Willie Mays, known as the 'Say Hey Kid,' made 24 All-Star teams, won two NL MVP awards and had 12 Gold Gloves over the course of his legendary 22-year career.
Willie Mays, whose unmatched collection of skills made him the greatest center fielder who ever lived, died Tuesday afternoon at the age of 93, the
All told, in a career that spanned 20-plus years -- most of them with his beloved Giants -- he made 24 All-Star teams, won two NL MVP awards and had 12 Gold Gloves. He ranks sixth all time in home runs , seventh in runs scored , 12th in RBIs and 13th in hits . Mays was born on May 6, 1931, and grew up in Alabama. He excelled in baseball, football and basketball in high school. But his love of baseball trumped all sports. In 1948, at the age of 17, he began his professional career with the Birmingham Black Barons, helping the team to the Negro League World Series that season. Since Mays was still in school, he only played on the weekends with the club; he traveled with Birmingham when school was out.
But the layoff from professional baseball did not affect him. Mays won the first of his two career NL MVP awards that season, leading the league in batting at .345 and hitting 41 home runs to go alone with 110 RBIs. Mays won his other NL MVP in 1965.
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