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Willie Mays, The Giants’ Electrifying ‘Say Hey Kid,’ Dies At 93
Willie Mays, the dazzling “Say Hey Kid” whose unique blend of talent, determination, and passion helped him become one of baseball’s greatest and most adored players, has died. He was 93.
Mays’ family and the San Francisco Giants notified Tuesday night that he died earlier that afternoon in the Bay Area.
“My father died peacefully and surrounded by loved ones,” son Michael Mays said in a statement posted by the club. “I want to thank you all from the bottom of my broken heart for the unfailing love you’ve shown him throughout the years. “You’ve been his lifeblood.”
The center fielder began his professional career in the Negro Leagues in 1948 and was baseball’s oldest living Hall of Famer. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility, and in 1999, he was ranked second only to Babe Ruth on The Sporting News’ list of the game’s greatest players. The Giants retired his uniform number 24 and built AT&T Park in San Francisco on Willie Mays Plaza.
Mays died two days before the Giants’ game against the St. Louis Cardinals to honor the Negro Leagues at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.
“All of Major League Baseball is in mourning today as we are gathered at the very ballpark where a career and a legacy like no other began,” Rob Manfred, the commissioner, said. “Willie Mays transferred his all-around brilliance from the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League to the storied Giants team. From coast to coast, Willie inspired generations of players and fans as the game grew and fully earned its status as our National Pastime.”
Few people were blessed with all five of the fundamental traits of a superstar: hitting for average, hitting for power, speed, fielding, and throwing. Few players exuded excitement as much as he did, whether he was blasting home runs, running around the bases with his loose-fitting cap flying off his head, or chasing down fly balls in center field and finishing the job with his characteristic basket catch.
Willie Mays, The Giants’ Electrifying ‘Say Hey Kid,’ Dies At 93
Mays batted for 23 big league seasons, the majority of which were spent with the New York/San Francisco Giants but one in the Negro Leagues.301, 660 home runs, 3,293 hits, almost 2,000 runs scored, and 12 Gold Glove awards. He won Rookie of the Year in 1951, was awarded Most Valuable Player twice, and finished in the top ten for MVP ten times. His lightning-fast dash and over-the-shoulder grab of an apparent extra-base hit in the 1954 World Series is still baseball’s most famous defensive play.
“When I played ball, I tried to make sure everybody enjoyed what I was doing,” Mays told NPR in 2010. “I had the clubhouse guy fit me a cap so that as I ran, the wind got up in the bottom and it flew straight off. People enjoy such kind of stuff.”
For millions in the 1950s, 1960s, and beyond, the smiling ballplayer with the cheerful, high-pitched voice was a hallmark athlete and showman in an era when baseball was still the national pastime. Mays, who received the Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2015, had a lasting impression on his supporters. But a single feat captured his charm, one so unrivaled that it was simply dubbed “The Catch.”
In Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, the then-New York Giants faced the Cleveland Indians, who had won 111 games in the regular season and were heavy favorites in the postseason. The score was 2-2 in the top of the eighth inning. Vic Wertz of Cleveland faced reliever Don Liddle with no outs, Larry Doby on second, and Al Rosen on first.
With the count 1-2, Wertz blasted a fastball into deep center field. Wertz would have homered or had an easy triple in an ordinary park with an average center fielder. However, the center field wall in the unusually shaped Polo Grounds was more than 450 feet away. Willie Mays’ skills were everything but average.
Decades of video replays haven’t dulled the thrill of seeing Mays rush towards the wall, his back to home plate, reach out his glove and catch the drive. What happened was also remarkable: Mays could swivel around while still moving forward, hurl the ball to the infield, and prevent Doby from scoring even as she spun. Mays proudly stated that “the throw” was as essential as “the catch.”
Willie Mays | AP news Image
Willie Mays, The Giants’ Electrifying ‘Say Hey Kid,’ Dies At 93
“Soon as it got hit, I knew I’d catch the ball,” Mays said author James S. Hirsch, whose book was published in 2010.
“All the time I’m running back, I’m thinking, ‘Willie, you’ve got to get this ball back to the infield.'”
Millions of people saw and heard “The Catch” on radio and television, and Mays became one of the first Black athletes to get widespread media attention. He appeared as a guest on “The Donna Reed Show,” “Bewitched,” and several other comedies. He inspired a few songs and was named first in Terry Cashman’s 1980s novelty tune “Talkin’ Baseball (Willie, Mickey & The Duke),” which was a tribute to the brief era when New York had three future Hall of Famers in the centre: Mays, Mantle of the Yankees, and Snider of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
The Giants went on to sweep the Indians, with many crediting Mays’ performance as a turning moment. The impression was so powerful that 63 years later, in 2017, baseball named him the World Series Most Valuable Player, even though it was his lone playoff memorable moment. He appeared in three previous World Series, for the Giants in 1951 and 1962 and the Mets in 1973, batting 239 with no home runs in all four. (His only postseason home run came in the 1971 National League playoffs when the Giants lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
But “The Catch” and his regular-season performances were impressive enough. Yankees and Dodgers fans may have hotly contested Mays’ dominance, but Mantle and Snider did not. At a 1995 baseball writers’ dinner in Manhattan, with all three on the dais, Mantle asked the age-old question: which of the three was better?
