for the recent change to include the Negro League statistics? I think he played there for 2-3 years before joining the Giants.

They are adjusted, but he was in MLB at the age of 20.  He had 40 something at bats in negro leagues at age 17, no home runs, a few RBI.

[Jetsfan80]

1 hour ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Mays is one of the last of the greats to go of the “old guard”.  I.E. guys whose careers or prime years were wrapping up in the 60s and represented a golden era of baseball.

Aaron, Musial, Mantle, Bob Gibson, Frank Robinson, Spahn, Killebrew, Drysdale, Snider, Ford, Berra, McCovey, Clemente and now Mays….all gone.

Koufax is really the only one left from that era.  He’s 88 and has never really seemed to age much over the years. 

 

12 minutes ago, Lith said:

Maybe you could consider Carl Yastrzemski as part of that era.  Came up around 1960 and he is still alive too.  But you are right.  Pretty much all of the greats who played most of their careers before 1970 are gone.

 

10 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Yep, Yaz is 84, and thus still able to watch his grandson play pro ball.  In addition:  Marichal is 86, as is Billy Williams.

Jeez, I realize now I left Ernie Banks off the list of “golden era” greats who are gone.  Mr Cub has been saying “let’s play 2” in heaven since 2015.

[peebag]

1973 was magical- RIP Willie

[CTJetsFan]

The MLB GOAT. RIP

I need to go see if I can dig out my 73 Mets yearbook. The first game I went to.