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For trusted protection, trust Pampers, the number one pediatrician recommended brand. Every now and then I will make a comment, tongue in cheek but with some sincerity to it, that I feel sorry for the sad saps who never got to see Michael Jordan play, who never got to see Wayne Gretzky dominate the ice, who never saw Joe Montana or John Elway throw a football, who never saw Jerry Rice catch a football and dazzle the masses. I'll feel bad for those people who never had a chance to see some of the greats that I grew up with that are the reasons I love sports. You ask me that question and often I will talk about baseball players. And the answer to that question frequently is Willie Mays.
I never saw him play. I knew him more as Barry Bonds' godfather, as a trailblazer, as a guy who amassed stats but did so much more. Of course I know about the catch in the World Series in the 50s.
Seen it, heard it, lots of what you see with Willie Mays, black and white photos, black and white videos. And people will talk about his personality and how there wasn't anything he couldn't do as a baseball player. Maybe the most complete baseball player of all time. And so today, tonight, feeling sad about the fact that he's gone, of course, though he lived not just a productive life on the field, but a life in which he was really an ambassador and someone who represented a different era in baseball. He had a brilliant smile, a great personality. He seemed to carry all of the pressure so easily. And again, most of what I remember about him is him always being around the Giants, San Francisco Giants, during those stages in Barry Bonds' career, late in Barry's career, when he was breaking records or when he was pursuing the all-time home run record. Everywhere he went, he was received with great fanfare.
People always wanted to shake his hand, always wanted to talk to him. A lot of people on this Tuesday are sharing their Willie Mays stories, their encounters with Willie Mays. And I think that's amazing.
But all I can do is watch on TV. All I can do is look at the old footage, watch those swings, see the catch, and wish on this one day I was a little bit older. Well, a little bit. Wish I was older and had the chance to see him roam the outfield, spark his teammates, and flash that smile. You know, something else I remember about him is his Super Bowl commercial. Isn't there a Super Bowl commercial in which he was playing God? I think he was a little bit like a Wizard of Oz type of situation, where he was this voice from heaven.
I have to go back, and I don't want to speak incorrectly about it and figure out which company he was repping. Or if you can remember it, you can tell me. But I do know that he was funny, too. And that his personality post-baseball was so attractive for the game itself. He represented a different era of baseball player, and may have won a life, 93 years old, for the Say Hey Kid. The words that we've heard to describe his play, dominant, speedy, strong, electrifying, energetic, talented, decorated, of course, as a Hall of Famer, legend, maybe the greatest of all time. I know that a lot has been made of the big event that's coming up at Rickwood Field, that's in Birmingham, where they were just about to honor Willie, as well as others from the Negro Leagues.
It had already been announced that he wasn't going to be able to make it, but they were going to honor him and his generation of talented players with this game between the Giants and the Cardinals at Rickwood Field. I had the honor of visiting Rickwood back in, I think it was 2013, an amazing place in Alabama. As a history buff, I was blown away. I loved being there taking photos.
I have to see if I can find some of my photos from that trip. Mays grew up in Alabama, started playing his pro baseball at 17 years old with the Birmingham Black Barons, who won the Negro League World Series that year. And so as they head to Birmingham, you can imagine the tributes will be rich, and it's bittersweet. Already so many people speaking out with their stories, as they say, but also the moments of silence around Major League Baseball on Tuesday night, and even in the midst of broadcasts. Announcers, teams, fans finding out that he was gone at 93 years old. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence.
I think we've asked this question before, maybe, it's been a while. What athlete do you wish you had seen play live or on TV? One that you wish you didn't have to rely on YouTube and old videos, old broadcasts? Well, Willie Mays was the answer to that question for me. The number of hits, home runs, oh gosh, iconic catches, and those moments where he repped baseball and we got to see his giant smile and his, I think, gracious. He always reminded me, or he always, I think epitomized grace and always reminded me as someone who was so comfortable in his own skin.
