Melvin and Bochy share memories of May ahead of the Rickwood Classic

Willie Mays before the baseball game between the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants on Friday, Aug. 19, 2016, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

CHICAGO — Willie Mays may not be present this week when the Giants visit his hometown and first professional baseball stadium, but the oldest living Hall of Famer won't be far from their minds when the Rickwood Classic on Thursday.

“Unfortunately, I don't think he'll be able to go,” manager Bob Melvin said, “but we'll all be thinking of him when we walk on that field, saying, 'Willie Mays played here.'”

The Giants were selected to play in the first championship game in Birmingham, at Alabama's Rickwood Field, thanks in large part to Mays, who grew up near the ballpark and called it home as a teenager for the Black Barons, the city's team in the Negro Southern League.

Mays, 93, released a statement Monday saying, “I wish I was there. But I don't move as well as I used to. So I'll be watching from home (in the Bay Area).

“Rickwood has been a part of my life my whole life. Since I was a child. It was just “around the corner” from Fairfield (where Mays grew up) and it felt like it had been there forever. Like a church. The first big thing I thought about was playing at Rickwood Field. It was not a dream. It was something I was going to do. …

“I'm happy the Giants, Cardinals and MLB are doing this, allowing everyone to see professional ball at Rickwood Field. It's good to remind people of all the great ball that was played there and all the player. All these years and he's still here. Me too. And that ?

Now 90 years old, Mays isn't as much of a presence on the baseball diamond as he once was after playing. It causes a stir every time he passes by, usually holed up in former club manager Mike Murphy's office while players and team staff stop by, as he has made to celebrate his 92nd birthday last May.

It's a different relationship for the current generation of Giants players than for their manager, who grew up watching Mays as a young baseball fan on the Peninsula and got to know him well after being traded to his hometown club. hometown after his rookie season.

“In 1986, when I first showed up at Candlestick, his locker was next to mine and he was nearby,” Melvin said. “That’s when I met him. And then, over the years, I had a few conversations with him.

Born three years after the Giants moved to California and 10 years old when Mays played his final game in San Francisco, Melvin had the unique opportunity to go from idolizing Mays to enjoying a lifelong relationship.

Locking next to him, Melvin said, “It was more about questions I would have to ask him.” When Candlestick's strong winds changed direction, Mays would tell him, “When the wind blew from the left, I hit them to the right.” »And he would just show you this perfect (form). He probably couldn't explain it, but he certainly knew how to do it.

Mays was always aware of the value and timeliness of his signing, which was Bruce Bochy's introduction when he joined the organization in 2007. Bochy intended to continue the tradition of welcoming members living Giants Hall of Famers during spring training. and Mays showed up prepared.

“The first day of spring training, he shows up with a dozen signed baseballs. He said, 'You'll probably need it,'” Bochy recalled. “It was a very nice gesture. The last thing you want to do is go ask him for a baseball. I just loved talking to this man.