How baseball legend Willie Mays earned the nickname 'The Say Hey Kid'

Major League Baseball Hall of Fame player and baseball icon Willie Mays died at age 93 Tuesday. The two-time MVP and 24-time All-Star is one of the best defensive players in league history, known for his years in centerfield at the Polo Ground of New York.

The legendary Mays was also known for his impressive production at the plate. At the time of his retirement, he was top-five all-time in runs scored, home runs, at bats, RBI, total bases, extra-base hits, walks, hits, and slugging percentage. In 2022, ESPN ranked Mays as the second-best MLB player of all-time. Baseball Reference includes him in its top 25 players as well.

In addition to his legendary play from the plate and center field, Mays was known for his nickname: "the Say Hey Kid."

How did Willie Mays get his "Say Hey Kid" nickname?

Records show that Mays earned that nickname as a rookie with the New York Giants. His experience with the Birmingham Black Barons in the Negro Leagues put an emphasis on showmanship.

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His nickname's origin isn't certain. It's often attributed to The New York Journal American's Barney Kremenko who used the nickname in reference to Mays' way of greeting his teammates.

"[Mays] would blurt, 'Say who,' 'Say what,' 'Say where,' 'Say hey,'" Kremenko recounted. "In my paper, I tabbed him the 'Say Hey Kid.' It stuck."

In 2006, Mays himself credited the nickname to New York sportswriter Jimmy Cannon.

"You see a guy, you say, 'Hey, man. Say hey, man,'" Mays recalled. "Ted was the 'Splinter'. Joe was 'Joltin' Joe'. Stan was 'The Man'. I guess I hit a few home runs, and they said there goes the 'Say Hey Kid.'"

That was Mays' second nickname in professional baseball. His friends from school in Birmingham called him "Buck" while he was playing in the Negro Leagues as a 17-year-old. That nickname followed him to the Barons as a rookie in 1948. When he graduated high school, Mays signed with the New York Giants and moved north.

In his playing days there, he often brought that same friendly attitude to play stickball with kids in New York.