Though, no doubt, he did not have it easy. Having been most closely associated with the Giants. It was, I think, a shock to a lot of people when John Miller, the play by play voice of the radio network, shared about Willie's passing on the broadcast. We are very sad now to relay this information that has just been released by the Giants that the great Willie Mays has passed away, passed away peacefully this afternoon at the age of 93.
The Giants come to bat here in the fifth inning with Jorge Soler and Nick Ahmed and Jastrzemski. The Giants release said it is with great sadness that we announced that Giants legend and Hall of Famer Willie Mays passed away peacefully this afternoon. Michael Mays, Willie's son, quoted as saying, my father has passed away peacefully and among loved ones.
I want to thank you all from the bottom of my broken heart. At 93 years old, 93, what a life, what a legacy. He was only the second one ever to reach 600 home runs. And still among the all time greats when it came to the total package. Remember, his career batting average was over 300. He was a Gold Glover.
12 times. He was an All-Star, about double that number. That's quite a legacy.
Some of the numbers are pretty gaudy. And he did finish his career with the Mets. So Jay and I went to a game in the summer of 22. And it just happened to be I bought these tickets as a gift for Jay. It just happened to be old timers day. We didn't know.
We found out after the fact. And there were a few Mets that we really wanted to see. A few that we loved. For instance, Pedro Martinez played a couple seasons with the Mets and I was psyched because he's one of my favorite pitchers of all time. So we were all gaga over a few of the Mets that we wanted to see there on the field. And then as a surprise, the Mets announced right at the end of the ceremony for the old timers. Was it before they played or after?
Remember they played a little game in the field? It was after they had finished introducing everyone. So they called out everyone's name and everyone came out and got a roar from the crowd. And I'm pretty sure it was right after they finished the last names and before they played the game.
Gotcha. So they were done announcing all the old timers, introducing them. Lots of excitement with a packed house there at Citi Field.
And then they trot out this big on legs, this humongous round plaque and they unveil it. They uncover it and they're retiring Willie's number. So that was just in 22. But he finished his career with the Mets in 73. And even though he wasn't with the Mets very long, they went to the World Series that year, so they won the NL championship. And that was his last appearance in the postseason. So then you can imagine the Mets released statements and thanked him and wanting to remind people that he was a part of their history, too. And that they had retired his number. And Keith Hernandez, he found out while he was calling the game tonight on SNY. You had the honor of being in Willie Mays' company on Wetherman and Cage. Yes. Fly ball into shallow right and Marte comes on to get it.
One out. At Shea Stadium when he was younger. And I also was in his company when he was older and legally blind. And what always came off was when he was to say, hey, kid, he had that ebullient personality.
Infectious and genuine. And I got to tell him that he was the greatest player I ever saw. An emotional Keith Hernandez as part of the Mets broadcast along with Gary Cohen. So, yeah, it's a name and a personality and a player. A legend that moves a lot of people.
Again, because of the extra large shadows he cast wherever he went. People always have stories about Willie. We looked this up because I couldn't remember exactly.
I was fairly confident but I didn't know for sure. But we confirmed that Bruce Bochy was the manager with the San Francisco Giants going back to those days when Barry Bonds was chasing the all-time home run record. And Willie was always around because he's family to Barry. If you haven't seen Bonds tribute, it's one that's fairly emotional.
And so as Bochy is now out of retirement and with the Rangers, of course, he was asked about his perspective of Willie Mays. I was really lucky fortunate. I've said this before. You know, this game here allows you to meet some tremendous players and people. And I get to spend a lot of time with Willie and my tenure up there.
And sad day, sad day. But, you know, he was a guy I talked to a lot. And we talked baseball.
He had a little office right by mine up there. And so I was fortunate to be able to spend a lot of time with that man. And, of course, what a legend he is. Could be one of, you know, could be the best, greatest player of all time. That's how good he was, you know, with some of those greats. Bruce Bochy, a lot of interaction with him.
