Willie Mays

Willie Mays sits at the summit of baseball for me. Born in Alabama in 1931, he came up through the Negro leagues with the Birmingham Black Barons before redefining what a five-tool player could be: running, hitting, fielding, all at the highest level, all with visible joy. The Say Hey Kid played the game like it was a gift, and the multiple MVPs, the Gold Gloves, and finally the Presidential Medal of Freedom only frame what everyone could see. He broke barriers with sheer ability, not slogans. When he passed in 2024, it felt like losing a piece of the sport's soul, but that number 24 is forever.

Name (English)

Willie Mays

Name (Japanese)

ウィリー・メイズ

Reading

うぃりー・めいず

Born

May 6, 1931 – June 18, 2024

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Taurus / Goat

Origin

Westfield, Alabama, United States

Height

178 cm

Occupation

baseball player

Awards & achievements

• Rawlings Gold Glove Award
• 2007 California Hall of Fame
• 2015 Presidential Medal of Freedom
• 1954 Associated Press Athlete of the Year
• 1965 Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award
• 1954 Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award

• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie%20Mays
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A3%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%BB%E3%83%A1%E3%82%A4%E3%82%BA
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q561852

Tags

• Alabama
• baseball player

Last updated

2026-06-17

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.