If Willie Mays hadn't gone into the army he would have well over 700 home runs. He was so good it was nuts. I saw him playing stickball on the streets of New York. Sorry - greatest ever. Don't bother arguing.
As great has his stats were. Willie's greatness couldn't be measured in stats. he was the smartest player. He ran the Giants defense when playing. He did so many things that couldn't be measured.
Idk man. He said himself that his time in army made him so much stronger and enabled him to dominate when he came back. HOWEVER, I do think if he didn’t play at Candlestick he could’ve hit over 700 home runs. Candlestick used to be robbing people!!
You can tell this is eating Rob Parker up. You can hear him trying to hold back from crying. Man all the legends I learned about from my father growing up are passing away. RIP Mays🙏🏿
Do people understand how HARD it is to do a “basket catch”? And to do routinely in the pros!? I believe he was the greatest all around baseball player that ever lived.
At least he lived long enough to KNOW they were going to honor him & many other great Black pro-baseball players who paved the way. For that I'm grateful!
Jerry West and Waltons death were a mere blip on the sports radar. I wonder why? Imo basketball is devoid of fans who actually recognized the achievements of the pioneers.
he lived a long full life out lived a lot of hall of famers. to live 24 years into the next century is a gift. just glad he was given the flowers and respect from around the league and from the white house while he was alive. In my opinion no one has impacted the game more than he has. stats only tell a small part of it. you had to see him in person on the field to really appreciate what he offered the game itself.
I had no idea Willie was still alive. Talk about an American icon. For me baseball does not hold its vaunted place among American sports the way it did during the 20th Century but Willie was definitely a legendary figure of that extraordinary age. RIP Say Hey Kid!
My first sports hero. I remember being eight years old, just discovering baseball and watching my first MLB all star game in the 1965 season. This one black player was introduced and the crowd immediately jumped to their feet with a rousing standing ovation that last a while. Growing up black in the Deep South during those years of segregation and racial tensions, l was amazed by the respect shown for that black man at that time in history amongst all that turmoil. This was still less than twenty years since Jackie Robinson was initially disrespected in every way possible. That player was Willie Mays. Back in those days we only had two (clear) television channels and one tv game a week, so whenever l saw Willie Mays (maybe once or twice a season) it was something special
So long to the Say Hey Kid. Willie Mays will be remembered forever. Sad to see one of the last living Negro League players pass on. But like Chris said, can’t ask for more that he lived so long and passed peacefully. I’m glad he got to see his Negro League brothers finally get official recognition by MLB in the record books before he passed.
Made me think of my grandfather. He used to tell me about Willie Mays all the time. The ultimate 5-Tool-Player. I watched a documentary on Willie Mays about 3 months ago. “Say Hey” RIP 🕊️
Unlike other sports, baseball or some form of baseball was played by just about all boys and girls when I was growing up. I'm 76 and Willie Mays was my first sports hero and I grew up in Ohio when Jim Brown was playing for the Browns. I've been blessed to see so many sports legends play while they were in their prime.
RIP to Willie Mays..... just as a side note, Jackie Robinson was not the 1st African American to play in the Big Leagues..... Moses Fleet Walker played for the Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association in the 1884 season, which would later become Major League Baseball. His brother Welday Walker would later play that same season for the same Toledo Blue Stockings.....
If it wasn't Major League Baseball yet. Then he wasn't the first MLB player. That's like saying the 8 leaders of the Articles of Confederation were the first 8 presidents before George Washington. Wrong, it wasn't the United States yet
@@tommarco2685 100% agree my friend. Fleet Walker definitely faced bigotry and racism throughout his career, hey kind of like how you are as a bot.....I mean person....
