The baseball world has saluted the achievements of Willie Mays, widely considered one of the sport’s best ever players, after his death at age 93.
Mays was twice declared the league’s Most Valuable Player and won the World Series with the New York Giants in 1954.
His famous catch during the championship remains one of the most iconic plays ever seen in America’s “national pastime”.
In addition to his on-field achievements, Mays embodied an attitude of “just keep playing and having fun.”
Nicknamed the “Say Hey Kid”, the centre fielder had been baseball’s oldest living Hall of Famer.
His death was announced “with great sadness” by his former team, who are now the San Francisco Giants.
Mays’s son, Michael, says his father died in the presence of his family and wished to thank his fans for their years of support.
Major League Baseball said it was “heartbroken” over the death of “one of the most exciting all-around players in the history of our sport”.
Barry Bonds, Mays’s godson and another former Giants player – also considered to be among the best in the game – paid tribute to the baseball great, saying “you helped shape who I am today”.
Despite having not played professional sports for over 50 years, the MLB added 10 more hits to Mays’s career record earlier this month, after deciding to incorporate statistics from the Negro League.
His record now stands at 3-thousand-2-hundred-and-93 hits, including the 10 he hit for the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948.
English (US) ·