SAN FRANCISCO – In this town, it’s not a World Series until the Say Hey Kid shows up.
Willie Mays threw out the first ball last night at Pac Bell Park and to make him feel at home, the weather was just as brutal as Candlestick Park.
Mays also threw out some thoughts concerning his illustrious career, his godson Barry Bonds and baseball.
Commenting about today’s smaller parks, the 71-year-old Hall of Famer said if he had played now, he figures he would have hit at least 50 more home runs, which would have put him closer to Hank Aaron’s neighborhood. Aaron is baseball’s all-time leader at 755, with Babe Ruth at 714 and Mays at 660.
“The ballparks we played in were bigger,” Mays said. “Of course, if we had maybe a shorter fence, I might have hit maybe another 50 home runs, because, take San Diego for instance. I hit that wall just about every time I played there.”
Bonds makes sure to listen carefully to Willie.
“He’s very smart in correcting things that we talk about,” Mays said. “I think he’s a tremendous player right now. He doesn’t need me. The only thing Barry needs right now is tuning up.”
And a few more strikes to come his way.
It was Barry’s mother who asked Willie to be the godfather. “The mother wanted me to be the godfather,” Mays said. “I don’t think Bobby said anything to me about that.”
Mays said the key to his success was that he always listened to his father and that made him the player he became. His father’s best baseball advice? “Defense is your key, not offense,” Mays explained.
Mays made the greatest catch in history against Cleveland’s Vic Wertz in the 1954 World Series, adding an unbelievable throw back to the infield.
“As the ball is coming over the infield, I’m saying to myself, ‘Two men on.’ I’m talking to myself as I’m running.” Mays explained. “I’m saying, ‘I got to get this ball back to the infield.’
As for his place in baseball, Mays said, “I don’t know, I wish I could tell you, because I honestly believe I did everything in baseball that a baseball player can do, and I did it with love.”