And, of course, had a chance to watch him play. There's so many more tributes. And we're still looking for them with the Giants, with the Dodgers, of course, who had a history with Willie Mays. And Jay and I were collecting sound even as we go through the show just so we can bring you various perspectives. We also have a spot up on our show Twix, at Amy After Hours, as well as our Facebook page to ask you, which athlete do you wish that you had seen play live?
And it could be a female, of course. The answer for me is Willie Mays. And I sometimes think back to some of the greats in baseball, some of the best to ever roam a field, and you watch those videos and think, man, the crowds, how they responded.
That's something that I love to see. Also, a lot of people would go to the games in ties, suits and ties, going back to the 50s and the 60s. It was just a completely different era. Willie broke in in 1951, and he played until 1973. Glad to hear that he passed away peacefully. And you can imagine the rest of this baseball season. There'll be tributes to him, not just the player that he was, but also the man that he was.
He served in our military in the 50s. I know this tribute game will take place still at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, and they will, of course, take extra time to reflect, to honor, maybe to allow some of these other players who are expected to be there, some of the old-timers, some of the greats of the past, those who blaze the trail in the Negro Leagues, it'll give them a chance to talk about Willie. And I always think that's so important when we suffer a loss in our own personal lives, whether family or friend. Doesn't it always help when you can talk to people about your loved one, the person that's gone? I think that's the number one benefit of funerals, because, of course, the person who passed away doesn't have any idea that you're honoring them. But it's more for the people left behind who get a chance to reminisce and share and commiserate and remember.
And that's certainly part of what will happen in Birmingham coming up this week. Twenty-four All-Star teams, twelve Gold Gloves, two National League MVP awards, not to mention the Rookie of the Year in 1951, sixth all-time in home runs, seventh in runs scored, twelfth in total RBI, and thirteenth in hits. Still, even though he's been gone since – not gone – even though he's been out of the game since 1973. So if you have any reflections, anyone who saw him play or maybe encountered him in a different way as an ambassador for baseball, as an entertainer, love to hear from you at ALawRadio or on our Facebook page. Our phone number is 855-212-4227. We've got other tributes from those inside the world of baseball who shared their memories.
But I'd be happy to hear yours as well. It is our middle show of the work week, our hump show, coming up a little later. We'll talk some mandatory OTA, offseason NFL. There's this weird court case going on that I think fans should know more about, though I'm not sure it will make a difference. A brand new award for Tiger Woods that comes with quite the perk.
Wow, PGA is desperate to keep him around as long as possible. Game five of the Stanley Cup Final means we have a game six of the Stanley Cup Final back in Edmonton. That was some long flights. And a little bit the left over from basketball as well. I'm so confused. Why are the Celtics in Miami? Maybe Boston fans won't leave them alone.
Is that why? We're glad to have you with us. Remembering Willie Mays and also giving you the chance to ask Amy anything. So send your questions to either of our social media sites as we get you closer to the start of summer, the official start of summer, as well as your weekend. Tune in is the audio platform with something for everyone. News.
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Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. I arrived in New York City on a Friday at 4 o'clock, scared to death with three bats in my little briefcase, my glove. I didn't have a uniform. I didn't have a hat. Leo said to me, Hey, son, as long as I'm manager, you are my son of Phil. You do not have to hit.
Just go out and catch the ball. And from those words from Leo DeRosa, I think gave me a little courage. And I went on from there.
This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Willie May's story in his own words. His 1979 Hall of Fame induction speech in Cooperstown. He is highly decorated. He not only has all of the hardware and the honors, the awards, the Hall of Fame induction speech, but he has the respect and the love of so many. He was beloved. Regardless of who guys played for, if they played with him or against him. If he beat them.
If they were fortunate enough to be a teammate and he helped them win. People wanted to meet him. They wanted to be around him. Every conversation that I ever saw with him, maybe an interview.
Even when he was part of Giants festivities to honor Barry Bonds, not that long ago when Barry's number was retired. He was warm and he had a generous personality, seemed approachable. Was one of those guys that was charismatic. Even if he didn't say a whole lot, but he did. When he talked, he had strong opinions. Great laugh.
