Willie Mays was one of the greatest baseball players of all time, but even he tried his hardest to get as much out of it as he could.
The Hall of Fame player passed away earlier this week at age 93, more than 50 years after his illustrious career ended.
Tributes have been pouring in since then, with Johnny Bench, one of Mays’ Hall of Fame candidates, remembering the New York and San Francisco Giants legend on his Outkick show. “Please don’t attack me with Dan Dakich.”
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San Francisco Giants center fielder Willie Mays (left) is tagged out at home plate by Cincinnati Reds catcher Johnny Bench in the top of the third inning. (Getty Images)
“Willie was just awesome. He had such a swagger when he came to home plate,” Bench recalled. “He was swinging the bat back and forth and throwing his head back.”
But the head movement was likely intended to give him an idea of what kind of ball was coming, Bench said.
“Well, he had a habit of stealing signs,” Bench says, “and his first base coach was Peanut Lawrie, and Peanut would look around outside the coach’s box, trying to figure out what the catcher was making the signs. If he called a curveball or a fastball, and Willie hit a home run, Peanut would get a new suit.”
“So I was behind, catching the ball, and Willie was swinging back and forth, throwing his head back, and I was crouching back. He did that seven or eight times. And finally, he came out of the box and said, ‘Are you going to call the pitch?’ I said, ‘Yeah, if you stop looking here.’ And he turned around and tried to steal my sign. ‘Oh man, you got me! You got me!'”
San Francisco Giants outfielder Willie Mays, wearing number 24, watches the flight of the ball as he swings against the New York Mets during an early 1970s Major League Baseball game at Shea Stadium in Flushing, N.Y. Mays played for the Giants from 1951 to 1972. (Focus on Sports/Getty Images)
Willie Mays’ godson, Barry Bonds, posts tribute to Giants legend
Mays is one of the greatest players in baseball history, having made his debut in the Negro Leagues in 1948. He made his MLB debut with the New York Giants at age 20. He went on to have an illustrious career that included 24 All-Star appearances, two MVP awards, 12 Gold Glover Awards, two All-Star Game MVP awards, Rookie of the Year and a 1954 World Series championship, making him an easy Hall of Fame candidate.
Mays was known for his ability to wow crowds with his powerful home runs, slick base running and miraculous plays in center field. One of the most iconic plays in MLB history came during the 1954 World Series and will forever be known as “The Catch.”
He batted .301 with 660 career home runs during his illustrious career. He is one of only four players (Hank Aaron, Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez) with at least 600 of his 3,000 hits being home runs.
He was in 1973 New York MetsHis jersey number 24 has also been retired.
Mays, who served in the Army for most of 1952 and all of 1953, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-President Obama in 2015.
Willie Mays visits PS46 in Harlem, New York City on January 21, 2011, next to the former Polo Grounds, home of the New York Giants before they moved to San Francisco in 1958. (Michael Nagle/Getty Images)
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MLB is scheduled to play a regular-season game Thursday between the Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals at historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, where Mays began his professional baseball career with the Black Barons of the Negro Leagues.
Fox News’ Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
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