MLB game at Rickwood Field has ‘spiritual component’ after death of Willie Mays

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Willie Mays may have died Tuesday at his home in the Bay Area, but everywhere you turned Wednesday, everything you felt, everyone you talked to, Mays was everywhere in his hometown of Birmingham.

Mays’ Hall of Fame plaque left the halls of Cooperstown for the first time since its induction in 1979 and sat proudly on Rickwood Field.

Mays’ mural, larger than a movie screen, was unveiled for all to see downtown.

Mays was represented by the “Say Hey” jerseys in a celebrity softball game featuring Hall of Famers and some of baseball’s greatest former stars.

“I think there’s a spiritual component to all of this,” San Francisco Giants president Larry Baer said. “In that sense, Willie really wanted to be in Rickwood, but he knew he physically couldn’t and that’s his way of being here.

“He was so excited that we were all coming to Birmingham and Rickwood and in many ways it happened. This is full circle time. Frankly, that’s what Willie would have wanted, is to bring them all here. …

“It started here and we’re all here to honor it. We wish we could have done it more recently than 76 years ago, but we did. We finally did. It’s a beautiful thing to come together.

“Between Juneteenth and everyone here in town, it’s one of those rare times in life where you just sit back and kind of get excited.”

It was a sentiment throughout the day, shared among players and dignitaries around town to honor the Negro Leagues, with conversation always turning to Mays.

Pitcher LaTroy Hawkins, traded from the Chicago Cubs to the Giants in 2005, remembers meeting Mays for the first time when he walked into the clubhouse. Hawkins was so excited that he quickly grabbed his cell phone, called his grandfather, Eddie Williams, and put him on the phone with Mays.

“You can’t believe how excited he was,” said Hawkins, who also got an autographed jersey from Mays for his grandfather and uncle. “You have to understand. Willie was my grandfather’s favorite player. My grandfather got to see Willie play. He always talked about Willie.

It was no different for former All-Star outfielder Dexter Fowler, who met Mays for the first time at the 2014 World Series, with Mays relaxing on a lounge chair in a suite. Barry Bonds, Mays’ son, gave the introduction.

“Hey Willie, I want you to meet somebody,” Fowler recalled. “This is Dexter Fowler.”

“Willie just looks at me like that and says, ‘You can’t take it down like you used to.’

“I fell in love with this guy.”

The greatest compliment in the world, outfielders will tell you, was when they made a catch that revived memories of one of Mays’ trademark glorious catches.

“I remember making a catch in Seattle over the head and robbing Miguel Olivo,” former five-time All-Star center fielder Adam Jones said. “And (Orioles broadcaster) Gary Thorne said, ‘He Willie Mays did that one.’ There is no other term for a bigger catch than Willie Mays.

“I think this will live forever.”

Jones, a four-time Gold Glove winner, says Mays’ advice at a young age helped him become one of the best defensive players in the game.

“I remember meeting him and he said, ‘Man, don’t ever play this fear game,'” Jones said. “He said, ‘If you get a ball hit over your head in center field, don’t worry about it. about that young wall, go get him. It was just that confidence with which he spoke.

“The confidence with which he spoke, the passion with which he spoke, he loved this game. This was his life. From a boy until his death, he represented baseball with the utmost respect. I think he’s one of the best men to ever represent the game.

“We know he’s here for us. Indeed, we are here for him. He’s looking down at us smiling, knowing we’re celebrating him in a great way.”

Former Cy Young winner CC Sabathia was sitting in the Willie Mays Pavilion at Rickwood Field on Tuesday night when news of his death broke. Sabathia was initially devastated, but soon, that pain turned to a sense of pride.

“I’m like, this is why we’re in Birmingham,” Sabathia said. “We came here to celebrate Willie’s career and what he meant to baseball. … He’s your favorite player’s favorite player. You know what i mean. He’s like the Ken Griffey Jr. of my generation, and to everyone in the ’40s and ’50s, Willie is the greatest baseball player who ever lived.

“Now we have a chance to celebrate this man’s life and a chance to really embrace what he was about. Who he was to baseball, to black history, to American history, to all of us. So this feels right. That’s what we should do. After his passing, we should have celebrations.

“This is the first of many. Really, it’s perfect.”

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rickwood’s MLB game has ‘spiritual component’ after Willie Mays death