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Willie Mays, The Giants’ Electrifying ‘Say Hey Kid,’ Dies At 93

Published

4 months ago

2024-06-19

Willie Mays | AP news Image

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

The FBI Looks At Claimed Leaks Of Sensitive Israel Attack Records.

Published

1 hour ago

2024-10-23

Salman Ahmad

(VOR News) – According to reports, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced yesterday that it is initiating an investigation into the leak of documents that are apparently classified and explain Israel’s plans for its reprisal strike on Iran.

The materials were allegedly leaked by a third party. It was reported by Anadolu that this information had been found.

As stated in a statement that was made by the agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is currently conducting an inquiry into the suspected disclosure of private information. This investigation is currently being carried out.

In order to carry out this inquiry, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of Inquiry is working closely with its counterparts in the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community. Because this inquiry is still in progress, we are unable to provide any additional commentary at this time.

We regret any trouble this could possibly cause the FBI.

With regard to the situation that is currently being considered, the White House announced on Monday that the Pentagon is beginning its own inquiry into the matter. As of this moment, the authorities are unable to ascertain if the records of the FBI were made accessible to the general public as a consequence of a breach or leak.

This has come about as a direct result of the fact that the Pentagon is currently conducting its own investigation into the matter.

The President remains highly apprehensive of the potential public accessibility of confidential material following its disclosure. Considering the FBI’s assertion that no such event is planned for that site, it would be inappropriate for it to occur there should it transpire.

John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, stated, “He is profoundly concerned about this matter and will diligently oversee the progress of the investigation to ascertain how this transpired.” This aligns with the assertions made by Kirby.

Following the dissemination of the FBI documents on the Middle East Spectator Telegram channel, they started making their way across the internet on Friday. The documents had dates of October 15 and 16, and they were dated.

The FBI dates of the documents were the 15th and 16th of October.

According to a number of publications, the disclosures are alleged to have originated from a source within the intelligence establishment of the United States of America.

It has been asserted that the FBI and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency of the Department of Defense were the ones responsible for the development of one of the documents. This document asserts that Israel’s intentions involve the delivery of bombs.

The Israeli Air Force is currently engaged in the process of performing air-to-surface missile training exercises, according to another document that outlines the Israeli Air Force. Additionally, it is believed that these drills are being conducted in preparation for an act of war against Iran.

The Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, responded to a question that was given by reporters on Friday by the FBI saying, “Yes and yes.”

His response to the question of whether or not he had a “good understanding” of what Israel’s reaction to Iran’s ballistic missile launch on October 1 would comprise and when it would take place was required to be given.

According to Iran, the strike was carried out as a form of vengeance for the assassinations of Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, and Ismail Haniyeh, the former political head of Hamas, who was killed in Beirut a month ago. Both of these individuals were killed in the same location.

The deaths of both of these persons were brought to their respective parties’ attention. Haniyeh was killed as he was participating in an official visit to Tehran in the month of July. The tour was on official business.

SOURCE: MEM

News

Boeing Reports $6 Billion Quarterly Loss As Striking Workers Vote Whether To Accept Contract Offer

Published

1 hour ago

2024-10-23

Kiara Grace

EVERETT, Washington – Boeing disclosed a third-quarter loss of more than $6 billion before focusing on whether striking manufacturing workers would accept a contract offer Wednesday, bringing an end to a protest that has halted airplane production for over six weeks.

Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers voted in union halls in Seattle and elsewhere on a deal that includes a 35% wage increase over four years. Their strike, which began in mid-September, has acted as an early test for new Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, who took over in August.

In his initial statements to investors, Ortberg stated that Boeing needed “a fundamental culture change,” and outlined his strategy for returning the business following years of significant losses and reputational harm.

Boeing Reports $6 Billion Quarterly Loss As Striking Workers Vote Whether To Accept Contract Offer

Ortberg stated in a statement to staff and during the results call that he wanted to “reset” management’s relationship with labor “so we don’t become so disconnected in the future.” He stated that firm leaders should spend more time on manufacturing floors to learn what is going on and “prevent the festering of issues and work better together to identify, fix, and understand root cause.”

Ortberg expressed optimism that the 33,000 striking machinists in the Pacific Northwest will vote to support the company’s most recent contract offer. Their union district was due to release the results on Wednesday night.

Ortberg, a Boeing outsider who previously led Rockwell Collins, a manufacturer of avionics and flight controls for commercial and military aircraft, believes Boeing is at a crossroads.

“Trust in our company has diminished. We have too much debt. We’ve had major failures in performance across the board, which have disappointed many of our customers,” he stated.

