RIP To Greatness
Willie Mays is not one of my all time favorite players. I never saw him play, never checked the box scores looking for his name to see what he did the night before, honestly don’t have any emotions about him whatsoever. But of course I recognize his greatness and what he means to so many people. So many of you guys…..
I love this picture.
It reminds me of being a kid and playing in the street even though I grew up in a different looking neighborhood. I could stare at this picture for a LONG time and always see something different, or have a question or thoughts. Like, what are those 2 douchbags on the right side talking about that is so important they are MISSING that man swing a stick? It would be so fun to take a time machine back to that moment and just….watch. There are lot of things I’d like a time machine for.
Maybe one day I’ll have that print blown up and framed. I’d like to pass by it in my house every day.
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
That’s one of my favorite pics of Mays too.
The words 5 tool player tossed around a lot, but few ever had his top of line versions of any of them. From first years in NY he could steal bags, something he gave up later in SF to save ABs for guys like McCovey hitting behind him. Nonpareil OF range who captained team from CF and strong accurate arm to go with it. Threw out a guy at plate first game I ever attended.
Hitting skills unmatched even in home yard like Stick. And as Hank Aaron lamented no one played the game with his style and flair for dramatic. Do remember listening to game on radio day he upstaged Aaron in his own yard, hitting 4 HRs out of County Stadium in Milwaukee.
Lot of stuff happened in 60s, but boy what a time to follow NL baseball.
Not that my trite contributions to SF Giants blog contain any pearls of wisdom but I’ve been unable to post comments for past week. Don’t know if it’s WordPress.com issue or simply my technological ineptitude.
Say Hey Kid…Rest In Peace. Had very faint memory of watching Willie play in late 60’s at long demolished Connie Mack Stadium in Philly. I do remember ‘71 playoffs vs Pirates because it was first time Giants made post season in my lifetime. What a collection of talent with Mays, McCovey, Marichal, Perry, Bonds, Speier (was 3 yrs old in ‘62 but somehow have no memory of Giants-Yankees). Surprising Giants didn’t make more playoff trips and snare at least one World Series title between ‘58-‘70.
But Willie was prolific, perhaps one of rare vintage 5 tool players gifted at bat, on the bases and in center field. By most accounts an approachable and gregarious player off the field both during playing career and after retirement. Too bad he couldn’t impart more of this character trait on his godson and fellow Giants legend. Thanks for the memories Willie.
As for current version of Giants, a true definition of a .500+- team likely to end season just north or south of 81 wins. Don’t think mediocrity is laudable goal. Ownership and front office continue to frustrate me.
I don’t bother with memorabilia but I got Willie to sign a 1962 Sports Illustrated with Willie on the cover. My most prized sports possession.
wordpress sucks. I don’t even think there’s anyone running customer support anymore. I can’t even find *comments* on the back end anymore to see who’s going to spam or wherever. Anyway, way too late in the game to change hosts so this is what we gotta deal with.
Gonna be hot everywhere Giants play this week, today in Windy to Alabama and back to STL.
Hopefully Mac has better game to watch today at Wrigley. Baggs mentions that Mays played 179 games there and hit 54 HRs, most by any visiting player. and batted .342 w .413 OB. Baggs said 73 years ago Saturday he played there for first time and hit game winning 3 run HR in 10th. Wrigley and Dodger stadium 2 of few places left from his playing days.
Not too optimistic today with the opener who got lit up last time out vs. Hendricks, who always seems to shut down Giants. Last night was the one they wasted, Mr. Rogers and feeble hitting dashing any hope for a win.
I just love how features come and go without warning or any notice. Access to the back end disappears. Still better than blogspot.
Not sure if it helps, or how long they’ll support it, but you can still use the “classic” administrative interface by toggling the “View” dropdown menu in the upper right corner of the dashboard. I noticed it makes a difference when you try to link to content in the media library. The newer default view adds code that screws with the links, in order to support the more flexible presentation of the media library.
