Say, hey! Mets retire Willie Mays’ No. 24 as Old-Timers’ Day returns

NEW YORK — Willie Mays played only two seasons for the Mets, but his legacy in New York City was cemented set decades earlier in upper Manhattan at the Polo Grounds. On Saturday, baseball’s “Say Hey Kid” was honored during an Old Timers’ Day ceremony at Citi Field.

>> Read more trending news

The Mets retired Mays’ No. 24 jersey on Saturday as part of festivities during the team’s first Old-Timers’ Day ceremony since 1994, The Associated Press reported.

“From this day forward, no Met will ever wear Willie Mays’ iconic No. 24,” emcee Howie Rose told the crowd.

The retirement of Mays’ number, which was not announced before the game, was accompanied by a tribute video and a message from the Hall of Famer, The New York Times reported. Mays, 91, was unable to attend the ceremony after undergoing a hip replacement several months ago.

His son, Michael Mays, stood in for the festivities and said the move by the Mets was a “long time coming.”

Mays only spent the 1972 and 1973 seasons with the Mets before retiring. But Joan Payson, a Mets co-founder, wanted Mays to finish his career in New York City. She promised the Mets would one day retire his number, the Times reported.

Payson died in 1975. The team fulfilled her promise on Saturday.

“There has been a 50-year gap, if you will, between a promise made and a promise kept,” Mets team president Sandy Alderson said. “And we felt that on this occasion today, in light of all the players that we had here, all the generations, that this was the time to keep that promise.”

“Her promises to him were important, so for it to come to fruition like this, something undone is done,” Michael Mays said.

Willie Mays, a graceful player who combined speed with power and baseball savvy, is the oldest living member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. During his career, he was a two-time National League Most Valuable Player and won a batting title. He hit 660 home runs, stroked 3,283 hits and drove in 1,903 runs. Mays earned 12 Gold Gloves and 24 All-Star Game berths.

Mays was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979, appearing on 409 of the 432 ballots cast.

Mays played 22 seasons in the major leagues, beginning in 1951 with the New York Giants. He followed the Giants west to San Francisco in 1958 and stayed with the team until 1972 when he was traded back to New York to play for the Mets. In his debut with the Mets, on May 14, 1972, Mays homered in his second at-bat against his former team -- his 647th career four-bagger.

Mays hit his 660th and final home run with the franchise and delivered multiple RBI singles during the 1973 postseason, including one in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series and another in Game 2 of the World Series, MLB.com reported. The Mets won both games.

Cleon Jones, a teammate during Mays’ two years in Flushing, described the more intangible inspiration the Hall of Famer provided.

“No disrespect to Mickey Mantle, Duke Snider, Hank Aaron, Clemente -- no disrespect,” Jones said, “but nobody could do all the things that Willie could do to win a game.”

©2022 Cox Media Group