These are all things I picked up just by working in this business. By seeing him again. Mostly, I think the most of my time observing him or watching him was around Barry Bonds or with the Giants. And so he's definitely a legend that I wish I had seen play. Not often do I ever wish to be older, but maybe 15 years older.
To be able to see Willie Mays, roam the field, roam center field. Of course, I'd have to be a lot older than that to see the catch in the mid 50s. I have to ask my mom if she remembers. She would have been young, but my grandfather, her dad, took her to baseball games when she was little. And so I wonder if they ever had a chance to see him play.
It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. Bob Costas has become somewhat of a baseball historian. And his pieces where he remembers athletes and shares about their history and their legacy, usually impactful.
I love to hear what he has to say about some of the greats of the game. Tried as it may sound, statistics as much black type as there is next to his name in the Baseball Encyclopedia or Baseball reference, as amazing as those statistics may be, they do not do him justice. You had to see him. I was only a kid. I was in college when he played his last game. The first time I saw him play in person, I was five years old.
But you knew. It was like Michael Jordan in basketball. If you took somebody who'd never seen a basketball game to see the Chicago Bulls, and you didn't tell them who any of the players were, their eyes would go to Michael Jordan even if he was having an off night.
If Willie Mays was 0 for 4 and there was never a play in the gap, nothing spectacular, just the basket catch, just the way he carried himself, you would be drawn to him. He exuded joy. It wasn't just that he was great. He was incredibly great.
But there was something more than that. There was something poetic about him. From the MLB Network, the impressions, the memories, the brief encounters in which he saw Willie Mays play, that's awesome.
Even snippets of it would be amazing. As I say, it kind of blows me away, because as I was thinking about him on my drive in, I realized a lot of the footage that we have of him is in black and white. It wasn't like today where you could see him play any time he was on.
I mean, think about the phenomenon of Kaitlyn Clark and how nearly every game she plays now, because she's become a household name and this American phenomenon, every game she plays is on TV or is somehow streaming where you can see it on the Internet. Not the case with Willie Mays. How often would he have been on national TV?
And so in order to see him, you would really have to go to the games for the most part. He had it all. He had the speed, he had the athleticism. Of course, he had the hitting, the power, the defense. He had the size, any of the tenure and the longevity. And I can imagine for most, even once Jackie Robinson had broken the color barrier, for most African-American players who are in Major League Baseball, especially when he started going back to the 50s, there was still resistance. There was still weight that you had to carry and the crap that you had to listen to.
People that didn't want you there. And that's just an added level. And yet he was also a World Series champion, a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest of all time. Marco Belletti's here in studio, and I know you're a big fan of the history of sports. I was saying that people frequently ask the question, who's the athlete that you never saw that you wish you'd seen play live? And Willie Mays is that athlete. He's, along with Ted Williams, one of my two standard answers.
So what about you? Is there an athlete, whether baseball, football? Yeah, I mean, obviously those, there's a bunch of them. There's Babe Ruth because I just want to know what it was like. Joe DiMaggio, because it seems like everyone, I mean, when they gave that, I don't know how much credence you give to, but when they had the poll of the greatest living player and he needed to be introduced that way, just everybody seemed to think that he was the smoothest, he was the best.
I need to see that. I would want to be able to see that, to understand it, because it's hard to know. It's hard to, you know, you look at numbers, you don't see numbers all you want, but if they don't tell you the whole story, and there's a lot of guys with baseball, I think it's romanticized for all of us because it's almost like mythology, because you go back so long that, you know, you wonder if Ruth and Garrick, it was really that one-two punch because they were just so much better than everybody else. Is it because everybody else wasn't that good? Or those two guys could have played at any era and they were that far ahead of their time. It's so hard to know.
It's so hard to know. And then you look back at, like, you know, football, you want to see, like, the Packers, the Bart Stars, the Roger Staubachs for me, because I didn't see Staubach play a lot, but the game has evolved and changed. It's almost kind of like you're watching a different game. Baseball is one of the few sports that the game didn't change. Yeah, sure, people throw harder.