Great picture. I think one of the two on the right is a girl. Being a guy I think I could have taken my eye off Willie for a short time.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=448341593621161
Willie probably enjoyed stickball with the kids, but hitting that little ball with a small diameter stick might have been his little secret to keep that batting eye sharp…
Nice
Sadly, because of age and circumstance, Garry Maddox is my Willie Mays.
odd Willie Mays story. About 15 years ago, the maniacal British born fundraiser for my son’s youth orchestra showed up one weekend with a baseball autographed by Mays. She’d recognized him in a medical clinic’s reception room. She couldn’t remember his name so she blurted: “Aren’t you the Say Hey Kid?” He said hello. Truly maniacal fundraiser that she was she asked him for a goddamned donation. A woman with Mays removed a signed baseball from her handbag. “Here. Put this up on eBay,” he said. “You’ll get some money.”
I was in Chicago visiting the kids. We were at the game Monday. When Thairo hit the homer it looked like a lazy fly ball initially. Thankfully it was more!!!
Nice! Of course that’s the game I missed.
Willie played a lot of stickball in Harlem. Maybe those two yahoos in the pic had seen him so much, it was no big deal to them …
My dad told me after Willie retired that he could usually be found playing at a Hillsborough golf course. I still got a ball signed by him.
I was helping a friend move his mom to the Sharon Heights Estates condos in Menlo Park and at one point we walked through the dining room. Which was empty but for 2 people.
Willie Mays and his wife. Given what I had heard about how he bristles at being approached, I gave him the all-knowing head-nod and got one back. I sensed that he appreciated that I didn’t fall down at his feet and call him the greatest player of any sport in the world, cuz really, that’s what I wanted to do.
My wife met him when she worked at the Airport Hilton and they had a fund raiser or banquet for something. She has a Humm Baby shirt signed by Roger Craig, Willie Mays, Will Clark, Al Rosen, and a couple other guys. Gonna have to figure out where that is. She’s also got pics of her with Joe Montana at another banquet. Good times.
Perhaps I stand corrected on my comment about Willie’s approachability. I was under impression Mays enjoyed exchanges with loyal fans years after his retirement and willingly signed autographs, especially for kids.
I’m guessing, like all of us, Willie had days where he felt more into dealing with the public than other days.
I experienced his unprovoked surliness more than once. Off the field he was human. How many times can you sit in an airport and have some dumbbell yell out “Vic Wertz!” as he passes by…
Nice job with the head nod! The price of fame, but getting bothered all the time, even decades after you retire, must get old…
I’ve done my share of ranting about Rogers, but yesterday just seemed like the bad breaks of baseball. The double was probably wind-aided, and ground balls found holes. It happens to all pitchers at various times.
That this is even a discussion says way more about baseball fans than it does about a player’s performance.
It’s a social media world these days. That’s all part of it now, going forward. The players have to deal with it.
But the gap between perceptions and how certain players are actually performing long precedes social media.
The WNBA awaits the status of Cameron Brink’s knee injury. She slipped or tripped and her knee bent a bit in a sideways direction in her game last night.
She’s one of the rookies bringing more viewers to the league this year. She’s kind of the league’s Anna Kournikova, and the WNBA knows her marketing value. Sex sells, and it always has in marketing. She’s in a sports bra commercial that caught some attention. She’s also a very good basketball player, of course. A former star at Stanford.
Hope Brink is OK. Like others she’s finding the league an adjustment, rarely scoring well and often in foul trouble as she was at Stanford. Unfortunately her team is not very good (think they’ve lost 4 in a row), especially the guards. Brink does have vet post teammate playing very well she can learn from, their leading scorer and rebounder Dearica Hamby.
The Cubs PA announcer sounds exactly like the artificial voice on a computer. Maybe that’s what it is.
The first inning went as per usual vs. Hendricks.
I read numerous articles and I think it was in one of the books I read about him, that he REALLY ENJOYED playing stick ball with the kids in his NY neighborhood (as snarkk indicated).
I think his surliness or standoffishness is likely due to 2 things: 1. His short marriage to Marghuerite Wendell Chapman, whom many felt was a “gold digger” and extravagant in her lifestyle and spending (additionally, Mays friends disliked her); and, 2. He was POed about his home buying experience in SF and particularly the racism that existed in what he was told – was a liberal area, e.g., he had bought a home and the seller rescinded the offer after being “pressured” not to sell to a black man.”*
*The incident received negative publicity, and with the help of Mayor George Christopher and his attorney, Mays eventually secured the house at the original price.
