Rest in Peace Willie! I was born in 1954 and my dad was a NY Giants fan for almost 40 yrs. When I was born he dubbed me a Giants fan. As such I was regaled with Willie Mays stories. When Mays came to play at Shay we were there. In '62 we rooted for Willie & the Giants against the Yanks. Hey Willie, thanks for the memories and Say Hey! to my dad when you see him.
My father took me to the Polo grounds twice. Once to see Willie, and once to see Sandy Koufax. I was a Yankee fan, dad was not. When talking about another player, he would always say “he’s a good player, but he’s not Willie.” I went with two buddies, fast forwarding to Willie’s first game as a Met. It was on Mother’s Day, a bit drizzly, but an electric crowd. If I remember correctly, he walked and scored first time up, struck out second time, third time up hits a home run and Shea went crazy. Still an unforgettable day for me. God bless the great Willie Mays.
As a 60 something from Alabama, Willie Mays was my absolute hero from my adolescence to this very day. I met him one day in the early 1980's in Birmingham one day in a business. I just looked at him in silent awe, he looked at me and gave me a nod and a grin. I had gooseflesh. Willie Mays is still the best, Willie is still my hero.
In 1957 my dad took me, by New York Central train, from Rochester to NYC. He said he wanted me to see the greatest player I will ever see before he left for the west coast. There ,in the Polo Grounds, I first saw Willie Mays. My dad remains correct. Over the next 63 seasons I’ve never seen anyone as good.
I'm 64 and from San Francisco and Willie was my childhood hero. Willie would be well over 720 Homer's if he didn't play in homerun eating barns like Candlestick and lose 2 years to the Army.
What a life!! Thank you, WILLIE MAYS for doing your part to help tame mankind with your gift, talent, grace and to help level baseball's playing field. You will always be beyond what we know as an icon. Your legacy is sealed and cannot be undone.
I remember the swirling wind blown hot dog wrappers on the field of Candlestick Park. I remember that sometimes the crowd in one half of the stadium were in coats, while in the other half fans were in light wear or even no shirt at all. I remember that special feeling walking from the parking lot to the stadium on a beautiful sunny afternoon. The smells. The sounds. But most of all, I remember Willie Mays. God Bless Willie Mays.
Rise In Paradise, King Willie... from the moment I learned about baseball, Willie Mays was my favorite baseball player, and still is today (2024). He was a living legend in my eyes. I think it's fair to say that he is THE G.O.A.T. 🐐
i dont . they make it seem like a guy like trout or bonds couldnt play in there era. its stupid that they try too compare the stats back then they would see the same pitcher for almost all the nine innings less teams pitchers maybe hade 3 pitches.
@@ryukenhondaraiden252 You of course are a moron. Barry Bonds is a cheater. The old time players played for the love of the game. Not for big salaries like today. There was no one like Willie Mays before or since.
In the late 1960s, we would leave Portland, OR at 7am for a 7pm game at Candlestick. Driving 12 hours for a chance to see Willie Mays play was well worth it.
7 mvp's…anti probably should have been 12 or 13. .609 OBP one year .863 slugging percentage 73 home runs. another year, 52 stolen bases another year, 8 gold gloves. Who els approaches that level? Babe Ruth only, and he played in an era that was easier to dominate. @@BuckyBrown-lt4ry
I was born in 1960 a little too late but still got to follow Willie's career in the daily box scores after school..First thing I would do when I got off the bus,run straight to the paper box,grab the sports page & my after school snack then open up to the box scores to see what Willie did the night before..My favorite player of all time..
My dad was a NY Giant fan so i grew up being a Giant fan in the mid 60s i loved Willie Mays i watched the Giants games alot McCovey Alou Cepeda Bonds Marichal loved the games Willie best centerfielder RIP
Ruth did.2,214 Rbi,2,174 Runs scored,.342 b.a.,.690 slug.%,.474 on base %,714 hrs,In only 2,503 games.Mays had over 3,000 games and only hit.302 with 660 hrs and 1,903 rbi.And since when could Mays pitch?