I know they always show Hank Aaron's 715 hr, and don't get me wrong that moment is iconic. But had Mays not missed nearly 2 years during the Korean Conflict, then he would have broken it before Aaron, thus having over 700 home runs and 3500 hits and possibly 400 sb. We didn't see nearly any of Mays greatest catches in the 1950's because of the technology back in those days. Had there been a baseball tonight or MLB Network back in those days, then the young people would have seen more evidence of his greatness. In the 1990's Bonds (Pirates) and Griffey wore #24, because Mays wore #24.
It almost feels as if Willie knew about the honors and stayed alive long enough for that. His work here was done and he felt he could go…..a full life well-lived. Job WELL DONE, SIR…..WELL DONE. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
willie mays is the ORIGINAL 5 tool player 1.hit for average 2.hit for power 3. speedy on the bases 4.outstanding fielder 5.outstanding arm (hit 663 hrs although he served two yrs in korea) scored from first on a single a few times scored from second on a bunt one story from his biography i recall ...he threw a fast guy out at home after the guy tagged on a fly out to centerfield ... but the ump called the guy safe; when questioned later why he called the guy safe when it was clear he was out the ump said "NOBODY throws so and so out like that--- NOBODY!"
I was a young teen when the Giants moved to San Francisco. I would walk to Seal Stadium and sit in the bleachers where he would stand in center field no more than fifty feet from me, hoping the batter would hit the ball to Willie so I could see him make that special basket catch.
The crazy thing about his career, is he missed two seasons in the prime of his career due to the Korean War. Let’s just say that he would have had 30 HRs in those two season ( and that’s a conservative estimate), his numbers would just be outrageous.
He is part of my all-time outfielders. with Hank Aaron and Ken Griffey Jr. Hank Aaron in right Ken Griffey in left and the great Willie Mays in center there will be no fly balls hitting the ground. Add in Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax. I can put utility man at every other position and win world series after world series
News Alert to THE ODD COUPLE, and Serious Sane Listeners, Can You Imagine what went through the Minds of The Starting Pitchers, who had to pitch against the Bats Of Willie Mays, McCovey, and Orlando Cepeda when they played the San Francisco Giants, and Pitched against Juan Marichal, or Billy Pierce. Just a Not So Nice Thing to Think About It Opinion.
Rob, that clearly was not Willie who wrote tha message about not making it to Birmingham. His son wrote that in Willie's first person voice. Ken Griffey Jr. was denied a chance to visit Mays, and that was two weeks ago, because he Mays was too weak to accept vistiors.
Luka will not change the way he plays because it’s all he’s known. Similar guys like him don’t change. Lebron, Harden, Russ these are similar players in their heyday
Franco Harris died two days before The Immaculate Reception was commemorated in Pittsburgh. Now Willie dies two days before the Birmingham game. Sad coincidences.
Waiting to read the replies of todays "brilliant scholars" that were bulldozed thru public school within last 5 years to argue that WM wasn't a great player " shiii cap finna glaze fasho" 🙄
Willie Mays is an American icon. Say hey, Mr. Mays.
If Willie Mays hadn't gone into the army he would have well over 700 home runs.
He was so good it was nuts. I saw him playing stickball on the streets of New York.
Sorry - greatest ever. Don't bother arguing.
As great has his stats were. Willie's greatness couldn't be measured in stats. he was the smartest player. He ran the Giants defense when playing. He did so many things that couldn't be measured.
Even without the army years he would've had over 700 if it weren't for Candlestick. Those winds could blow back sure fire tanks.
Idk man. He said himself that his time in army made him so much stronger and enabled him to dominate when he came back. HOWEVER, I do think if he didn’t play at Candlestick he could’ve hit over 700 home runs. Candlestick used to be robbing people!!
You can tell this is eating Rob Parker up. You can hear him trying to hold back from crying. Man all the legends I learned about from my father growing up are passing away. RIP Mays🙏🏿
Do people understand how HARD it is to do a “basket catch”? And to do routinely in the pros!? I believe he was the greatest all around baseball player that ever lived.
Willie Mays was the greatest baseball player ever - RIP Legend!
