Saying Farewell to the Say Hey Kid

Legendary Baseball Pioneer And Champion Willie Mays Dies At 93

By James R. Estepp

Willie Howard Mays, Jr. wasn’t the greatest hitter in the history of the game. He wasn’t its best fielder, either. What he was, quite simply, was the best combination of offense and defense that baseball has ever seen.

Baseball is a game of numbers. Those numbers stretch across generations, allowing people who saw Willie Mays play to tell today’s fan that they missed out on a national treasure. There are only a handful of players who have, at some point in their careers, led the league in home runs and also in stolen bases. Only one of them accomplished the feat over the last 90 years, and he did each four times. That is how special Willie Mays was. He was speed, power, and excellence in the field, combining all in a manner never seen before, or since.

Trying to compare Willie Mays to other baseball players, past or present, is like trying to compare Michaelangelo’s masterpieces to a four-year old drawing a stick figure for the first time.

Even while Joe Dimaggio required that he be announced as the “Greatest Living Ballplayer” anytime he made a public appearance, Willie Mays was actually that guy, but he went about his business with class and distinction, not needing any additional accolades outside of his 24 All Star appearances, 12 Gold Gloves and two MVP Awards to announce his presence.

He was a baseball player for the ages, but he was also a master storyteller, who could relate to any fan who encountered him, young or old, with memories that tied together his time in the Negro Leagues as a 16-year old playing professional baseball while still attending high school, through his journey of 23 seasons in the majors.

His loss on June 18 is a profound one for baseball fans, casual or diehard, though his impact will continue forever, not just as numbers on a page, but through the thousands of children touched by the game through his foundation, and in the tales told by fathers to sons about a legendary figure that will continue as long as our National Pastime does.