“We don’t mind being second, do we, Duke?” He added.
From 1954 to 1966, Mays drove in 100 or more runs ten times, scored 100 or more twelve times, hit 40 or more home runs six times, more than 50 home runs twice, and led the league in stolen bases four times. His numbers might have been higher. He missed most of 1952 and all of 1953 due to military service, which may have cost him the opportunity to break Ruth’s career home run record of 714, which had previously been held by Henry Aaron and Mays’ godson, Barry Bonds. He won more Gold Gloves if the award had been founded before 1956. He said he could have led the league in steals more frequently if he had tried.
“I’m completely devastated and overtaken with grief. “I have no words to express how much you mean to me,” Bonds wrote on Instagram.
Willie Mays | AP news Image
Willie Mays, The Giants’ Electrifying ‘Say Hey Kid,’ Dies At 93
Mays was lucky to avoid catastrophic harm and a huge controversy but faced personal and professional challenges. His first marriage, with Margherita Wendell, ended in divorce. He was frequently short on money during the pre-free agent period, and he received less for sponsorships than Mantle and other white athletes. He was subjected to racial slurs, and his assertion that he was an entertainer rather than a spokesman prompted Jackie Robinson and others to criticize him for not contributing more to the civil rights cause. He didn’t like some of his managers and didn’t always appreciate his idols, particularly Aaron, his greatest contemporary.
“When Henry began to soar up the home-run chart, Willie was loathe to give even a partial nod to Henry’s ability, choosing instead to blame his own performance on his home turf, (San Francisco’s) Candlestick Park, saying it was a lousy park in which to hit homers and this was the reason for Henry’s onrush,” Howard Bryant, Aaron’s biographer, wrote in 2010.
Admirers of Aaron, who died in 2021, argue that only his calm demeanor and geographical distance from major media centers — Aaron played in Atlanta and Milwaukee — prevented him from being rated alongside, if not ahead of, Mays. However, Mays was regarded as the most important player in baseball. He was the game’s highest-paid player for 11 seasons (according to the Society for American Baseball Research), and he frequently batted first in All-Star Games because he was Willie Mays. From center field, he called pitches and positioned other players. He boasted that while determining whether to try for an extra base, he followed his instincts rather than any instructor’s.
Barney Kremenko, a sports writer, is commonly credited with calling Mays “The Say Hey Kid,” which refers to his passionate approach to greeting his teammates. Moments on and off the pitch solidified the public’s adoration. In 1965, Mays broke up a horrific altercation after teammate Juan Marichal hit Los Angeles Dodgers catcher John Roseboro with a bat. Mays walked a bloodied Roseboro away and sat by him on the Dodgers’ clubhouse bench, the Giants’ bitter rivals.
SOURCE – (AP)
News
Mark Zuckerberg Accuses Biden Administration of COVID-19 Censorship Pressure
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms (META.O), stated that the Biden administration pressed the company to “censor” COVID-19 content during the pandemic. This appears to allude to White House requests to remove misinformation concerning the coronavirus and immunisations.
In a letter dated August 26, Mark Zuckerberg informed the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee that he regretted not speaking up sooner about this pressure, as well as other judgements he had made as the owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp over the removal of specific information.
In July 2021, President Joe Biden, a Democrat, stated that social media platforms such as Facebook “are killing people” by permitting misinformation regarding coronavirus vaccines to be shared.
Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy have openly stated that the company’s failure to combat misinformation is hindering efforts to save lives during the outbreak.
Facebook announced at the time that it was taking “aggressive steps” to combat such misinformation. Despite the spread of vaccine-related misinformation on social media, the Biden administration eventually relaxed its criticism.
In a letter to the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee on Monday, Mark Zuckerberg stated that his firm was “pressured” into “censoring” information and that it would respond if similar demands were made again.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Letter to House Judiciary Committee
“In 2021, senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humour and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn’t agree,”Mark Zuckerberg wrote in the letter, which the Judiciary Committee posted on its Facebook page.
“I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret we were not more outspoken about it,” he said. “I also think we made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today.”
The White House issued a statement encouraging reasonable efforts to preserve public health and safety in the face of a devastating epidemic.
“Our position has been clear and consistent: we believe tech companies and other private actors should take into account the effects their actions have on the American people, while making independent choices about the information they present.”
Mark Zuckerberg has recently attempted to cater to conservative fans, praising Republican nominee Donald Trump’s response to an assassination attempt as “badass” and appearing on right-wing podcasts. Representative Jim Jordan, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, is a long-time Trump supporter.
