Willie Mays, The Legend Who Redefined Baseball, Passes Away At 93

Tuesday, June 18th, the baseball world lost one of the greatest to ever do it.

Willie Howard Mays, Jr., revered as one of the most significant and influential players in the history of baseball, passed away at the age of 93. His passing marks the end of an era for a player whose brilliance transcended generations.

As someone who’s grown up with the game and come to love and appreciate its history, especially in the context of modern statistics, it can be easy to get swept up in Mr. Mays’ greatness on the field through the lens of some ridiculous statistics.

A 149.8 fWAR, a lifetime 154 wRC+, and for the more traditional fans, 24 All-Star games, 12 Gold Gloves, and 660 home runs with a .301 batting average and 3,293 hits.

But the greatest part of Mr. Mays wasn’t the amazing, over-the-shoulder catch that has come to define a “highlight-worthy play” by seemingly defying the laws of physics and getting to a ball no one should be able to catch, then having the awareness to be able to get the ball back into the infield to prevent baserunners from advancing in a tied World Series game.

It’s not that he’s influenced so many players it’s hard to imagine the world of baseball without his brilliance.

It’s not that he served his country in what could have been the prime of his career, spawning a fun “what-if” train of thought for him and so many others like him in his generation of player.

It was the energy he seemed to play with in his highlights and the stories woven about the Say-Hey Kid. His wide-spread positivity and ability to make anyone gasp and gawk at what someone can do with a glove, bat, and ball was second-to-none. While his ability had quite a bit to do with it, it’s the fact that his status as an all-time-great sometimes gets forgotten simply because he was such an icon on and off the field that will always stick with me.

Ask anyone who watched him, anyone who played with him, and even people in my own generation who weren’t lucky enough to witness his game first-hand. Willie Mays is the best defensive center fielder ever, but the first things most people think of are his well-earned and well-deserved nickname and his smile. His passion for the game.

Hopefully Mr. Mays can continue to roam around center somewhere and make more spectacular catches, spreading joy to anyone who needs it. Because his time on Earth sure was punctuated by the very idea that even a silly trivial game like baseball can bring someone a sense of hope for the world.