This story was excerpted from Maria Guardado’s Giants Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants are taking advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence to celebrate one of their most beloved franchise icons.
This Sunday, Feb. 4 — otherwise known as 2/4/24 — will officially be proclaimed “Willie Mays Day” by San Francisco Mayor London Breed, a fitting honor for the Hall of Fame center fielder who famously wore No. 24 during his transcendent career with the Giants.
“I am honored by Mayor Breed’s proclamation, and would like to thank the City of San Francisco and the Giants for this day,” Mays, 92, said in a statement. “The game of baseball has been great to me, and not only was I given the opportunity to play, but I was also given the opportunity to help kids all around the world. To me, this day means I am loved. This is as much my day as it is for everyone who loves the Game.”
As part of the festivities, several San Francisco landmarks — including City Hall, the Ferry Building and Salesforce Tower — will be lit up in orange and black lights on Sunday. Oracle Park will also be illuminated, with a decorative banner hanging from the 24 palm trees in Willie Mays Plaza to commemorate the occasion.
The idea for “Willie Mays Day” first came from Adam Swig, a Giants season-ticket holder and the founder and executive director of the California nonprofit Value Culture. After realizing that a date synonymous with Mays — 2/4/24 — was approaching on the calendar, Swig reached out to Giants president and CEO Larry Baer, who began working with Breed to bring “Willie Mays Day” to life.
“I feel like I’m one of millions of kids that played baseball in the backyard pretending I was Willie Mays in San Francisco,” Baer said Thursday. “Being able to continue to honor him and continue to be part of the Giants family, especially this year when we’re going to Rickwood [Field], it’s really spectacular.
“To me, he will always be the greatest player ever. I think the majority of baseball fans that go back to watching him play probably feel that.”
Mays’ legacy will remain in the spotlight on June 20, when the Giants will face off against the Cardinals at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala., the former home of the Negro Leagues’ Birmingham Black Barons, where the Say Hey Kid played as a teenager. The Giants are also planning to give out 20,000 bobbleheads featuring Mays in his Black Barons uniform in honor of African American Heritage Day at Oracle Park on May 31.
“Our National Pastime always welcomes the opportunity to celebrate the game’s greatest living player, Willie Mays,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “Major League Baseball applauds the San Francisco Giants and the City of San Francisco for honoring the best number 24 of all in grand fashion. To this day, Willie remains an inspiration to sports fans and baseball players everywhere. We look forward to highlighting Willie’s legacy at the MLB at Rickwood Field Game in his hometown of Birmingham this June 20th.”
The oldest living Hall of Famer, Mays was a singular talent who spent 21 of his 23 Major League seasons with the Giants, serving as the most prominent bridge between the New York and San Francisco eras. A two-time National League MVP, a 24-time All-Star and a 12-time Gold Glove Award winner, Mays hit .301 and ranks sixth on the all-time list with 660 career home runs.
Aside from his otherworldly feats on the field, Mays was also known for his love of kids. In honor of his 90th birthday in 2021, the Giants Community Fund launched the Willie Mays Scholars program, a need-based scholarship available to Black ninth and 11th graders living in San Francisco that is currently accepting applications.
“The imprimatur of Willie will always stick with anyone who watched him or met him,” Baer said. “I feel blessed that it’s now been over 30 years that I’ve known him as a member of our front office. He’s an even better person than he was a player.”
