BIRMINGHAM – The death of baseball legend Willie Mays heightens the emotions for the special game between the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals at Rickwood Field in Alabama tonight. Major League Baseball is staging the game as tribute to Negro Leagues stars such as Mays, who played for the Birmingham Black Barons at Rickwood in 1948 before signing with the Giants.

Mays died Tuesday at the age of 93.

“Obviously, we wish he was here with us to see it, but he’ll be watching over the game,” Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski said to MLB.com. “It’s definitely one of those times to reflect on the important things in life. He had such an impact on this game and on so many people. To be able to be involved in a celebration for him is an incredibly humbling experience.”

The event gives today’s players an opportunity to reflect on the sport’s history.

“It means the world to me, and to my stepdad, who came into my life early on and taught me about the history of Black baseball players and their significance in our community,” rookie Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn told MLB.com. “He told me about what it means to represent the African-American community. So playing in this game, it’s going to be amazing.”

The Giants petitioned MLB to activate LaMonte Wade Jr. from the injured list for just one game so he could play in Birmingham, but the request was denied.

San Francisco has lost four of its past six games, including each of the past two after the death of Mays, a franchise legend.

The Cardinals won five of six games through Monday to climb over .500 for the first time since early April, but they also have lost their past two.

The Giants will start Keaton Winn (3-7, 6.66 ERA), who had a no-decision in a loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday in his latest start. The right-hander allowed three runs on five hits, including two homers, in six innings while striking out six and walking two.

In his previous four starts, Winn gave up 24 runs on 23 hits in 12 2/3 innings. He rebounded by mixing an effective splitter with a high-90s fastball.

“Honestly, it was just becoming more synced with myself,” Winn said. “I threw a lot of slide-steps (vs. the Angels), and I think that really helped sync everything up.”

In his one previous career appearance against St. Louis, Winn earned a four-inning save during his major league debut on June 13, 2023. He allowed one run on one hit and three walks while fanning two.

The Cardinals will start Andre Pallante (2-3, 4.61 ERA), who has a 3.63 ERA in four starts after posting a 6.30 ERA in nine relief outings earlier this season.

The right-hander didn’t last long in his most recent start. He allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits in 3 1/3 innings during a 5-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.

Pallante is 0-0 with a 2.45 ERA in four career appearances against the Giants, all in relief.

The Cardinals’ pitching scenario was complicated by the loss of starter Kyle Gibson on Wednesday. The veteran returned from bereavement leave for his scheduled start against the host Miami Marlins but wound up getting scratched because of back stiffness.

Reliever Matthew Liberatore replaced him in what became a bullpen start. That change could trigger additional moves to freshen the Cardinals’ bullpen, including the activation of reliever Giovanny Gallegos (shoulder impingement) from the injured list.

St. Louis third baseman Nolan Arenado exited the Wednesday game due to a right elbow contusion after being hit in the arm by a pitch. X-rays were negative.

“I feel OK,” Arenado said, according to MLB.com. He added, “Hopefully there’s no (injured-list) stint, but, you know, it’s gonna probably be a few days. So hopefully I can get back Saturday.”

–Field Level Media

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SAN FRANCISCO – (Staff and wire Service Report) – The death of baseball legend Willie Mays at age 93 on Tuesday prompted tributes from across the sports world.

Mays’ Godson, Barry Bonds, posted on Instagram, “I am beyond devastated and overcome with emotion. (broken heart emoji) 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. #SayHey”

Ken Griffey Jr. wrote in a statement issued by the Seattle Mariners, “I’m at a loss for words. I’m devastated. Heartbroken. Numb. I’ve been lucky enough to know Willie since I was a little kid. And my appreciation only grew over time. From the stories, the videos and then meeting him. He was a true giant off and on the field. A person I looked up to and respected. A friend. And someone I could call when I needed to talk who always had time for me, and my best interests in mind. I considered him an uncle, and, to me, he’ll always be the Godfather of all center fielders.”

Six-time All-Star pitcher CC Sabathia, a San Francisco Bay Area native, posted on X a photo of himself with Mays, writing, “I’ll never forget this day when I walked in and heard, ‘that’s that boy who wears his hat like this.’ RIP Willie Mays. You changed the game forever and inspired kids like me to chase our dream. Thank you for everything that you did on and off the field. Always in our hearts”

Tennis legend Billie Jean King posted online, “The great Willie Mays has passed away. It was a privilege to know him. We were both honored by @MLB in 2010 with the Beacon Award, given to civil rights pioneers.