In a Facebook post, the Judiciary Committee described the letter as a “big win for free speech” and stated that Mark Zuckerberg agreed that “Facebook censored Americans”.
In the letter, Zuckerberg also stated that he will not contribute to electoral infrastructure in this year’s presidential election in order to “not play a role one way or another” in the November vote.
During the 2020 pandemic, the billionaire contributed $400 million to support election infrastructure through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, his philanthropic venture with his wife. However, some groups criticised the move as partisan and sued.
News
Prince Harry Clarifies Future Plans Amid Reports of Reconciliation with King Charles
Prince Harry has taken an unexpected step to clear the air about his future plans, following reports of reconciliation with King Charles.
The Duke of Sussex has apparently decided to create his own online institution and has applied for a trademark.
It arose amid suspicion that King Charles had accelerated efforts to mend a gap with his son in his life.
Harry, who struggled academically at Eton College and departed with a D in A-level geography and a B in art, is poised to reveal a new effort with the US tutoring platform BetterUp.
The father of two, who bypassed university and went directly to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as an officer cadet, is a key member of a team developing its own ‘life-coaching’ university.
The Duke is third in command of the platform and was named the company’s ‘chief impact officer’ in March 2021, with a rumoured salary of more than $1 million, to focus on ‘preventative mental fitness’.
The Silicon Valley mental health startup intends to establish BetterUp University, which will provide online degrees in life coaching.
In freshly filed documents, the San Francisco-based company has applied to the US Patent and Trademark Office to register its BetterUp University concept.
According to the application, the university will offer “online educational forums in the fields of life coaching, professional coaching, personal development coaching, and career development coaching.”
In a BetterUp discussion two years ago, Harry acknowledged to having “burnout” and feeling like he was “getting to the very end of everything that I had”.
He has spoken honestly about his mental health “unravelling” on TV and in his 2023 memoir Spare, decrying the Royal Family’s lack of “support”. He also revealed that he had been in treatment for four years “to heal myself from the past”.
SEE ALSO: Meghan Markle Unlikely to Move to UK with Prince Harry Due to Security Concerns
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U.S. Dollar and Yen Surge Amid Middle East Tensions
The US dollar rebounded from an eight-month low on Monday, while the yen climbed against other currencies as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East worsened, driving investors to seek safe-haven refuge.
The UK markets were closed for a public holiday, thus volume was lower than usual.
The Swiss franc strengthened after Israel and Hezbollah exchanged missiles in one of the most intense border skirmishes in over a decade.
“Geopolitical tension is definitely a factor. “Israel and Lebanon undoubtedly moved the market,” said Amo Sahota, executive director of Klarity FX in San Francisco. “Oil prices climbed by nearly 3%. They were down last Friday, so the recovery has benefited certain currencies, including the yen, Swiss franc, and Canadian dollar.”
In afternoon trade, the US dollar index, which measures the value of the dollar against six major currencies, rose 0.2% to 100.84, up from its low of 100.53 in late December.
The dollar was flat to slightly higher against the yen, trading at 144.51. It previously fell to a three-week low of 143.45.
The euro slipped 0.1% against the Japanese yen, trading at 161.45 yen, while the Swiss franc fell 0.7% to 169.97.
According to Helen Given, an FX trader at Monex USA in Washington, the yen has gained more than other safe havens, particularly against the dollar, as it continues to benefit from an expected U.S. interest rate cut next month, as confirmed by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in a hawkish speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming last Friday.
This caused traders to lock in bets on a 25 basis point (bps) rate decrease in September, as well as raise expectations for a massive 50 basis point rate cut.
“Powell comes in and sounds really quite alarmist, in a way, particularly his comments around employment reports,” said Klarity’s Sahota.
“He said nothing about moderate, progressive rate decreases. He appeared to be writing an open letter, stating that “if data suggests, we will go hard and fast.”
The dollar gained somewhat versus the yen as statistics revealed that US durable goods orders increased 9.9% in July after dipping in June. Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a key indicator of company spending plans, fell 0.1% after a revised 0.5% increase in June.
The euro fell 0.3% against the dollar, hitting $1.1161. According to Reuters, ECB policymakers are planning another rate drop on September 12.
The risk-off mentality also weighed on the Australian, New Zealand, and Norwegian currencies, all of which fell against the dollar.
At the same time, the risk-off approach helped the Swiss franc. The dollar fell 0.1% versus the Swiss franc, to 0.8469 francs. The euro also lost 0.3% against the Swiss franc, reaching 0.9454.
Sterling fell 0.2% against the dollar to $1.3192, after reaching a high of $1.3229 on Friday for the first time in 17 months. The Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey stated on Friday that it is “too early” to declare victory over inflation, indicating a less aggressive approach to interest rate cuts compared to the Fed.
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