R.I.P.
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The term GOAT is so overused today. Not if you’re talking about the Say Hey Kid. If you grew up in the 60’s as I did there was never any doubt.
I saw Willie play at Wrigley Field against the Cubs and Ernie Banks on July 4, 1965. Giant won, 7-4. Everyone was watching Willie. Just watching him warm up, before the game, was a thrill.
As a Giants fan, this one hit hard. 93, a full life, but the biggest icon in franchise history. He was truly a GOAT.
When you talk about the greatest athletes of all time...athleticism that transcends whatever sport they were best in...guys that could have been great in any number of sports, Willie was one of them. Jim Thorpe...Bo Jackson...Deion Sanders...Willie was that kind of athlete. Oh, and he was also a kind human being. He'd be mobbed by people, and he's take the time to take pictures, sign autographs, etc. True gentleman who grew up in a time and a place that gave him every reason not to be.
I had a Willie Mays scrapbook back in the day. 🙏🏻 RIP Willie.
Willie was loved by fans of all teams. Nobody could hate on him. A great human being and a beloved player by all.
I was actually thinking about him last week and had to google to see if he was still alive. RIP Willie. Your work is done. And nobody did it better.
Mays is probably the second best MLB player of all time. There is an argument he's the best player of all-time, but it's hard to overcome the fact that Babe Ruth is still one of the most important athletes in American history and was really the first celebrity team-sport athlete (boxers were the celebrities back then).
Mays would get an edge over Ruth as being one of the best fielders of all-time, but Ruth was also a Hall of Fame level pitcher, so that gives him the final edge.
Interesting article on ESPN today arguing that by modern criteria, Mays would have probably won 8 MVP awards.
Mays passing away also emphasizes the sea change in attitudes about gambling. Mays and Mickey Mantle were both banned from working with any baseball team for a period of time in the 1980s because both of them took jobs as greeters for casinos. They didn't even directly endorse gambling, they just attended events for PR.
For as great a player as Mays was, he didn't make very much money during his career and took the job because he needed the money.
@MichiganPacker2 posted:Mays is probably the second best MLB player of all time. There is an argument he's the best player of all-time, but it's hard to overcome the fact that Babe Ruth is still one of the most important athletes in American history and was really the first celebrity team-sport athlete (boxers were the celebrities back then).
Mays would get an edge over Ruth as being one of the best fielders of all-time, but Ruth was also a Hall of Fame level pitcher, so that gives him the final edge.
Interesting article on ESPN today arguing that by modern criteria, Mays would have probably won 8 MVP awards.
660 Home runs without todays medical advancements plus body/weight training advancements.
It's pretty incredible
RIP Willie