“He was such a kind soul, who gifted my brother Randy a new glove and a television during his rookie year with the @SFGiants. My deepest condolences to his family. He will be missed.”

Former Chicago White Sox slugger Frank Thomas wrote on social media, ” R.I.P to Willie Mays! There’s great players and then there’s True Legends. God Bless”

On the New York Mets’ broadcast, Keith Hernandez got choked up while discussing his encounters with Mays.

“What always came off was, he was the Say Hey Kid. He had that ebullient personality,” the former first baseman said. “Infectious and genuine. I got to tell him that he was the greatest player I ever saw.”

Ex-New York Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams posted online, “There will never be another Willie Mays. You don’t play centerfield without thinking of Mr. Mays. We should all celebrate and salute his legacy — he transcended baseball, served our country and is a true American legend & icon.”

Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley spoke on CNN regarding Mays’ upbringing in the South, “We have no idea what these guys have been through … To try to be great at a sport, and then deal with all the racial strife that these guys had to deal with, that’s what makes them heroes.”

Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield wrote, ” It was my pleasure and honor to have played against arguably the best @mlb @MLBPA player of all time. And to call #WillieMays my friend is incredibly special #RIP “Say Hey” Kid”

–Field Level Media

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SEATTLE – Say Hey, it’s Willie Mays and John Costacos with the very first offering in the new Costacos Collection of Digital Art. The recently introduced collection will feature one of the most respected legends in professional sports, Baseball Hall of Famer Mays. The 90th Birthday Celebration drop will take place Sunday, October 24, as an ode to Willie’s iconic number and two days before the start of the 117th World Series. For the fifth year, the MVP of the Fall Classic will be recognized as the “Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player.”

Willie will be donating all proceeds from the drop to his Say Hey Foundation’s effort to honor the people who gave him a start in life, by establishing a baseball academy for underprivileged youth where he grew up in Alabama, and to restore the historic baseball facilities at Rickwood Field where Willie started his career with the Negro League Birmingham Black Barons.  Mays said, “I’ve never forgotten the people who supported me, taught me, and helped me find my way.  I want every child to have the same chances that I had, and this gives me a way to do that starting in my original hometown.  Rickwood was the first place I ever got to see professional ballplayers, and I want these kids to learn the game and be inspired the way I was.”  Rickwood Field itself serves as a central theme of the drop’s art.

The first drop tells the story of Willie’s path to the majors, from Fairfield Industrial High in Birmingham, to the Negro American League, culminating with his move to the New York Giants with whom he would win the Rookie of the Year Award in 1951. The various edition pieces capture the key themes and statistics of those periods, and the 1/1 hero piece adds to the story with a number of never-before-seen personal documents and images from Willie’s journey – most notably, a copy of Willie’s high school diploma, in which he was assigned a career in “cleaning, dyeing, and pressing.” Willie recalls that all Black kids were assigned trade careers, while white kids “on the other side of the barbed-wire fence” were able to choose their paths and professions. Willie’s journey to becoming one of America’s most beloved sports figures and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom was only possible because of baseball and the people of Fairfield and beyond who helped him chart a different path.  The NFT art piece includes a voiceover in which Willie’s powerful story is told by an iconic voice of sports, Bob Costas, who will join Mays in donating to the baseball academy and Rickwood Field restoration project.

“In the mid-1960s, I learned to read a box score by stealing my dad’s paper to see what magic Willie Mays had done the night before,” said Costacos Collection founder John Costacos. “Yet with all the historic moments in his career, Willie, the humblest GOAT you’ll ever meet, asked us to focus not on his 24 All Star Games, 2 MVP awards, World Series victory in ‘54, his 12 Gold Gloves or 660 home runs – rather, he saw this as a unique opportunity to pay tribute to his roots and earliest days growing up in Fairfield, Alabama. We’re honored to partner with the great Willie Mays and to give fans an opportunity to connect with the legend through one-of-a-kind digital art in support of the Say Hey Foundation.”

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