San Francisco Giants legend Willie Mays has passed away. He was 93.
The Giants announced the news on Tuesday night with a statement on social media.
"It is with great sadness that we announce that San Francisco Giants Legend and Hall of Famer Willie Mays passed away peacefully this afternoon at the age of 93," the team wrote on Twitter.
Willie's son Michael added in a statement to the Associated Press that his father passed "among loved ones."
Michael Mays added, “I want to thank you all from the bottom of my broken heart for the unwavering love you have shown him over the years. You have been his life’s blood.”
Willie Mays made his baseball debut in the Negro Leagues in 1948, before he entered Major League Baseball in 1951 with the New York Giants. Over the course of more than two decades in the league, Mays won a World Series (1954), made 24 All-Star teams, won two NL MVP awards (1954 and 1965), and had 12 Gold Gloves.
Mays ranks sixth all-time in home runs (660), seventh in runs scored (2,068), 12th in RBIs (1,909) and 13th in hits (3,293).
Barry Bonds, a fellow Giants legend who is also Mays' godson, took to Instagram on Tuesday to share a tribute to Willie.
"I am beyond devastated and overcome with emotion," Bonds, 59, wrote. "I have no words to describe what you mean to me- you helped shape me to be who I am today. Thank you for being my Godfather and always being there. Give my dad a hug for me. Rest in peace Willie, I love you forever."
Check out Bonds' post and some of the best tributes to Willie Mays below.
