SAN FRANCISCO — Willie Mays received final military honors for his time served in the U.S. Army during a special presentation of an American flag to son Michael on Monday, when taps was sounded at a public memorial service at Oracle Park for the late National Baseball Hall of Famer.
Baseball dignitaries past and present, including godson and MLB career home runs leader Barry Bonds, sat on the field for remembrances and video highlights going back to Mays’ stickball days in the streets outside New York’s Polo Grounds.
The “Say Hey Kid,” who was among the early Negro League stars and hit 660 home runs during his MLB career despite spending 1952-54 in the Army during the Korean War, died on June 18 at age 93. The Army honored Mays in front of his family, friends, former teammates and executives, and thousands of fans.
With a large 24 cutout representing the legendary center fielder’s jersey number elevated on the infield dirt between first base and second base in the San Francisco Giants’ waterfront ballpark, Bonds sat in the front row down the third-base line.
Others in attendance included Bill Clinton — the former U.S. president was a dear friend of Mays — MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, MLB executive and former manager and player Joe Torre, Hall of Fame players Dennis Eckersley, Rickey Henderson, Reggie Jackson and Juan Marichal, and retired managers Dusty Baker and Felipe Alou. Also in attendance were former Giants owner Bob Lurie, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Willie Brown — the city’s former mayor — and Jeff Idelson, a former longtime president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Broadcaster Jon Miller, who was the master of ceremonies, also took a moment to mention Orlando Cepeda — who died 10 days after his former teammate Mays on June 28 — among other late Hall of Famers.
Clinton, who was born in Arkansas and loved the St. Louis Cardinals growing up, recalled his joy listening to games on the radio as a kid.
“I lived for the games I could hear on the radio,” he said. “I never got to see ‘The Catch,’ I just heard it on the radio. We didn’t get a television until I was 10, but I can still remember just sitting there soaking up the Dodgers, soaking up the Yankees, and living for the Giants so I could watch Willie Mays.”
The Rev. Bill Greason, a former teammate and longtime friend of Mays, offered a recorded prayer shown on the main scoreboard in center field.
Manfred credited Mays for transforming San Francisco — the Giants moved there from New York ahead of the 1958 season, when the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles — into a baseball town, “and it stays a baseball town today.”
“There’s never been a better representative of baseball’s magic than Willie Mays. He dominated the game in every way,” Manfred said. “He didn’t merely play, he captured imaginations. He never allowed his meticulous preparation to prevent him from showing the joy that the game brought him. He inspired generations of players and fans.”
AP photo by Ross D. Franklin / Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker flips a baseball during the ninth inning of the team’s 7-1 win against the Chicago White Sox on June 14 in Phoenix.Walker still waiting
PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker is a two-time Gold Glove winner, helped lead his team to the World Series last season, has hit at least 33 home runs each of the past two years, and is currently on pace for close to 40 homers this season.
However, the 33-year-old slugger still hasn’t been selected to an MLB All-Star Game. The trend continued Sunday, when the complete rosters for the National League and American League were revealed for the July 16 game in Arlington, Texas.
“It stings a little bit, but it is what it is,” Walker told reporters after Sunday’s win over the San Diego Padres. “Those guys deserve it. Nothing but credit to them.”
Walker added later: “To be honest, I got the support and the respect of my teammates and my peers and my coaches, and nothing else really matters.”
Walker, who entered Monday night’s home game against the Atlanta Braves batting .268 with 22 homers and 64 RBIs this season, was far from the only snubbed player for the Midsummer Classic, but he’s among the best current players who have never made it. Other notable omissions from this year’s group include first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, outfielder Anthony Santander and middle infielder Jordan Westburg of the Baltimore Orioles, pitchers Aaron Nola of the Philadelphia Phillies and Luis Gil of the New York Yankees, and Padres third baseman Manny Machado.
A few of those players — including Walker — could still find their way to Arlington for the AL-NL matchup, though. A handful of current selections, such as the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts and the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr., will likely miss the game because of injuries, which means MLB will select replacements in the coming days.
AP photo by Julio Cortez / The New York Mets’ Pete Alonso watches the ball after hitting a two-run homer against the host Texas Rangers on June 19 in Arlington.Derby roster grows
PITTSBURGH — Pete Alonso will participate in his fifth straight Home Run Derby, with the New York Mets first baseman trying to win for the third time.
Atlanta designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, Philadelphia’s Alec Bohm, Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson and Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals also have committed to the slugfest at Globe Life Field next Monday as part of MLB All-Star festivities.
Alonso made the announcement Sunday night on Instagram, and he talked about it more in depth on Monday, before the Mets faced the host Pittsburgh Pirates.
He said he wants to use whatever winnings he earns to refurbish amateur baseball fields through his charitable foundation. Alonso has donated portions of his previous prizes from the event to the Wounded Warrior Project aiding wounded service members, as well as Tunnel to Towers, which supports first responders and their families.
“It’s something I’m very excited about and I’m happy they asked me because it’s an opportunity to give back to the game,” Alonso said. “I want to inspire the youth, get more kids out there playing baseball across the U.S.”
Ken Griffey Jr. is the only three-time champion of the event, which started in 1985, winning in 1994, 1998 and 1999.
Alonso won the competition in 2019 as a rookie at Cleveland’s Progressive Field, edging Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays 23-22 in the final round, then repeated in 2021 at Denver’s Coors Field, beating Baltimore’s Trey Mancini by the same score. There was no derby in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic led to a shortened MLB season that started after the usual date for the All-Star break. Alonso also took part the past two years.
“I love participating because it’s a full stadium and the fans are there to see the same thing,” he said. “I think the cool part of our game is seeing balls hit far and hard. I think it’s a great event. I really like doing it because growing up watching it was like ‘If I have an opportunity to do it, I will.’ Taking me back to 7-year-old me, it’s a dream come true.”