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baseball, Baseball Hall of Fame, baseball player, Brooklyn, Candlestick Park, Los Angeles Dodgers, Major League Baseball, MLB, Polo Grounds, rivals, San Francisco Giants, Shea Stadium, Upper Manhattan, Willie Mays, World Series
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1931-2024. Photo courtesy of nytimes.com
THIS IS THE ULTIMATE “NOT SO CAL SPORTS, BUT SO WHAT” POST
And as I’m wearing a Dodger cap and jersey as I type this, I believe this personal sentiment says it all about this most significant of sports figures…
Willie Mays is the reason why I am most likely the only Dodger fan in existence who does NOT hate the San Francisco Giants, the over 100-year main rival of the Dodgers.
He is the reason why though I’m not a fan of the Giants and do not and would not wear any of their gear (unless I lost a bet),
I respect them as a franchise and the rivalry that spanned from New York City (Brooklyn and Upper Manhattan to be precise) to the two flagship cities of California.
Plus along with everything else,
I firmly believe that through his extremely spectacular play and the pronounced joy he exuded while playing in the Polo Grounds, Candlestick Park and Shea Stadium, Willie Mays did nearly as much as Jackie Robinson to not only integrate Major League Baseball,
He did much to make black ball players more acceptable to white fans who largely gave Jackie hell (particularly the non-Dodger fans outside of Brooklyn) during his first couple of years in the big leagues.
That catch in the 1954 World Series certainly didn’t hurt, either.
Nor did his dominant play over a 23-year career, putting up numbers that I won’t reiterate here as it’s been done on other websites and news sources.
It obviously saddened me when I heard he had passed away,
But being that he lived ninety-three years on this planet,
Assuming that he is in Heaven now, I strongly think he was told three words upon entering those gates…
“Well done. Welcome.”
And allow me to say this in closing this tribute to a Hall of Famer who in my view was the greatest ball player of all time,
A player who I put above all the other baseball greats, even Babe Ruth…
FAREWELL, WILLIE – FROM A LONGTIME FAN OF YOUR MAIN BASEBALL RIVAL.
YOU HAD A GREAT LIFE IN BASEBALL AND SO MANY OTHER WAYS.
GIVE JACKIE, HANK, AND ALL THE OTHER BASEBALL GREATS OUR PERSONAL REGARDS.
AND MAY YOU REST IN PEACE – YOU HAVE CERTAINLY MORE HAN EARNED IT.
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In the opinion of countless others along with mine, this man was the greatest baseball player ever. And the reason why as a Dodger fan, I never hated the Giants. Photo courtesy of usatoday.com