Willie Howard Mays, Jr., 1931–2024

[Edgy MD]

[Frayed Knot]

One of the things I find myself wondering is if whoever's anchoring SportsCenter tonight has been briefed as to who Willie Mays is.

[Bob Alpacadaca]

I remember watching on TV the night they had for him in 1973, and he said, “Willie, say goodbye to America.”

[Edgy MD]

"A flag for the people of New York."

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

https://www.wsj.com/sports/baseball/wil ... =wknd_pos1

I know there will be many wonderful tributes today. I thought this one was excellent.

[MFS62]

Willie would play a double header , then go out and play stickball with the kids in the neighborhood.
And that joy in playing the game is how I'll remember him.

Later

[G-Fafif]

I’ve never existed a day when Willie Mays couldn’t be identified as the greatest ballplayer alive. I doubt I’m ready to start now.

[MFS62]

I’ve never existed a day when Willie Mays couldn’t be identified as the greatest ballplayer alive. I doubt I’m ready to start now.

A beautiful tribute, Greg.
Later

[Edgy MD]

Like the children of George Washington and Babe Ruth before him, Willie's only child was adopted. Whatever chance or spirit watches over America sometimes seemingly decides that a bloodline has fulfilled its destiny, or perhaps that it's too much for another generation to bear.

[metirish]

Love this picture, and that Mets cap

[G-Fafif]

Joe Posnanski:

Yes, you see him, even if you never saw him, Willie Mays turns on a fastball, anybody’s fastball, Koufax’s fastball, Gibson’s fastball, Drysdale’s fastball, turns on it and sends the ball screaming like a toddler rushing back to mom. Nobody’s bat was quicker, his swing was Ali’s jab, a cobra strike, a magician’s sleight of hand, and if you ever dared throw at him—to scare him, to intimidate him, to move him off the plate—he’d hit the dirt, dust himself off, and shout out in his bird tweet of a voice: “Don’t you be throwing at me!”

“Then,” Tom Seaver would say, “he’d rip the ball off the wall.”

[Frayed Knot]

Yeh, Willie was up there with Mike Tyson and Jack Nicklaus in the top athlete/high-pitched voice Hall of Fame

He'd also taunt pitchers who'd throw at him by saying, 'Keep trying, you can't hit me'.

[metirish]

Lovely stuff

[The Hot Corner]

A part of my childhood innocence died with the passing of Willie Mays. I have always been a Mets fan, but as a youngster playing Tee Ball and Little League, my favorite player, my hero, was unequivocally Willie Mays. He was the epitome of greatness. He was a tremendous ambassador for the game of baseball both during his playing days and during his long life following his career. Rest in Peace Mr. Mays. Thanks for the wonderful memories.

[G-Fafif]

Anthony DiComo reports Michael Mays, Willie's son, will throw out a ceremonial first pitch tomorrow. There will be a moment of silence for Willie before tonight's game.

[Edgy MD]

Jay Horwitz is a dilly, as Mazzilli remembers Willie.

[G-Fafif]

3 + 15 + 24 patchwise the rest of the season. The Grote family will be at the ballpark today.


https://metsinsider.mlblogs.com/mets-ad ... ca4436c658

[Batty31]

Willie is the reason I became a Met fan. My dad was a diehard Yankee fan and was raising me to be one too. Then one day I went and watched TV with my brother. He was a diehard Mets fan. I was seven years old and I saw Willie Mays play and I dropped the Yuckees in a heartbeat!

[Frayed Knot]

A Batty sighting!!

[Edgy MD]

It wasn't easy. The goons working the door wouldn't let her in.

[Batty31]

Hey Frayed! 👋

Edgward had to let me in and briefly logged in as me. I’m just grateful he didn’t change my avatar to something dreadful like Bobby Bonilla or Celine Dion 😂

[whippoorwill]

It’s not nice to laugh in a memorial thread but lolol

[Edgy MD]

It’s not nice to laugh in a memorial thread but lolol

Willie wouldn't have it any other way.

[G-Fafif]

Michael Mays will be saying hey on behalf of his dad at Game Three.

By Jay Horwitz

It’s not going to be easy for Michael Mays to get to tomorrow afternoon’s playoff game with the Philadelphia Phillies. Michael has been in San Francisco the last few days taking care of his father’s affairs and he is going to have to fly redeye to get to Citi for the 5:08 P.M. first pitch.

But Willie’s son felt he had to be here is person to root on his dad’s last team. The 2024 Mets remind Michael of the Mays 1973 team which battled the odds to win the pennant on the last day of the season and came within a heartbeat of winning the World Series against Oakland.

“I know dad would have loved these Mets,” he told me. “All the late inning comebacks. The ninth inning rallies. It’s been something to see. The last week has been like an all out war. They have been boxing matches. I have been exhausted just watching.”

In addition to honoring his dad’s memory, Michael wants to say thank you to Steve and Alex Cohen for being so nice to his family.

“Here’s my observation and it’s just my opinion, but I think the Mets really started their upswing when the club began wearing 24 on their jersey sleeves,” he said. “You don’t know how great it makes me feel when I tune in to these games and I see 24 hasn’t been forgotten.”

Michael Mays still speaks glowingly of the ceremony in 2022 when the team retired 24 and it now is part of the roof at Citi.

“I can’t tell you how much that meant to my father and all of us,” he concluded. “It couldn’t have been done without Steve and Alex fulfilling a promise. That’s why it was so important for me to be here. I hope team can take it one step further than we did in 1973 and win the whole thing.”

https://metsinsider.mlblogs.com/michael ... e06d34e1ee