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Baseball Legend Willie Mays Dies At 93

Willie Mays — the baseball legend who made history in so many ways—has died. He was 93.

“My father has passed away peacefully and among loved ones,” Mays’ son, Michael Mays, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “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.”

“His incredible achievements and statistics do not begin to describe the awe that came with watching Willie Mays dominate the game in every way imaginable,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “We will never forget this true Giant on and off the field.” 

The San Francisco Giants announced the former center fielder, who also played for the New York Mets, died on Tuesday.

The “Say Hey Kid” started out playing for the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League in 1948. The Giants purchased his contract in 1950, and after a slow start, Mays earned the National League’s Rookie of the Year award in 1951 with 20 home runs.

Mays played 21 seasons before being traded to the New York Mets in 1972. Mays finished with 660 home runs, the sixth most in MLB history.

Two Yankee Pitchers Out With Injuries

The Yankees pitching depth took a hit as right-handers Ian Hamilton and Cody Poteet went on the Injured List.

Hamilton won’t throw for 3-4 weeks after suffering a lat strain in his last appearance. And Poteet went down with a right triceps strain and will be shut down for 1-2 weeks.

To take the spots on the roster, the Yankees recalled lefty Clayton Andrews from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and signed left-hander Anthony Misiewicz to a major league contract and selected him to the active roster.

They still need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Misiewicz.

Hamilton has been a key piece to the bullpen each of the last two years and Poteet filled in well in the rotation after Clarke Schmidt hit the IL.

Yankees’ Gerrit Cole Coming Back From Injury

Gerrit Cole made his return to the mound in a rehab start Tuesday at Double-A Somerset and looked like his old self.

Cole threw 3 innings against the Hartford Yard Goats, allowing zero runs, no walks and two hits and striking out five.

The New York Yankees ace threw 45 pitches, which was right in line with the 40-50 Somerset manager Raul Dominguez planned to hold Cole to heading into the game. Of those 45 pitches, 34 went for strikes, and his fastball sat between 94 and 96 mph.

“It felt really great to get back out there, get back in the flow of things, get some adrenaline,” Cole said afterward.

Cole, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, hasn’t pitched for the Yankees this season after being shut down during spring training due to right elbow inflammation.

NY Jets Add Defensive Lineman

With Sauce Gardner, Quinnen Williams, CJ Mosley, and others already in tow, the New York Jets are adding yet another ex-first-round draft pick to their defense.

The Jets have signed veteran edge rusher Takkarist “Takk” McKinley to a free-agent deal. McKinley, 28, had spent the last two seasons on the practice squad of the Dallas Cowboys.

A first-round pick in 2017 (No. 26 overall), McKinley played the first four seasons of his career with the Atlanta Falcons. He then joined the Cleveland Browns and then the L.A. Rams as an active roster member. McKinley has also been a practice-squad member of the Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans, and finally the Cowboys.

With 20 career sacks and 98 combined tackles to his name, the 6-foot-2, 250-pound McKinley may be worth the dart throw. He will provide some additional depth on the right side of the defensive line.