Yeah, sure, people run faster. But the game is the same. You know, basketball, you look back, I mean, there's no three-point line.
They pack it in within 12 feet. The game is completely different. If you go back to watching Jerry West, who lost recently, that game is, you can't even fathom how much different.
You can watch it on YouTube and whatnot, and you're looking and you're like, this is the same game that they play now? But baseball is not like that. So I think if I'm going to pick something that I can go back and watch, I would immediately think baseball, and I'm going to go to guys like Ruth and you know, Mays and Williams and Hank Aaron and Joe DiMaggio and Garrick, like, automatic. All the names that you can think of. The Walter Johnsons, just to see how hard he threw.
That's because the game has stayed the same as opposed to all the sports that have evolved. I am trying to remember. I'm having a hard time. I was Googling it, but I can't find it. Do you remember the... It was a commercial that Willie Mays and Barry Bonds did, and it was a little bit of that Wizard of Oz quality where Willie was like, speaking into a microphone, but Barry couldn't hear him, and he was like using this big voice, this kind of like... It was almost a godlike voice, and finally, Barry is like, Willie, is that you?
No, I don't. Oh, okay, I have to go back and see, oh gosh. Is that maybe when Bonds was breaking records around that time? Yeah, it goes back to then, and of course Willie was around all the time because...
Rightfully so. Godfather, giant hall of famer. And so that's why it's neat to hear some of the reflections of guys like Bruce Bochy. I walked in the building and was like, Marco, do you remember? So that was the beginning of his tenure there.
So yeah, we've got that question up on our social, whether it's at Amy After Hours or on our Facebook page, and you can send your questions for Ask Amy Anything. At the same time, we'll do that a little bit later on. We'll of course get to the Stanley Cup Final, and other baseball like the Yankees and the Orioles. Aaron Judge having to leave in the fourth inning because he got nailed.
It wasn't even a plunk, it was a smash on his hand from an inside pitch. And a little bit more too from some of the basketball. You won't believe where the Celtics picked to go celebrate their NBA titles. Kind of odd. I don't know. I don't really get it.
I asked a friend of mine who works with the Celtics and he said something along the lines of, you ask a bunch of 25-year-old dudes what they want to do to party and you get some strange ideas. Listen as Selenia tells us why she chose to vaccinate her daughter. I definitely felt like the pros far outweighed the cons. The diseases that I am protecting my child against. They're still here and at the end of the day it's my job as a mother to keep my child safe. Talk to your child's doctor and learn more at WhyVaccines.com.
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Download Thumbtack and start a project today. It's with great sadness that we announce that Giants legend Hall of Famer Willie Mays has passed away at the age of 93. And here we are in a celebration in a ballpark where he got his start as a 17-year-old playing for the Black Barons.
He was 17 when he joined them. And they won the Negro League American League that year. Willie Mays has passed away.
This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. That is the voice of Rich Waltz at Rickwood Field, which is the oldest professional baseball stadium in the country. It's over 100 years old, I think 15 years old, something along those lines. And they were just about to have the Giants in town and an occasion to honor not just Barry Bonds, but others who were part of the Negro Leagues. And they did know on Monday that Willie Mays would not be able to attend. He was in the Bay Area, obviously not well enough to travel. But this unemotional announcement during a minor league game right as they're about to have this big ceremony and no doubt it will be a bittersweet one and yet I think the occasion the fact that it's this week provides the perfect opportunity for people to share about Willie, people who knew him, people who played with him, people who loved him.
A memorial service might be too strong of a term but I'm sure that it will be a comfort and encouragement to people to be able to gather together. Again, whether teammates or managers, people who just love watching him play who have fond memories of him. He and Ted Williams are the pretty standard answers I give when people ask me about an athlete that I wish I had seen play live.
In fact, it's one of the questions we've gotten before on Ask Amy Anything, which we'll do coming up in about 90 minutes or so, a little more than that. We'd love to take your new questions on both Facebook After Hours with Amy Lawrence or on our Twix page at AmyAfterHours and while you're there who's an athlete that you wish you had seen play live and in color or live and in black and white as a lot of the footage that's preserved features Willie Mays. Man, his game was still colorful.
