STUMP STORY OF THE DAY
MLB Honors Negro League and Willie Mays with Tribute Game in a Historical Venue
Live from Birmingham, Alabama, it seems as if the MLB finally got this one right.
A few weeks back I wrote a story about how the integration of Negro League statistics into the baseball record books changed some names at the top of long-standing records. While this was way overdue, it seem as if the MLB is working towards finally writing one of it’s historical wrongs.
In Birmingham, Alabama, stands the oldest standing baseball park in the United States, Rickwood Field. Players like Satchel Page, Josh Gibson, and Jackie Robinson played many games on this field. The late Willie Mays even got his pro start with the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948.
The MLB showcased some of the more historical facets of the Negro League, photos and artifacts filled the bowels of the stadium and the concourse, it even included a bat used by Mays in 1959 and an original bus from 1947 that negro league players would use for their road trips.
All across the stadium was memories of Willie, who passed just a few days ago. It’s almost as if this day in the MLB was meant to celebrate him. Celebrate, cry, laugh, cheer, and mourn. All emotions were seen across the stadium as murals and moments of silence among the famous song, “Say hey, Willie Mays” blasted over the PA system.
There was a statue released on Wednesday right outside the stadium, and what was supposed to be a celebration turned into a commemoration. Everyone in that stadium and around the baseball community felt this one, the effect he had on the game is everlasting.
Beyond this, it feels like the MLB got this one right. The telecast was great, and it even included some black and white moments. The montage of Willie’s career could not have been done much better by MLB network, and it Rickwood Field seemed to be the only logical place to celebrate the life of such an important man to the Birmingham community.
For baseball, especially black baseball, this was not only a night of memorable celebration, it was a night to look to the future. It was a very much church like feel in the stadium, and the crowd was as engaged as any. The future of baseball is depending on a new crop of fans to keep it alive. Events like this not only grow the game, it shows what the game was and what it should be moving forward.
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