Too many sports legends passing back to back lately. What is this now, Bill Walton Jerry West and now Willie Mays in like 1 month?
It's just that time in history. A lot of our fathers heroes are getting old
Rip Willie Howard Mays Jr, you will be missed
Old age..living full lives...nothing controversial here
Yep
the goat
At least he lived long enough to KNOW they were going to honor him & many other great Black pro-baseball players who paved the way.
For that I'm grateful!
Willie got his flowers long ago. It's the guys a generation and two and three before him who didn't get the recognition that they deserved.
My grandfather loved him, he would always talk about Willie Mays, rest in peace legend
Ty guys for covering baseball. Deserves the respect
RIP Willie Mays!
Willie Mays is arguably the GOAT. I recommend everybody check out the HBO documentary on Willie Mays. It’s a masterpiece.
Mays is the only player to hit 50 plus home runs 10 years apart and the only player to win MVP’s 10 or more years apart.
Insane stats
Bonds won MVPs over 10 years apart.
My dad who passed away got to witness him as a kid and hung out with him in the dugouts when his dad was the team doctor. RIP to the Greatest ever
RIP to all the legends - Willie Mays, Jerry West, Bill Walton, OJ Simpson.
Lol
Jerry West and Waltons death were a mere blip on the sports radar. I wonder why? Imo basketball is devoid of fans who actually recognized the achievements of the pioneers.
@@terrenceliburd8655 Every basketball show celebrated Walton.
The Celtics had a pregame tribute to Walton and they entered the arena in black shirts with rainbow "Walton" printed on them.
RIP to Mays, West and Walton. O. J. can rot
93 years old easy to believe Full Life span tho now Rest In Power Willie Mays⬆️✅
Willie May's, the say-hey kid.
he lived a long full life out lived a lot of hall of famers. to live 24 years into the next century is a gift. just glad he was given the flowers and respect from around the league and from the white house while he was alive. In my opinion no one has impacted the game more than he has. stats only tell a small part of it. you had to see him in person on the field to really appreciate what he offered the game itself.
I had no idea Willie was still alive. Talk about an American icon. For me baseball does not hold its vaunted place among American sports the way it did during the 20th Century but Willie was definitely a legendary figure of that extraordinary age. RIP Say Hey Kid!
RIP the GOAT
Gone but never forgotten 🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️
Rip Mr. Mayes
Willie May was famous even here in my country Venezuela. I heard his name growing up often. RIP Legend
RIP TO THE GOAT
Always will be remember SAY Hey Kid Willie Mays
Rip Willie Mays a true standard and a game changer. Willie Mays,OJ Simpson, Jerry West, Bill Walton all greats all Rip
RIP Willie Mays 🙏🏾 Legend!
A very moving tribute, good sirs. Respect, legend.
Great show. R.I.P. "say hey"
R.i.p Willie Mayes 🙏
willie for me was the greatest player i ever seen , r.i.p willie mays an american icon
My first sports hero. I remember being eight years old, just discovering baseball and watching my first MLB all star game in the 1965 season. This one black player was introduced and the crowd immediately jumped to their feet with a rousing standing ovation that last a while. Growing up black in the Deep South during those years of segregation and racial tensions, l was amazed by the respect shown for that black man at that time in history amongst all that turmoil. This was still less than twenty years since Jackie Robinson was initially disrespected in every way possible. That player was Willie Mays. Back in those days we only had two (clear) television channels and one tv game a week, so whenever l saw Willie Mays (maybe once or twice a season) it was something special
🙏 RIP Mr. Mays. One of the best to ever lace 'em up. 😢
Never saw him play but just an incredible player. 🙏
I remember he went to my school when I was in middle school.
Thoughts & prayers go out to the Mays family.
R.i.p to Willie and Chris daddy
He did his duty...once he got the guys in and recognized there was nothing left to do at his age.