Mantle was better at their peak....considerably better......Mays was better over his career, because he had a longer career, and a longer period of top production. But May's best year was not as good as Mantle's third best year. The big difference is On Base Percentage. Willie was a more aggressive hitter, and didn't draw as many walks as Mantle
Mantle's career OBP was.420, Willie's was .383. OBP correlates better with run production than any other main stat. Mantle also had the better career Slugging Percentage, which is the second best stat for run production. Willie was a better fielder, but Mantle was a very good center fielder. Mays had a great stolen base percentage, but Mantle's was even better, although he didn't steal quite as many bases. Willie grounded into about twice as many double plays as Mickey. But whatever advantage Willie might have had over Mickey on defense or the base paths, it didn't make up for the disparity in offensive production. Willie was more fun to watch, though....
I lived in central California from 1963 to 1971. Willie Mays was 32 to 40 during those years. I never saw a better player..and I've been a huge baseball fan for 60 years. He made everything look so smooth and easy.
after all these years. I still smile, ear to ear, when watching highlights of Willie's career. I was 11 yrs old when they moved away from NY. Stayed as a Giant fan until he left SF. Greatest player of my generation.
Vic Lessinger aww! When i was 11, mcguire and sosa were in their home run race. Now that im older i dont look back fondly because i know they were both cheating via suitcases full of steroids.
Don’t forget almost two full seasons away for service in the Army, alongside a career at Candlestick, as two major factors that decreased Willie’s career stats.
I don't think there is any other hitter that could change his swing the way Willie MAYS did at Candlestick to hit to right centerfield to let the wind carry the ball out of the park! AMAYSING!
Polo grounds was a good hitter's park.....very short foul lines, sat on a hill (which gives the ball carry), and little foul territory, so you don't foul out much. @@michelemcdaniel6032
It was 1955. I was 11 years old. I was a Yankee fan, Mickey Mantle my favorite, how could it be otherwise, but was acutely aware of both Brooklyn’s Duke Snider and the Giants Willie Mays. I identified with both Mickey and Willie, as I played both shortstop and centerfield. Mays had become famous for his 1954 catch against the Cleveland Indians Vic Wertz in game 1 of the 1954 World Series. In the Spring of 1955, our 5th grade teacher took our class in a school bus to the Polo Grounds to watch the Giants play the St. Louis Cardinals, whose Hall-of-Fame first baseman, Stan Musial was still playing. We arrived an hour before the game and were seated on the third base side while the Giants were still taking batting practice. Mays was positioned in the outfield with some of his teammates leisurely catching fungoes hit by a Giants coach. He was standing in deep centerfield next to a teammate when the Giants coach hit one high in the air. Mays heard the distinctive sound and gave a momentary glance to the ball’s trajectory. He returned his gaze to his Giant’s teammate and simultaneously took three horizontal steps to the right, still engaging his teammate in conversation. Seconds passed. Then Mays took another momentary glance at the descending ball, put his hands behind his back, bent over and caught the ball in a reverse basket catch behind his back. I was stunned. The visual/mental computer in his brain had calculated precisely where the ball was going to land within fractions of a second of its launch. It was almost magical, and I recognized, perhaps for the first time, that there are rare gifts some people possess who we, mere mortals, do not. One can only marvel at those that have been so blessed.
Wonderful recollection. May's was also a true gentleman loved by SF. 13 yrs ago l was a Junior Giants coach and took our 10yr old kids to a special event at Oracle Park at 24 Willie May's Plaza. He and Willie McCovey greeted over 200 kids from Junior Giants teams from all over the area. Both Willie's are true Southern Gentlemen and devoted countless hours and events for youth benefits. MLB has lost 2 legends but heaven gained 2 more angels.❤
In the 1960’s I was a young happy boy, no money pressures, no women pressures, no boss pressures, I would wake up and look for the newspaper to see how Willie performed had done the night before he seldom let me down. Happiest time in my life as I also was a best player in my town when I was young. As a white male, I gave my last son’s middle name, Willie. It was the happiest time of my life. Over the last 60 years I have thought day dreamed about Willie virtually every day of my life. God bless Willie Mays immortal soul.