He was still colorful even with a black and white photo or a black and white TV screen. 855-212-4227 Jerry is in Illinois and wants to share a story about Willie Mays. Hi, Jerry. Hi, Amy. It's nice to talk to you. Congratulations on your wedding. I've listened to your show for a long time. First time caller though.
Thank you. I had the chance. Speaking of black and white photos, anybody that knows anything has got to remember that over the shoulder catch back from the 60s. I had the chance in the late 60s to go to a Cubs game where they played the Giants. My grandfather took me to the game.
It was like 1968 if I remember right. It was a fantastic game. The Cubs had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the ninth.
They didn't do it. The Giants won 6-3. My grandfather, whatever connect he had was able to introduce me to a couple of Giants players. Willie Mays was one of them. I didn't get an autograph but I got to shake the man's hand. He was nothing but respectful. He was nothing but a gentleman.
This is a true loss to MLB baseball. Yes, I realize the man is 93 years old but what a legend. What an absolute legend to the game this gentleman was. That's what he was. He was an absolute gentleman. He was a heck of a ball player.
Obviously he was a hall of famer and stuff like that. I just wanted to share that for a moment. Thank you.
I appreciate that. I'd heard some stories from people who covered him or people who knew him that he had one of those really strong handshakes. Giant hands and the hand shake was one of those where you might come away with it kind of shaking your own hand if you weren't strong yourself. I was 8 or 9 years old. Probably 8 years old at the time. His hand covered mine for sure.
But he just treated me like I was the king of the world when I got to meet him. I'll never forget it. I'm 63 years old now and I just cherish that moment. I cherish my grandfather for bringing me to the game and for the whole thing that went down. It's definitely a big loss to MLB. To anybody that's ever followed baseball or ever watched a baseball game. He's a legend. All the home runs he hit. All the great plays he made in the outfield. He was the man. Obviously we've had a few of them but he was definitely up there with the best of the best. There's no doubt about it. He needs to be honored for everything he did.
Especially starting from the Negro Leagues and everything that started out. It's kind of ironic we're having the game there down in Alabama this week. It's just total respect for the man. God rest his soul and bless his family and everything like that. That's all I wanted to say. Thank you Jerry.
I appreciate your reflection. What a neat memory to have now that you can share with so many people but also just what a neat memory personally for yourself to think about as you hear so much about him this week. The Birmingham Barons part of his career.
I actually didn't know this until I was doing some reading. He was 17 and so because he was still in school, he only could play with them on the weekends. He was still in high school. So he wasn't allowed to play full time.
He was only playing on weekends with the club and he traveled with them when school was out. Could you imagine being a high schooler and yet playing in a professional baseball league? I feel like I would have put school aside at that point if I was already a professional at something. What do you need school for?
You're a pro. He loved baseball. Yeah but, well it was the law.
You're supposed to go to school. But he loved baseball and he was able to play with them on the weekends and then the New York Giants heard about him and purchased his contract from Birmingham going back to 1950. He started in the minor leagues and then the Giants called him up in May of 51. So he was hitting 477 with the Triple A club.
477, the Minneapolis Millers. That was the minor league club for the New York Giants. He played 35 games at Triple A, hit nearly 500 and they called him up in May. And so, he made his major league debut at 20 years old.
20 years old. I do remember this. We're reading about it in the past. He was only the 10th black player to get to the major leagues. And so even though he did not break the color barrier, he no doubt was subjected to racism and vitriol and discrimination and prejudice and had to play and perform with that pressure and with that constant negativity and constant hate in some cases around him. His first career hit was a home run off Hall of Famer Warren Spahn for the Giants on May 28, 1951. Boy, we had no idea. The people who watched him had no idea how many home runs he would hit. He did serve in the U.S. Army. He was drafted before the Korean War. Talk about that.
He was not only a baseball icon but an American hero. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. and an app to start listening. Name your price tool from Progressive.
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