🫡
So long to the Say Hey Kid. Willie Mays will be remembered forever. Sad to see one of the last living Negro League players pass on. But like Chris said, can’t ask for more that he lived so long and passed peacefully. I’m glad he got to see his Negro League brothers finally get official recognition by MLB in the record books before he passed.
Don’t forget that 5th tool. He had a cannon. Not like Dawson, or Guerrero, but he had a hose.
Made me think of my grandfather. He used to tell me about Willie Mays all the time. The ultimate 5-Tool-Player. I watched a documentary on Willie Mays about 3 months ago. “Say Hey” RIP 🕊️
Willie is the standard. He’s a top 5 field player and was five tool. First ever to do it.
I feel ya, Rob. When older people pass away, it's hard to accept even though, as Chris said, you're reminded he had a long life and peaceful death.
R.I.P.
He lived a long good life God bless
This news really got to Rob and the last caller's comments left him speechless. We all loved the Say Hey Kid.
Unlike other sports, baseball or some form of baseball was played by just about all boys and girls when I was growing up. I'm 76 and Willie Mays was my first sports hero and I grew up in Ohio when Jim Brown was playing for the Browns. I've been blessed to see so many sports legends play while they were in their prime.
The first true 5 Tool player. RIP Sir.
God speed brother Willie 💜🙏🙌
Willie Mays was a 24 time All Star,
and hit 660 HR's. Is there anything else you need to know..🤔...
Damm 24x all star - that's insane, thanks for that stat - much appreciated
Rest N Peace Mr Mays 1 9f the Greatest 2 Eva Take the Diamond..Eas"T"exas Respect 🙏 🫡.
RIP to Willie Mays.....
just as a side note, Jackie Robinson was not the 1st African American to play in the Big Leagues.....
Moses Fleet Walker played for the Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association in the 1884 season, which would later become Major League Baseball. His brother Welday Walker would later play that same season for the same Toledo Blue Stockings.....
If it wasn't Major League Baseball yet. Then he wasn't the first MLB player. That's like saying the 8 leaders of the Articles of Confederation were the first 8 presidents before George Washington. Wrong, it wasn't the United States yet
Thank you for broadcasting a fitting tribute to a real deal hero. He defined excellence in baseball.
@@jermainezinnerman7450 oh c'mon CIA operative....you know better....
@@tommarco2685 100% agree my friend. Fleet Walker definitely faced bigotry and racism throughout his career, hey kind of like how you are as a bot.....I mean person....
I know they always show Hank Aaron's 715 hr, and don't get me wrong that moment is iconic. But had Mays not missed nearly 2 years during the Korean Conflict, then he would have broken it before Aaron, thus having over 700 home runs and 3500 hits and possibly 400 sb. We didn't see nearly any of Mays greatest catches in the 1950's because of the technology back in those days. Had there been a baseball tonight or MLB Network back in those days, then the young people would have seen more evidence of his greatness. In the 1990's Bonds (Pirates) and Griffey wore #24, because Mays wore #24.
Death comes in 3's .. wow legends, greatness,trail blazers for there respected sports
93 he went past the 3 acts of life 0-30 30-60 60-90
Always in threes...and the sports icons always seem to pass away around the time of The Finals and Super Bowl
RIP to "The Say Hey Kid" NEGRO LEAGUE AND MLB GREAT
It almost feels as if Willie knew about the honors and stayed alive long enough for that. His work here was done and he felt he could go…..a full life well-lived. Job WELL DONE, SIR…..WELL DONE. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
I watched clips of him running down balls in the outfield. Man this man played with love and reckless abandonment.
That last call was 🔥
I missed the show last night was waiting for this to get posted because i really wanted to hear what rob had to say
willie mays is the ORIGINAL 5 tool player
1.hit for average
2.hit for power
3. speedy on the bases
4.outstanding fielder
5.outstanding arm
(hit 663 hrs although he served two yrs in korea)
scored from first on a single a few times
scored from second on a bunt
one story from his biography i recall ...he threw a fast guy out at home after the guy tagged on a fly out to centerfield ... but the ump called the guy safe; when questioned later why he called the guy safe when it was clear he was out the ump said "NOBODY throws so and so out like that--- NOBODY!"
