Mays was, statistically, one of the best to ever pick up a bat and put on a glove. His career started prior to the advent of the Golden Glove, and he still won 12 of them, consecutively. He had 660 career home runs and a .302 career batting average. And, frankly, it's exhausting to think about telling you people about every single one of his records and achievements. Here's Wikipedia.
I'm not sure we'll see his like again as a player. Most baseball folk have him in company with Babe Ruth. But, if the MLB can learn anything from Hays, I'd tell them: let your players love the game the way Hays did. Before I'd read about what kind of player he was - heck, before I knew about baseball - I knew him as a larger-than-life personality who took joy in people and his sport. The game needs that, and is at its best when you've got those players.
We're sorry to see him go, but as long as people talk about baseball, folks are going to talk about The Say Hey Kid.
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