I kept hearing that Mays really didn’t want to come to SF and that he loved NY. Pretty sure one of the reasons was Candlestick if he played in a stadium like Atlanta or the latrine he would have been the home run king at least passing Ruth. I honestly believe that.
Also, his so-called surliness some say is attributable to Mays being reserved and shy. Anyway, that’s what I recall from reading about him.
Just texted Pawlie . . . Need him to comment on the blog today. Will send a text right now. If anyone here knew Mays, that was undoubtedly Pawlie.
I guess he’s attempted quite a few times to log onto the Flap in the last few weeks and it has been beyond difficult, so he gave up.
Bummer…
Nice job by Bivens and D to get out of that one.
Bivens is a journeyman pitcher in the truest sense of the word. Across an ocean and back.
You can’t keep throwing pitches down the middle to major leaguers.
That 1-2 pitch on the first HR was god-awful.
From Paul . . . “You can toss this up there:
I’m barely mournful at all. I have a world of thoughtful people checking in on me as if I were on the ledge. I am not. Everyone knew (knows) how I felt about Willie, which is true for millions of us. I have not shed a tear and I probably won’t. I’m glad he’s getting all the credit and attention he deserves for what he did and meant (means). I always promised myself I would go to San Francisco at this time. A fellow simpatico Flapper suggested that may be an old wish that doesn’t need redeeming. I have watched a sum total of two games in two years, if that. Hard to say why. It’s certainly not the rule changes or anything like that. The last thing I want to be is an old scold who says things like “back when I was a kid” or “kids these days,” or crap like that. More likely, I don’t care to watch a team that is boring. I will keep an open mind.”
Is Spencer Bivens now a part of the “rotation”?…
It’s infuriating to watch the Giants get cheated like that.
In AAA they have a challenge system for pitches, and it works just fine. That has to come to the major leagues. These umps just aren’t up to the task.
It also wouldn’t hurt to play defense.
I’ll admit, IDK who some of the Giants pen guys are, or where they hell they’ve come from. Since SF has a team ERA way down there with the rest of the bottom dweller teams from 25 to 30 in MLB, they can’t be very good…
OMG.
Giants doing their best to play like the Keystone Kops. When they suck, they suck royal. Wilmer trotting out his tin glove, among other embarrassments. Miller was rendered speechless for about 15 seconds of dead air. Time instead to reminisce some more about Mays…
And now, full on dumpster fire.
Kokonuts can say what he wants but he also texted this to me today. Says he can’t login to post it. This is some short poetry he wrote after he found out Mays had died. He’s mourning whether he says so or not. lol. He just ripped this shit off, this guy is an incredible writer.
__________________
MIA:
a center field ghost
roaming in green youth’s sun,
sunk below the horizon.
________________________
Final AB
Even with extra innings
the end comes
High inside
Or sweeping curve
it comes…..
____________________
We all know the stance
Remember his grip
Curled and coiled.
We see the swing and hear the crack.
________________________________
The ball sails somewhere into the night, into the night
Empty stands.
It pierces our heart.
For he is going, going…
Gone.
Willie Mays, my youth.
Yeah, he texted that to me this morning, while I was getting a lube and oil at the Honda dealership. It’s going to be published in Bardball.com
It’s more infuriating to watch these guys play like rank fucking amateurs.
Ball lost in the sun. Misplayed grounder. Walk. 0-2 cripple fast ball. Botched cause stealing. Slater with the bicycle kick. The kick saved a run. 3 runs scored on 2 non-called errors.
What in the wide wide world of sports is going on here?
I’m with Paulie. Mays had about as long and accomplished life as any man out there. He was a joy to watch play and had so much to offer the team and the game itself. I’m glad I got to see him play, even if it was toward the end of his career. Shed no tears for a life well-lived.
Craziest catch I ever saw was the one they show all the time where Bobby Bonds knocks out Willie as they crash into the chain link fence.
