Mays, known by many fans as the “Say Hey Kid,” was widely considered the best all-around baseball player in the history of the game. He spent the bulk of his 22-season career with the Giants in New York and San Francisco, amassing 660 home runs, 3,293 hits, 338 stolen bases, two MVP titles in the National League, 12 Gold Gloves and one World Series victory.Biden acknowledged that remarkable versatility in a Wednesday statement, noting his “one of a kind legacy.
“Like so many others in my neighborhood and around the country, when I played Little League, I wanted to play centerfield because of Willie Mays. It was a rite of passage to practice his basket catches, daring steals, and command at the plate - only to be told by coaches to cut it out because no one can do what Willie Mays could do,” Biden wrote. “He was an original in so many ways.”
Biden also noted Mays’ important role as a trailblazer for Black athletes. Mays started his career in the Negro Leagues, and was among the first Black players to move over to Major League Baseball in the 1950s. “He not only entertained, above all, he inspired millions of people of all races to help break through the color line of sports, and to break through the conscience of the Nation,” Biden wrote. “On this day, we remember Willie Mays as part of the long-line of Black patriots who have helped us see a better version of ourselves as Americans and as a Nation.”Then-President Barack Obama presents Willie Mays with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House on Nov. 24, 2015, in Washington, D.