Giants invite fans into ballpark to honor Willie Mays, watch Rickwood Field game

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The San Francisco Giants welcomed fans to Oracle Park Thursday to honor Willie Mays and pay tribute to the Negro Leagues, where he began his career.

The Giants will play the televised Rickwood Field game on the scoreboard accompanied by images of Mays, who died Tuesday at age 93, before and after the game.

The event will also feature a "24" sculpture in centerfield and a condolences book for attendees to sign on the warning track.

The gates at Oracle opened at 12 p.m. PDT with the first pitch at Rickwood set for 4:15 p.m. PDT. Admission to the event is free.

Mays’ family and the San Francisco Giants jointly announced Tuesday night he had died earlier in the afternoon.

“My father has passed away peacefully and among loved ones,” son Michael Mays said in a statement released by the club. “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.”

The center fielder was baseball’s oldest living Hall of Famer. His signature basket catch and his dashes around the bases with his cap flying off personified the joy of the game.

Over 22 MLB seasons, virtually all with the New York/San Francisco Giants, Mays batted .301, hit 660 home runs, totaled 3,293 hits, scored more than 2,000 runs and won 12 Gold Glove. He was Rookie of the Year in 1951, twice was named the Most Valuable Player and finished in the top 10 for the MVP 10 other times. His lightning sprint and over-the-shoulder grab of an apparent extra base hit in the 1954 World Series remains the most celebrated defensive play in baseball history.

He was voted into the Hall in 1979, his first year of eligibility, and in 1999 followed only Babe Ruth on The Sporting News’ list of the game’s top stars. (Statistician Bill James ranked him third, behind Ruth and Honus Wagner). The Giants retired his uniform number, 24, and set their AT&T Park in San Francisco on Willie Mays Plaza.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.