Baseball legend, 24-time All Star Willie Mays dies at 93 | CBS Sports

Hall of Famer Willie Mays one of the greatest players in major league history has died at the age of 93 the say he kid spent all but two seasons of his career with the Giants where he won the NL MVP twice and was a 24 time Allstar trailing only Hank Aaron for the most appearances of all time May won his only World Series in 1954 with the then New York Giants making the catch in game one of that series he finishes playing days with 660 home runs good for six on the all-time list while batting 301 across a 23-year career and we are now joined by CBS sports MLB analyst and Insider Jim Bowden as we look back at the life and the career of Willie Mays and Jim he's a 24 time All-Star World Series champ 12 time Gold Glove winner always in the conversation when it came to MVP but I just want to ask you how do you encapsulate Willie May's career well Willie ma first of all was the greatest center fielder overall that ever played the game now I never got to see him in person so I know that by many different ways one we can look at it statistically see we can watch video but more importantly it was my conversations throughout my baseball career with other Hall of Famers that either played with them or played against them Frank Robinson who managed for me uh the late Frank Robinson the of Famer uh spoke so highly of Willie Maz to me and he and I would spend hours talking about the kind of defens of center fielder he was his offense his blend of power and speed uh the Rarity of the talent and then the joy that Willie Mays played the game with he was the guy that when he walked into the room it was Regal and it was always with a smile A Difference Maker as a human being not just a player um and then you would talk to players like from The Big Red Machine like Johnny Bench and the late Joe Morgan who just raved about their witnessing him um in their lifetime being able to watch him play and in baseball there's only a handful of people of players that you look at and say who's the greatest player of all time and you never have that conversation ever without Willie Ma's name being mentioned he's always been in that category the power the speed now of course we all know him from game one of the World Series in 1954 when he made that great catch over his head with his back to home plate as we all watched his jersey number 24 uh all of us have seen that over and over again but this truly was a superstar you mentioned 24 All-Star games can you imagine that winning the MVP twice winning a couple of Gold Glove Awards um but he also epitomized everything right about the human being that played made the game I got to meet him personally because we drafted Barry Bonds when I was with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Barry Bonds was the godson of Willie Mays and so I got to meet him and um many times and he was just a differen maker when you walk in a room he really was royalty and he really represented the history of baseball I always got goosebumped whenever I had the opportunity to have conversations with him including that night that Barry Bonds hit the home run to broke the record and I always loved the fact that Willie May stood up for Barry Bonds and when Barry was going through all of the PED rumors and all the allegations Willie Mays was there to support him and and Barry gave Willie a lot of credit and I and I think that um he was a true leader to the game so he'll be missed this is a tough time in baseball we will all mourn him uh but also remember the great memories that he brought all of us that love the game of baseball Jim I feel like there's a Common Thread with what you're saying and what people in the baseball world have to say about Willie Mays I know we all remember him from his work on the field but also it's that smile it's that personality and what he brought to the game but with that being said I just want to know what do you think or how do you think maybe the game will remember because obviously we have to call him he's one of the greatest baseball players to ever step on the field but how do you think he will be remembered his legacy I mean I think he's going to remember being a very profound influence not just on the G on the game of baseball but the fabric of America and really bringing people together and and really helping get through the racial barrier that that we've all had to deal with and racism and Willie May was one to bring everybody together you know he was that kind of leader that kind of strong personality but baseballwise it's pretty clear one of the greatest players that ever played the game and an unbelievable combination of tools we we talk in baseball a lot of time about players having the five tools well Willie Mays was the example of the player that you all wanted because he was that five tool player that could do absolutely everything um on the field uh but what he was off the field was important not just for baseball but for really for America and and bringing people together yeah absolutely will be missed not just by his family but the baseball world missing the career the impact the life of Willie Maye Jim Bowden with beautiful words just on his career in Legacy we appreciate you stopping by thank you so much an outpouring of Love Around The Sports World with the news of ma passing Barry Bonds May's godson posting this on Instagram I am beyond devastated and overcome with emotion I have no words to describe what you mean to me you helped shape me to be who I am today thank you for being my God father and always being there give my dad a hug for me rest in peace Willie I love you forever other voices around baseball Jimmy Rollins tweeting Willie May's number 24 was a legend amongst Legends I am blessed to have spent a few weeks around Willie and I can tell you this baseball lived deep inside his heart and he could trash talk with the best of them thank you Willie and CCE Sabathia I'll never forget this day when I walked in and heard that's that boy who wears his hat like this rest in peace Willie Mays you changed the game forever and inspired kids like me to chase our dream thank you for everything that you did on and off the field always in our hearts Willie ma passing away at the age of 93 one of the best to ever do it

Channel: CBS Sports

Views: 1,205

Keywords: CBS, CBS Sports, sports, cbs sports hq, sports hq, hq

Id: mDZlftsj4zE

Length: 6min 56sec (416 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 19 2024