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Willie Mays just died, he lived to be 93 years old.
I haven’t followed baseball (the last decade or so since I’ve been a dad) much lately, but used to be enthusiastic about the sport back when.
Willie Mays retired way before I was born, but him and Yogi Berra were both exceptionally nice to us kids when we watched them play an exhibition “Hall of Fame” game at DodgerTown around 89-90. They’d sit and joke with us hanging out behind the dugout, sign game balls taken out of play, give us splintered game bats, etc… super cool dudes.
For those that don’t know anything baseball- this guy was a fuckin machine. To this day he’s still #6 on the all-time home run slugger list, and that’s with him missing a few years playing for the negro leagues in the late 40s, and two seasons when he was drafted for the Korean War.
What made Willie special though, was he was like a prime Fedor or Jon Jones level of baseball talent. He was amazing at everything. He could steal bases like the RoadRunner, and I think (correct me if I’m wrong) still holds the record for the most Gold Glove fielding awards. That’s on top of being an absolute savage at the plate. That over the shoulder catch he made to win the opening game of the 54 World Series is one of the most amazing, one in a million plays in the history of the sport.
When you consider this was a black dude born in 1931 Alabama, the shit he must have went through, to be what’s widely considered a top 3 all-time baseball GOAT is a humbling acknowledgment. This guy lived through everything from the segregated south, to WW2, Korean War, all the way up to dying as a national treasure in 2024.
Especially considering the obscene amount of money involved with MLB in modern times, the technology in training and nutrition, and guys like Willie Mays and Babe Ruth are still up at the top of the rankings, makes the uniqueness of their talent all the more evident.
RIP Willie Mays
I haven’t followed baseball (the last decade or so since I’ve been a dad) much lately, but used to be enthusiastic about the sport back when.
Willie Mays retired way before I was born, but him and Yogi Berra were both exceptionally nice to us kids when we watched them play an exhibition “Hall of Fame” game at DodgerTown around 89-90. They’d sit and joke with us hanging out behind the dugout, sign game balls taken out of play, give us splintered game bats, etc… super cool dudes.
For those that don’t know anything baseball- this guy was a fuckin machine. To this day he’s still #6 on the all-time home run slugger list, and that’s with him missing a few years playing for the negro leagues in the late 40s, and two seasons when he was drafted for the Korean War.
What made Willie special though, was he was like a prime Fedor or Jon Jones level of baseball talent. He was amazing at everything. He could steal bases like the RoadRunner, and I think (correct me if I’m wrong) still holds the record for the most Gold Glove fielding awards. That’s on top of being an absolute savage at the plate. That over the shoulder catch he made to win the opening game of the 54 World Series is one of the most amazing, one in a million plays in the history of the sport.
When you consider this was a black dude born in 1931 Alabama, the shit he must have went through, to be what’s widely considered a top 3 all-time baseball GOAT is a humbling acknowledgment. This guy lived through everything from the segregated south, to WW2, Korean War, all the way up to dying as a national treasure in 2024.
Especially considering the obscene amount of money involved with MLB in modern times, the technology in training and nutrition, and guys like Willie Mays and Babe Ruth are still up at the top of the rankings, makes the uniqueness of their talent all the more evident.
RIP Willie Mays