Ortberg did, however, underline the company’s strengths, which include a backlog of half-trillion-dollar airplane orders.

“It will take time to return Boeing to its former legacy, but with the right focus and culture, we can be an iconic company and aerospace leader once again,” Mr. Musk said.

Ortberg earlier announced large-scale layoffs (about 17,000 individuals) and a proposal to acquire enough funds to avoid bankruptcy.

“He has a lot on his plate, but he is probably quite focused on completing this negotiation. “That’s the closest alligator to the boat,” said Tony Bancroft, portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, a Boeing shareholder.

Boeing has not had a profitable year since 2018, and Wednesday’s results were the second-worst quarter in the company’s history. Boeing announced a $6.17 billion loss for the quarter ended September 30, with an adjusted loss of $10.44 per share. Analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research predicted a loss of $10.34 per share.

Revenue was $17.84 billion, which matched Wall Street projections.

The corporation burned roughly $2 billion in cash in the quarter, weakening its balance sheet, which is burdened with $58 billion in debt. Brian West, the corporation’s Chief Financial Officer, stated that the corporation will continue to spend cash until 2025, but at a lesser pace.

Boeing shares slid 3% in afternoon trade.

The once-profitable company’s fortunes sank when two of its 737 Max jetliners crashed in October 2018 and March 2019, killing 346 people. A panel blew off an Alaska Airlines Max during a flight in January, reigniting safety worries.

Ortberg must persuade federal authorities that Boeing is improving its safety culture and is ready to ramp up production of the 737 Max, a critical step toward bringing in much-needed revenue. That cannot happen unless the striking workers return to their jobs.

Along with compensation rises, Boeing’s current contract offer includes $7,000 ratification incentives and the preservation of performance bonuses, which Boeing had hoped to abolish.

Boeing Reports $6 Billion Quarterly Loss As Striking Workers Vote Whether To Accept Contract Offer

Boeing resisted a union petition to revive a standard pension plan frozen a decade earlier. However, older workers would see a modest boost in their monthly pension payments.

At a picket line outside a Boeing factory in Everett, Washington, some strikers urged coworkers to reject the revised contract.

“The pension should have been the highest priority. We all agreed that it was our top goal, along with pay,” said Larry Best, a customer quality coordinator with 38 years at Boeing. “Now is the prime opportunity in a prime time to get our pension back, and we all need to stay out and dig our heels in.”

Best also believes that the salary raise should be 40% over three years to counteract a lengthy period of stagnating earnings, which are now mixed with increasing inflation.

“You can tell we had a great turnout today. “I’m pretty sure they don’t like the contract because that’s why I’m here,” said another picketer, Bartley Stokes Sr., who began working at Boeing in 1978. “We’re out here in force, and we’re going to show our solidarity and stick with our union brothers and sisters and vote this thing down because they can do better.”

SOURCE | AP

News

‘Malcolm In The Middle’ Star Frankie Muniz Lands Full-Time NASCAR Ride In 2025

Published

2 hours ago

2024-10-23

Kiara Grace

LANDIS, North Carolina – Former “Malcolm in the Middle” actor Frankie Muniz will continue his NASCAR career with a full-time ride in the Truck Series in 2025.

Frankie will go from part-time racing to full-time in the No. 33 Ford for Reaume Brothers Racing. This season, he made two starts with Reaume Brothers in Truck Series.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Frankie to our full-time team and expand our relationship with Ford Performance,” team owner Josh Reaume said in a statement. “Their support has been invaluable, and we believe that with Frankie’s passion and our collective momentum from this year, we can make significant strides in the upcoming season.”

‘Malcolm In The Middle’ Star Frankie Muniz Lands Full-Time NASCAR Ride In 2025

Frankie is slated to participate in the Truck Series on Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

This season, he competed twice in NASCAR’s second-tier Xfinity Series, including the season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

The 38-year-old Muniz expressed confidence that the team could “achieve great things together.” I can’t wait to get started!”

‘Malcolm In The Middle’ Star Frankie Muniz Lands Full-Time NASCAR Ride In 2025

The actor-turned-racing driver has also competed in the ARCA Series, one of NASCAR’s lower-level feeder series.

Muniz competed in 14 Formula BMW USA races in 2006 before advancing to the Champ Car Atlantic Series the following year. He continued to race until 2009, when a crash injured him and forced him to retire.

Muniz, a longtime racing fan, drove the pace car in the 2001 Daytona 500, where seven-time Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt was killed on the penultimate lap.

SOURCE | AP