I was lucky enough to grow up in his neighborhood in Florida. My Dad was absolutely in AWE of him and told me he was the best ever. Being a little kid, it didn't really register I lived in the same street as a legend. All I remember is how incredibly kind he was.
All I can say is that I was fortunate to watch Willie play at candlestick Park. Every year when I was a kid, my dad would take a group of 4Hers to San Francisco.
The first MLB game I ever attended featured Willie Mays with the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park in 1970. I've attended hundreds of games (including World Series games) since then but that one ranks as one of the most special.
I hear you but instead of wishing that we were older, instead let’s just be thankful that we’ve been fortunate enough that our lives have overlapped with willies time on earth. We know old people’s stories that saw him play and we’ll be able to pass on those stories to the next generations, for me, at least 100 years after he played eventually
RIP my friend you were one of the GREATEST to ever play this game. Your Field of Dreams is all ready for you center field is calling for you your teammates can't wait for your first at bat so SAY HEY Willie enjoy the game you loved so much on earth and gave us fans so much joy and memories. Now you can show God why you were one of the greatest to ever play the game
I was a seven year old growing up in the Bay Area, listening on KSFO radio July 2, 1963, the night Willie ended a 0-O pitching gem by homering off Warren Spahn in the bottom of the 16th inning. (That was Spahn’s 263rd pitch of the night...if you’re curious.) No man in ML history has done that-hit at least one HR in extra innings, 10th thru the 16th. A tribute to his longevity and unmatched talent. Happy 87, Willie! If my votes registers anywhere, you’re the best to ever do it.
My favorite all time athlete. I saw him play and was amazed. Being a Giants fan watching him play he seemed to be on another level! No one today compares to him. RIP my friend.
Being from Denver Colorado, I watched Barry Bonds play a zillion times. He hit home runs on the regular. I always wondered if Willie played for the Rockies, he may have downed low flying aircraft 😂
If Hank played in the Polo Grounds instead of Milwaukee, which was a very difficult home run park (Hank hit more homers the road than at home for the years he played there), it would have evened out. Willie hit about the same number of homers on the road as he did at home during his Candlestick years.
I used to marvel at the opportunity to see Willie on TV Saturday afternoon. Everything he did and all of his mannerisms including how he would address the pitcher when he stepped into the batters box were the trademarks that he emblazoned upon the game. He was beyond a doubt the most feared hitter that all pitchers knew and thought of. Willie Mays will always in my mind be unparralelled in any era of our nations passtime. Long Live the Great One. Long Live Willie Mays.
Willie MAYS came up in 1951... I was 11 years old....never saw anyone better! Every year since,each outfielder (centerfielder) that came to the majors was the NEXT WILLIE MAYS ! There will never be another WILLIE MAYS!
Jimmy Ray Hart said hitting behind Mays was dangerous. After Mays homered off of Bob Gibson, Gibson would invariably and intentionally bean Hart in retaliation.
Willie broke my father's heart in '54. Talking about that WS years later, my dad, a lifelong Cleveland fan, would always speak in awe about Willie. There was no one who didn't respect him, teammate or opponent. Best there ever was.
I remember when WM came back to the Mets and he was past his prime stumbling through the OF. I thought to myself, "say bye kid" you'll always be remembered as one of the GOAT
I love the game presently, I love the game's past. I'm a National League "boy" through and through from New York. My wife's grandfather who is still with us grew up a Yankee fan. He saw the great ones from the 30's on up. He caddied for Babe Ruth in the late 30's or early 40's in Queens, New York two times as a working teen. He's always told me that Mays was the greatest he saw. To me that's good enough. Mays is always my answer to the greatest all-around player to ever play the game.