Rest in Power to the "Say Hey Kid" Willie Mays.
Damn all the legends my father talk about are gone from Jerry west last week & Willie mays 😢
RIP Mr Mays 🙏
Willy Mays Hayes!!
Right before the Rickwood game
🙏🙏🙏
RIP Willie
🐐
I was a young teen when the Giants moved to San Francisco. I would walk to Seal Stadium and sit in the bleachers where he would stand in center field no more than fifty feet from me, hoping the batter would hit the ball to Willie so I could see him make that special basket catch.
How many home runs would Willie Mays have if he hadn't played in Candlestick?
Or if Mickey Mantle wasn't a switch hitter?
The crazy thing about his career, is he missed two seasons in the prime of his career due to the Korean War. Let’s just say that he would have had 30 HRs in those two season ( and that’s a conservative estimate), his numbers would just be outrageous.
Wow hank aaron, mays, jerry west bill russell all are gone
And Chet Walker
S.I.P Mr.Mays
Rest in Power represented American Freedmen well!
I loved his Oxiclean commercials.
He is part of my all-time outfielders. with Hank Aaron and Ken Griffey Jr. Hank Aaron in right Ken Griffey in left and the great Willie Mays in center there will be no fly balls hitting the ground. Add in Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax. I can put utility man at every other position and win world series after world series
Wesley Snipes did a great job playing him in the movie Major League 😅
The basket catch over the shoulder wasn't one of his best catches according to a book I read about him.
But it's the iconic one.
The GOAT - Barry Bonds
basket catch is not over the shoulder
a basket catch is belt level in front
Second greatest baseball player of all time!
Who’s first?
@@Kevindeal1987 Babe Ruth (from a historical standpoint) but the best I’ve ever seen is Shohei Ohtani.
@@Kevindeal1987 Randy Johnson
@@GTACJGrove I like ohtani but I don’t think he will be in the company of mays,ruth,williams or bonds.
@@GTACJGrove Give me trout over shohei.
News Alert to THE ODD COUPLE, and Serious Sane Listeners, Can You Imagine what went through the Minds of The Starting Pitchers, who had to pitch against the Bats Of Willie Mays, McCovey, and Orlando Cepeda when they played the San Francisco Giants, and Pitched against Juan Marichal, or Billy Pierce. Just a Not So Nice Thing to Think About It Opinion.
So Hammering Hank don’t count☹️
I believe Willie Mays also lost time for being in the service during the Korean War.
Do Hank Aaron's and Willie Mays' Negro League Stats get added to their MLB stats? It seems that they should.
You would think considering the intergrated effect recently
Willie played baseball just like a kid in little league
🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🌹🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
Rob, that clearly was not Willie who wrote tha message about not making it to Birmingham. His son wrote that in Willie's first person voice. Ken Griffey Jr. was denied a chance to visit Mays, and that was two weeks ago, because he Mays was too weak to accept vistiors.
Luka will not change the way he plays because it’s all he’s known. Similar guys like him don’t change. Lebron, Harden, Russ these are similar players in their heyday
Repent and trust in Jesus you will be saved
Rob talking bout he cant believe it? Bro was 93
Franco Harris died two days before The Immaculate Reception was commemorated in Pittsburgh. Now Willie dies two days before the Birmingham game. Sad coincidences.
Black men should make millions playing Baseball.
Rob can't believe it, really?The man was 93
Bill Walton
Jerry West
OJ Simpson
Willie Mays
All within the last two months☹️
I don't know what to say.
I think I just got hit wit the Mandela effect
Giants better win.
Waiting to read the replies of todays "brilliant scholars" that were bulldozed thru public school within last 5 years to argue that WM wasn't a great player " shiii cap finna glaze fasho" 🙄