BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – The legends of Rickwood Field came to life Thursday night, but none more so than the late Willie Mays.
The team arrived wearing vintage Black Barons caps and No. 8 jerseys – which Mays wore as a teenager, before switching to No. 24 with the Giants. Upon entering his makeshift locker room, they found Mays’ Hall of Fame plaque, which was moved from Cooperstown, New York, for the first time since his induction in 1979.
“I think his presence was here, without a doubt,” said injured Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. “You could feel it.”
Giants manager Bob Melvin called a team meeting before the game to swap stories about Mays, who was a big part of the manager falling in love with baseball as a kid in California’s Bay Area.
“This is a memorable game,” Melvin said. “Probably one of the most important in baseball history. Being able to be here celebrating this, now that the statistics [de las Ligas Negras] They are official and there is a lot more awareness of what happened here… for us, it is about Willie and where he started. We are the perfect team to be here playing.”
The Giants’ current center fielder, Heliot Ramos, did his best Mays impression by hitting a game-tying three-run homer off Cardinals starter Andre Pallante in the third inning. Of course, in the end that wasn’t enough to overcome a difficult start by Keaton Winn, who allowed five runs in 2.2 innings.
Ramos leads the club with 10 home runs, after being promoted to the Majors from Triple-A Sacramento on May 8. The 24-year-old Puerto Rican has been on fire during the month of June, something that has put him in the middle of the conversation to be called up to the All-Star Game. The Humacao native is hitting .307 with a .935 OPS – the highest among National League outfielders with at least 160 at-bats this year.
“I think every time you talk about center field for the San Francisco Giants, you have to think about Willie Mays,” Melvin said. “He’s the kind of thing he does. You’re down three and suddenly you have the game tied with one swing. He’s been doing that for a while now.”
“It’s no secret that Willie is one of the best,” Ramos continued. “It’s a privilege. An honor. I hope his family liked this.”
Despite Thursday’s outcome, the Giants hope to once again have a chance to turn back the clock and return to Mays’ old stomping grounds.
“It should continue,” right-hander Jordan Hicks said of this event. “I think it should be a tradition. There is a lot of history here. “I am happy to be a part of this and enjoy the experience of being able to represent the Giants.”
