The sports world is in mourning following the news of the passing of baseball great Willie Mays at the age of 93 on Tuesday. Mays was a towering sports figure, who transcended the baseball realm. That was very much on display just before Tuesday night's Game 5 of the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Finals between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers where ESPN's Steve Levy reported the death of the 24-time Major League Baseball All-Star.
“Some difficult news tonight elsewhere in sports and specifically Major League Baseball. Tonight, we say goodbye to the ‘Say Hey Kid' Willie Mays has passed away at the age of 93,” Levy said alongside Mark Messier and P.K. Subban.
“A two-time MVP, 23 seasons in Major League Baseball, [with] the Giants and the [New York] Mets, 12-time gold glove winner, sixth on the all-time home run list, and me personally for me, he was the greatest most complete Major League Baseball player of all time. Again the Say Hey Kid is gone too soon. Willie Mays has passed away tonight at the age of 93.”
Levy showed utmost respect to Willie Mays during his announcement of the San Francisco Giants legend's passing, calling Mays his personal pick as the “most complete” player in the history of the big leagues. However, plenty of fans chose to focus on Levy saying that Mays died “too soon.”
“ESPN having Steve levy announce willie Mays’ death while the intro to “kickstart my heart” plays in the background,” said @dahlingletary.
“Steve Levy straight-up just said Willie Mays was gone too soon at 93,” posted X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) user @AllWadeAllDay.
“Steve Levy said Willie Mays gone too soon. I mean he was f*****g 93. Pretty damn good run,” shared @MattLorenzo.
“Steve Levy just said Willie Mays gone too soon. Um He was 93. It wasn’t like he died during his baseball career. I’d say 93 is one hell of a life. Rip Willie!!” chimed in @PelsRenovation.
“Steve Levy just said Willie Mays was gone too soon. The man was 93 lol,” said @cmac2211.
From @cj225devs: “Steve Levy saying that Willie Mays is gone too soon at 93, is a little odd!”
This one from @MCanfieldCFB: “Steve Levy: ‘Willie Mays, the Say Hey Kid, gone too soon.' He was 93, Steve.”
“Am I the only one who noticed Steve Levy announcing the passing of Willie Mays, aged 93, and ending the segment with ‘too soon,'” wondered @ronsylvester.
“Steve Levy just said on @espn Willie mays has passed away too soon at 93🤦♂️,” said @hanson_maypac12.
“Steve Levy just said Willie Mays gone too soon. Um He was 93. It wasn’t like he died during his baseball career. I’d say 93 is one hell of a life. Rip Willie!!” commented @PelsRenovation.
Willie Mays was a legend in every sense of the word
To say that Mays had a stellar baseball career would be a huge understatement. Mays hit .301 during his incredible time in the big leagues and also posted a .384 OBP and .557 slugging percentage. He finished his career with a 155 OPS+. Mays' 156.2 wins above replacement (Baseball-Reference) is the fifth-best ever.
Only Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, Cy Young, and Barry Bonds recorded better bWAR than Mays, who was also a two-time National League Most Valuable Player, a four-time NL home run leader, and a four-time stolen bases leader. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979 — his first year of Cooperstown eligibility.
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