Pretty goddamn funny that Bowie’ tone-deaf’ Kuhn banned Mays and Mantle for their stint at Bally’s (?) trying to make money. Ueberroth had the wherewithal (sorry Xoot, I’ll try to use smaller words for you) to reinstate them. And now the game rakes in money by the truckful cozying up to gambling and Vegas.
Soler power!!!
WHOA!
Soler makes this interesting.
Bye Bye Baby.. 444 feet for 4 runs by Soler eclipse of the Moon 🌚..
6-5 atleast after all the bad news bears plays , one swing and their back in the game!!
Have to admit that Giants lady fan left side front row behind the plate is bringing great vibes on every Giant player, she’s really into the game in a positive way..
Ramos due. I will be shocked if he doesn’t win it outright.
Cubs aren’t acting like they want to win this game either, walking 2 guys before Ramos comes up.
sigh but they do.
Unfuckingbelievable. As Willie alluded to, Cubs pitcher was on the ropes. Fuck!
Soler has lately been appearing to see the ball better, getting a little more aggressive. Or, maybe Soler just likes hot weather. SF cold air maybe is not his thing.
Keep him in a well heated room at Oracle all game long…
Too bad we suck at defense.
There’s a reason they are way down there in defensive stats. If they were even middle of the road in D stats, they’d probably have 5-6 more wins. Bad team D and 25th in team ERA means you are not good…
Both these teams end the series at 36-39. They look similarly unappetizing…
Is there a stat for unearned runs given up? Runs given up due to walks?
Based on the eye test we gotta lead the league in those stats.
And this is what makes this team so hard to watch. Yaz gets a pass for his ball in the sun, but they trot out SO MANY retread guys like Brooks who come in and trip over his dick. Yeah, we’ve had a lot of injuries. Still, this is the guy on the farm? A 29 year old has-been? There’s NO ONE in the entire farm system who is a young guy who could get a shot to play a few games?
https://x.com/kaj33/status/1803513938128281733?s=46&t=k0FDC_rVBvlG86Y-OHTiNQ
Ah thanks. Being from NYC I think Kareem has different level of appreciation for Mays, and I think that didn’t carry over directly to SF when Giants moved. 1958 they added Cepeda, 1959 McCovey and both won ROY awards. Marichal was added 1960 with amazing debut and by 1963 was mainstay in rotation.
By all accounts Mays was generous with black ballplayers from other teams that visited SF. But the whole deal with being denied while trying to buy house in upscale neighborhood had to make him wonder where he really was.
1963 California passed Rumford Act, and right away opposition set out to dismantle it. Just among neighbors who were big sports fans I heard lot of derogatory things said about Mays Cepeda and McCovey. Bottom line I think lot of Giants fans agreed with Alvin Dark…though thankfully not in my immediate household, where game was always on radio at least.
well, to that extent, this Ishmael Reed Juneteenth article seems timely and semi sports related. (The line “even … historian Ron Chernow” had me laughing.)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/06/19/juneteenth-why-were-the-enslaved-in-texas/
Entering today’s game, the league average number of errors was 40. The Giants had 45. They’d given up 28 unearned runs. The league average is 31.
So now 43 and 30?
48 errors and 30 unearned. I use the older numbers because the league averages aren’t updated on bb reference.
In any case, the Giants biggest problem remains the number of earned runs they give up, the one area that gets the least criticism. Unless your last name is Rogers 😄
The 4 SPs on the IL represent the only shot the Giants have at the playoffs. The offense continues to do a respectable job of scoring, but even if they suddenly got a lot better, they’re not going to improve nearly enough to overcome the number of runs allowed, if the pace they’re on doesn’t change.
Well, a lot of the problems aren’t errors. Yaz’s miscue was not an error. Neither was Brooks’ popup fuckup. I don’t know if Flores got an error on the miscue yesterday OR today, so some of the earned runs should be unearned.
Yes, and there are the other less reliable defensive metrics that show, e.g., Estrada is a subpar defender. Does the eye test tell you that about Thairo? Presumably other teams make mistakes that aren’t counted as errors. The plain, indisputable fact, is that the Giants pitching has performed below expectations and below the league average, when it was supposed to be a strength (which it was last year). It is the primary reason the Giants are under 500.