Saw him in the outfield directing the position of the other two outfielders. They weren't taking direction from their coaches. They were taking it from Mays. He may or may not be the greatest player but he is definitely the smartest.
This is one of if not the greatest episode in one of the greatest sports docuseries ever produced in the last 50+years!! RIP Willie Mays!! "Where triples go to die!"
I watched Mays play growing up. He was my hero. I kept a scrapbook on him., watched him play on TV many times. He moved differently than any other player.... even the way he walked. He swung so hard some times that if he missed the ball the momentum of the bat would almost knock him off his feet and drag him around so he'd be facing the crowd behind the plate. Elegant in the outfield. The greatest ever,
simply he was the best all around ballplayer of all time. and a great athlete,tremendous inspiration to untold millions of young people, a great credit to the game, and american life....
Was Henry Aaron a cheat? He admitted to using "greenies" in the 70s (amphetamines). Maybe Willie did, too. Lots of players joked about using them back then. It was not considered a big deal. Babe Ruth drank alcohol during prohibition. There was no clear rule against PED use until 2003. Just vague talk about "illegal substances", and they were legal in the Dominican Republic, where all kinds of top players were coming from. Jose Canseco said 80% of the players were using steroids. A certain mets pitcher said 90%….and that the pitchers were using them at a higher rate than the hitters….Teams subtly encouraged their use. Tommy John said the Yankees would not consider him for the following season when he got old unless he "gain 30 pounds of muscle in the offseason!" Bonds won three MVPs WITHOUT steroids, when everyone else was using them! Willie only won two MVPs…although he probably should have won one in 1962, instead of Maury Wills…
If Willie Mays is your uncle you should be proud.... In my eyes he was the greatest and I have idolized him most of my life. The players of this day and age don't even come close... YOUR UNCLE WAS THE BEST...
I can't even imagine Baseball without Willie. My favorite player, the best of all. One guy told me that AROD was the best player, I told him, Arod is on the bench and might get an at bat here and there.
I'm 64 grew up in have de grace MD a orioles fan my hero Brooks Robinson ,but the greatest of all Willie may's hands down thanks Willie you were the best.
I grew up watching the greatest baseball players of the 1960s : Mays, Mantle and Frank Robinson. There hasn't been anybody anywhere close to these guys since.
djf750 Mike Trout? Not too bad, huh? Isn’t it amazing that he plays in LA, but he’s SO underrated? He needs the publicity, because he’s one of the best players ever.
For me, watching Willie Mays was like Richie Cunningham looking up to "The Fonz". He just had that kind of impact on me as a baseball fan. One of my biggest thrills was watching WIllie play against the Montreal Expos on July 1, 1972 at Jarry Park in Montreal. Sometimes, it is GOOD to be old!
Let's not forget wen that catch was made he was almost 500 feet away from home plate his throwback to Second base was perfect one-hop. Amazing and unbelievable to this day
I had the privilege of watching Willie Mays play during his breakout MVP 1954 season,including "the catch."He would subsequently win another MVP Award 11 years later.How "amazin" is that?
I was at Wrigley Field when I first saw Willie Mays. The Cubs' Tony Taylor was on first when Dale Long hit a line drive to center field. The ball was heading for the ivy on the top of the brick wall when Willie ran at the wall, jumped up onto that wall, stuck his spikes into the ivy and launched himself into the air. He grabbed the ball and turned while in the air, landed on one foot and fired the ball to first base where he doubled off Tony Taylor. The ball never bounced but hit the first baseman's glove like a rocket. The crowd was stunned and a great silence hung over the ball park. When Willie stepped into the batter's box he launched a bomb that sailed over the wall and was lost on the street. I've never seen anyone like him. You can promote Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Ken Griffey Jr. or anyone else as the greatest outfielder. The man was the best ballplayer of all time. Period.
As much a fan of Ted Williams as I am, Willie Mays is the best I ever saw play. I was a centerfielder when I played baseball and I tried...and failed miserably...to play like Willie out there.
