AWARD FOR WILLIE MAYS

The great Willie Mays, who turns 90 on May 6and is often recognized as the all-time best baseball player, is still being honored.

The Hall of Fame center fielder won the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Baseball Digest. He was honored Friday with a new accolade to be given annually recognizing a living individual who has made “significant contributions to the national game.”

Mays, who represented the National Pastime in every phase of the game, appeared on the cover of a special Sports Illustrated publication in 2000 that named the top players at every position, and with Mays perhaps the best of all as the story detailed.

Speaking of covers, the Say Hey Kid appears on the front of Baseball Digest for the fourth time. He was chosen over five other finalists in voting by a panel of longtime baseball writers, broadcasters, historians and executives.

Always humble and modest, Mays said, “I never worried about personal awards. I worried about winning. But to be honest with this Lifetime Achievement Award, that’s a great honor, especially with all the other great names (considered), all deserving.”

With his eyesight failing as he resides in San Francisco under the care of a nurse and close friends, Mays made 24 All-Star teams, twice won National League Most Valuable Player awards and a dozen Gold Gloves awards during his dazzling career from 1951 to 1973. He moved with the Giants from New York to San Francisco, then finished up with two seasons in the Big Apple playing for the New York Mets.

In 1973, it was Willie Mays night before a standing room only crowd at Shea Stadium, and he was never much for speeches, so when he stood at home plate, he thanked everybody and said “Goodbye to baseball.” It was a night to remember for someone who gave so much to the game.

He ranks sixth on the career chart with 660 home runs, but he also spent two years in the military after winning Rookie of the Year in 1951, and returned in 1954 to lead the Giants to the World Series championship and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. He is often the unanimous choice when naming the all-time best center fielders, and is considered the all-time finest baseball player because of his elite versatility in all phases of the game — his bat, his glove, his arm. his legs, his leadership, and the respect that he deserved and received.

His first home run or rather his first hit after the Giants called him up from Triple A Minneapolis came off Hall of Fame southpaw pitcher Warren Spahn at the Polo Grounds after he was hitless in his first 21 at-bats. In 1954 there was the unforgettable, amazing catch deep in centerfield off the bat of Vic Werth in the World Series.