Posted on 05/06/2024 4:03:45 PM PDT by FLNittany
What are your best Willie Mays memories?
I think Ted Williams called him the best he'd ever seen. Ted was no dummy.
“the Say Hey Kid” was my favorite as a young ball player.
My favorite player when I was a kid. Lifelong Giants fan as a consequence. I have a small Willie Mays shrine in my office with a signed ball, a B&W photo of him sliding into home, a 1971 Topps Card, etc. He was an example of someone who found joy not only in his profession, but in daily life. The stories of him playing stickball with little kids in Harlem are just an example of what a fine person he was and is. Happy Birthday Willie Mays!
Listening to the game in the shade of the back yard om my Mom’s 10 transistor radio
The KSFO jingle of “Sounds of the City” would come on. Felt like Christmas.
Best baseball player I ever saw:
Statistics
Growing up as a kid in buffalo, always a big Willie Mays fan.
Got a chance to see him in the Twilight of his career when he played for the Mets. The Mets were playing in pittsburgh, so a bunch of us in high school drove down to Pittsburgh to watch Willie play.
Sadly, he struck out four times in that game. My last memory of Willie, though I still think he was perhaps the greatest center fielder whoever played.
One of the first books I read was a Scholastic book biography of Willie Mays.
Ruth stands alone, but outside Ruth Mays is probably the greatest baseball player.
That 1973 Mets team went to the World Series and darn near beat mighty Oakland. Not a bad way for Willie to end his career.
With the San Francisco Giants, it’s bye-bye baby!
"Willie Mays' glove...is where triples go...to die."
Would have hit over 800 Home Runs if not for Candelstick Park.
Yeah. You could flatten a glove in the bullpen and place it against the chain link fence, and it would stay put - there was so much wind.
Vin Scully thought Willie Mays was the greatest player he ever saw and told Mays so on his last broadcast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmie25ivv6o
I was like 12 years old when I saw Willie Mays hit a home run in Candlestick Park. We were on a vacation from Wyoming and we were seated behind home base. They were playing the Cincinnati Reds.
The 69 Mets.
Great post.
Willie’s contributions to the Giants certainly didn’t end with his playing career. He’s been a mentor and inspiration to generations of Giants, especially that fantastic, oddball team that managed to win three World Series under Bruce Bochy.
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