Happy Birthday Willie !!

[MarcoPolo]

It ain't 'til tomorrow, but you can read a great article about Willie here :

A day before birthday, Willie Mays remembered for doing the little things | Giants Extra

 

[MarcoPolo]

I watched Willie play while growing up. One thing I remember was Willie always took the right first step in the OF. You'd hear the crack of the bat, and you'd watch the ball arcing into the gap, you'd expect for a double, but when it came down Willie was almost always *standing* there to catch it.

I remember Willie answering a question (I don't remember what the question was, except that it was about his defense) with "If it doesn't look like an easy play, then I'm not playing hard enough". His mantra was "make it *look* easy". Run hard at the beginning of the play so that he could be standing under the ball, or doing an easy jog, when he caught the ball. Unlike today's players who time their routes so that can make a "web gem" -type dive at the last minute, Willie rarely dove. When he did, or when he was obviously running hard or barely caught up to a ball (like "the catch" in the '54 world series) ... then you knew that that was a ball that NOBODY else would have caught.

It was really a joy watching Willie play.

 

[dredinis21]

Happy birfday to the best there ever was. Sey Hey!