Here's a picture of the catch you are talking about, I think. Great catch, but it looks like he didn't put his foot on the wall, since there is no ivy in the place where he catches the ball…..www.pinterest.com/pin/548242954610978115/?lp=true
Willie Mays got the first hit of the 1973 World Series. He also drove in the go ahead run for the Mets in Game 2....and later scored an additional run in that same inning. Days before, Willie singled and drove in a run against the Cincinnati Reds in Game 5 of the NLCS. He also caught a fly ball in CF.
Funny how the portrayal of Willie's years with the Mets differs from my youthful recollection. I was so happy we had him that I probably ignored his declining skills. The late 60's and early 70's were a great time to become a baseball fan. I caught some of the all-time greats on their way out-- Banks, Aaron, Mays, McCovey, Frank Robinson, Killebrew, Billy Williams, Kaline and on and on.
Willie Mays is the greatest baseball player of all time. Sometimes overlooked is his throwing arm, Ted Williams is quoted as saying "Willie Mays has the greatest throwing arm I have ever seen".
@@brianf481 The hell you say.He did not even finish first in one offensive category.The best players are the ones who break the most records.You GTHOH!
At 66 years old and he has been and still is my hero. From the first time I seen him on television at 9 years old until I met him in person in 1996 in Balley's casino where I was a electrician. The biggest thrill in my life. Willie Mays is and always will be the best that ever played the game. I walked and talked with him and shook his hand, the only thing I asked for was to hear him say....Say Hey, witch he did happily. The biggest hand I have ever seen.
A little bit of Willie Mays lore...for most San Franciscans...listening to Lon Simmons on the radio while at work was how we checked out the Giants. I am not sure you can say the following about any other outfielder that ever played the game...but...when Lon Simmons said there was a drive into center...there was no longer any doubt about that ball being caught because the greatest centerfielder on this planet or on any planet was soon tapping his glove and that was that....
almost every great player of willie's era said he is the best they ever saw, mantle, dimaggio, durocher to name three. willie could play every facet of the game at the very highest level, you simple can't argue with that.
Beelzebub, he didn't "barely hit .300", he did it 10 times, led the league, it dropped off in later years. he played in a pitchers era and in probably one of the hardest stadiums to hit in. you put will him in fenway and he hits 800 home runs you dolt.
lived in NY from 73 to 76... Willie was the best, played with the great Tug, and Jackson, and he still talks about these games like yesterday. Love Willie, 89 yrs old. Oh my gosh, what a time.
@@chiefleapinglizard7502 Yep... l also heard of Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Barry Bonds and Mays standout over the others. I'm sure you know what is said about opinions...
Met him McIver a main in Stockton CA He used my glove to play catcher signed it Life is filled with memories I will always thank them for that one Who knows where my glove is now
Mays is certainly the best player I've seen in the 60 years I've watched the game. As Durocher said, he was a 5 tool player. If he'd played anywhere other than Candlestick he'd have passed Ruth easily. Best I ever saw going from first to third. At one time I thought Griffey might be as good, but Griffey didn't take care of himself, put on a lot of weight, got hurt a lot, and fell in love with the home run. Still great, but Willie was better.
ANGRY GRIZZLY Absolute BULLSHIT. So in your world, Mays having a .302 career average and "only" one batting title, means that he's only an "average" hitter. Meanwhile, Hit King Pete Rose had what, a .303 career average? PLEASE.
buckfan1969. please respond I love willie,but I got him a close second to Roberto Clemente. when it comes to best all around baseball player. Your opinion would be greatltly appreciated.
MICHAEL SOWELL Rose could not field ,run, or hit with power like Mays Mantle or Clemente. If any one of those three are mentioned when it comes to saying the bestt would get you no augument from me.Rose just didn't have the power. Clemente,Rose,or Mays.
@@treygray2817 You're delusional ASF if you really believe that... Griffey 630 Homeruns and clearly the most gifted player of his Generation. Just cut da DUMBSHIT !!!
