SAY BYE
A baseballer so iconic that even I cared about him, Willie Mays was one of the sport’s all-time greatest. He was a top draw during the final throes of the segregated Negro Leagues and made his MLB debut for the New York Giants in 1951. The “Say Hey Kid” brought talent and enthusiasm to America’s pastime in equal measure, mastering a “five-tool” all-rounder playstyle that culminated in 660 home runs, 24 All-Star Games, 12 Golden Gloves, and many other accolades. The defining moment of his career was during the 1954 World Series, where the Giants faced the Cleveland Indians. It was a close game until Mays’s over-the-shoulder catch of Vic Wertz’s deep-fly ball. His catch, immortalised as simply “The Catch”, changed the trajectory to a Giants romp and the momentum propelled them to win the entire Series – Mays’s only Series win.
His cultural pull was so strong that he appeared in Bewitched and The Donna Reed Show, and was a frequent name-check in Peanuts comics. A recent decision by the MLB to count Negro League statistics for players’ MLB careers added 10 additional hits to his career total, and with his death aged 93, he delivers 2 further hits to NoSoup4U! and Touch of Grey.
Willie Mays
6 May 1931 – 18 June 2024, aged 93
2 TEAMS (💀💀💀💀💀 5 POINTS)