The late great Willie Mays is seen here Aug 19, 2016 during a New York Mets and San Francisco Giants game at Oracle Field in San Francisco. Mays passed away on Tue Jun 18, 2024 at 93. (AP file photo)

By Morris Phillips

ATLANTA—Broadcaster Bob Costas told it first tonight, and said it best tonight:

“If you reduced the Hall of Fame to just 10 people, Willie Mays would be one of them. He was a giant of the game.”

Willie Mays, the pre-eminent New York Giant and San Francisco Giant, has passed away at age 93.

Presumably, Mays was at home on the San Francisco peninsula, unable to attend this week’s festivities in his honor, at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama when he died. The Giants face the St. Louis Cardinals there in a nationally-televised game on Thursday.

Mays, the “Say Hey Kid,” was remembered by his son, Michael Mays, who said, “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’ greatest play, the catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, in which he furiously retreated to the center field wall and made an over the shoulder catch, followed by a throw to the infield, is the greatest baseball play ever that doesn’t involve a home run.

But, of course, Mays did more than that play. He hit 660 home runs, compiled 3,293 hits and scored 2,068 runs.

Wednesday’s Giants game in Chicago, as well as Thursday’s game against the Cardinals In Birmingham will be instant memorials for the greatest Giant.

“In the pantheon of baseball greats, Willie Mays’ combination of tremendous talent, keen intellect, showmanship, and boundless joy set him apart,” said Giants Chairman Greg Johnson in a statement.