I heard on KNBR today that the Giants had asked the MLB poobahs if Wade could come off the IL just for a day, then go back on to finish the stint, to be active for the Rickwood game. It would be meaningful to him and the Giants, as he is a Black player, to play in that game (probably a PH appearance) that is celebrating the Negro Leagues contribution to American baseball history. No chicanery involved with the IL, just a dispensation for a very special situation. Of course, MLB said NO. Seriously, WTF is wrong with MLB management? They consistently make wrong moves that signal their aszhattery that does nothing to enhance the game or in this case, facilitate respect for the game, whoever played it. Just ridiculous…
Wow. That’s just unconscionable. Fuckers are gonna milk all they can out of merch and the like, but give Wade a chance to play in what would be an extraordinary experience for him?
Sorry. Fuck off, homie. Wille’s gone. You get nothing and like it.
I rarely visit ESPN because most of the columns have pay walls, but they have done an excellent job ensuring all the “memorial” type columns regarding Mays are free. One of the columns indicated that Mays should have won 8 MVPs (one more than Bonds) had the results been based upon modern saber stats, e.g., WAR.
However, the funniest and most illuminating article is this one with about 2-3 dozen lengthy comments from many greats. Frankly, I hadn’t heard about a lot of these stories, such as this one from Joe Torre:
Torre
“[First baseman] Bill White was playing for the Cardinals. He and Gibby [Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson] went to San Francisco in the offseason. Bill was invited to Willie’s house for dinner, and he asked Gibby if he wanted to go. Bob said, ‘I’d love to go, I’ve never met Willie Mays.’ They ring the doorbell. Willie comes to the door. In the offseason, Gibby always wore glasses, but he didn’t wear them when he pitched. So Willie opens the door, he says hello to Bill, then he says, ‘Who is this?’ Bill said, ‘Willie, this is Bob Gibson.’ Willie didn’t say hello to him, all he said was, ‘You wear glasses!? And you don’t wear them when you pitch? Are you crazy? You’re going to hurt somebody!'”
Anyway, here is the link: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31308409/willie-mays-90-was-steph-curry-michael-jordan-simone-biles-mikhail-baryshnikov#SayHeyKid
Wonderful column, thanks!
I get on Kuiper’s case nowadays, but I thought this one was funny:
Kuiper
“Willie filled in and did the color commentary a few times many years ago before Mike [Krukow, Kuiper’s current broadcast partner on Giants games] started doing games. So I’m the play-by-play guy. It’s Easter Sunday. Robby Thompson strikes out on a check swing with the tying run at third to end the game. So, on Easter Sunday, Willie says, on the air, ‘Jesus Christ!’ I looked at him. I have to talk because I’m the play-by-play guy, and all I could say was, ‘We’ll be back with Reverend Willie Mays, right after this.'”
Yeah, I had never heard that one before either. That was hilarious. Kuip must have vapor locked after Willie said that. Glad you enjoyed it Willie.
I think James is right about pitching. Hopefully as few of them with health issues recover things can turn around for the better.
There’s still just bunch of teams going up and down in NL. Reds got 2 hits and were shutout by Pirates today 1-0. Padres broke 5 game losing streak with W. Cards got walked off by Marlins for second day in a row. DBax got 4 hits today and lost to Nats 3-1. All of these teams including Cubs are under .500, just like Giants.
Btw Arenado left Cards game in 8th after getting hit in elbow with a pitch.
We may be league average when it comes to errors, but not sure how to check how many games we have lost because of them. A lot it seems. So annoying!
I went to Cards Pittsburg game Thursday on the way to Chicago to see the kids. I’m semi-retired as of 2 weeks ago. A fun road trip driving from LA to Chicago. I was waiting in line to buy a ticket and a guy comes up and asks….”anyone want a single ticket?. I say yes, where is it? he says with me!! Hands me the free ticket. So cool. had a great time with him talking baseball!
Soler is finally blazing. “When he gets going …”
2 hits and walk at top of the order from Wisely after 0-6. Made plays at SS. Seems to be settling in Solid D up the middle still a thing.