Baseball Hall of Famer and San Francisco Giants legend Willie Mays died Tuesday, the MLB announced. He was 93.
“My father has passed away peacefully and among loved ones,” Michael Mays said 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.”
Mays was a 24-time MLB All-Star, 12-time Golden Glove winner, and two-time National League MVP, and he won the 1954 World Series during his illustrious baseball career spanning from 1951 to 1973, with an absence in 1953 attributed to his participation in the Korean War.
“Today we have lost a true legend,” Giants Chairman Greg Johnson said in a statement. “In the pantheon of baseball greats, Willie Mays’ combination of tremendous talent, keen intellect, showmanship, and boundless joy set him apart. A 24-time All-Star, the Say Hey Kid is the ultimate Forever Giant.
“He had a profound influence not only on the game of baseball, but on the fabric of America. He was an inspiration and a hero who will be forever remembered and deeply missed,” Johnson added.
The baseball legend was one of the first black players to play in the MLB. Mays was considered a “five-tool” player, able to do everything from running to fielding to hitting well. He accumulated more than 3,000 hits and 660 home runs in his career, with his last two seasons spent with the New York Mets.
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He’s also known for “The Catch,” an over-the-shoulder catch that helped propel the Giants to their World Series win in 1954, and it is noted as one of the best plays in the championship series ever. The MLB named its World Series MVP award after Mays in 2017.
Former President Barack Obama awarded Mays the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015, saying, “It’s because of giants like Willie that someone like me could even think about running for president.”
