In Memoriam: Willie Mays, MLB Hall of Famer, dies at 93

Willie Mays, whose unparalleled array of skills made him professional baseball’s greatest center fielder of all time, has died. He was 93.

Passing details of Willie Mays

“My father has passed away peacefully and among loved ones,” said Michael Mays in a statement released by the Giants. “I want to thank you all from the bottom of my broken heart for the unwavering love you have shown him over the years. You have been his life’s blood.”

MLB Career

NBC News reports:

Nicknamed the “Say Hey Kid” for his boundless enthusiasm and penchant for greeting everyone, “Say hey,” Mays played for 22 big-league seasons, breaking in with the New York Giants in 1951 and then becoming a fixture in San Francisco when the franchise moved west. He ended his career back in New York with the Mets in 1973.

Mays was the sport’s consummate “five-tool” talent — he could hit for a high batting average, blast home runs, gallop around the bases, catch the ball and throw it with authority.

He recorded a .301 career batting average, slugged 660 home runs (sixth most all-time), banged out 3,293 hits (12th most), amassed 1,909 runs batted in (11th most) and scored 2,068 runs (seventh most).

Mays is credited with making the greatest defensive play in baseball history — an over-the-shoulder snag in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, capturing a drive off the bat of Cleveland Indians slugger Vic Wertz.

Mays sprinted into deep center and had his back to home plate, 425 feet away, when he made “the catch” on Sept. 29, 1954, at the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan.

Hall of Fame sportscaster Jack Brickhouse called the play: “Willie Mays just brought this crowd to its feet with a catch which must have been an optical illusion to a lot of people.”

The MVP award for the best player of the World Series was named after Mays in 2017.

Major League Baseball on Tuesday called Mays “one of the most exciting all-around players in the history of our sport.”