VIDEO: Vin Scully, Willie Mays share wholesome moment during Dodger icon's last year as broadcaster
Broadcaster Vin Scully (left) is congratulated on his final broadcast by hall of famer Willie Mays during the fourth inning between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park on October 2, 2016 in San Francisco, California. T (Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES - As the baseball world mourns the loss of Willie Mays, a throwback video showing Vin Scully hugging and embracing the New York/San Francisco Giants legend is making rounds on social media.
The video, shared by user @korkedbats, showed the wholesome exchange between the two baseball icons that took place 2016, which was Scully's final season as the broadcaster for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Although the two were at the opposite ends of the National League's fiercest rivalry, Scully admitted to Mays that the Giants outfielder was his all-time favorite player.
"Even though you wore the wrong uniform," Scully playfully told Mays. "I have told everybody that you've also been the greatest player I ever saw… I've said that for a long, long time.
Scully told Mays he was "dazzling" on the field and added that he always admired the 24-time All-Star's hustle on the outfield.
"You charged every base hit like you were a shortstop," Scully told Mays.
The video has since gone viral, with 2,500+ reposts and more than 11,000 likes on X as of 9:15 p.m. PT. The timing of the post came minutes after the San Francisco Giants announced on social media that Mays died at 93.
Not many baseball fans would disagree with Scully's take on Mays being one of the greatest players of all-time. Known as one of the sport's rare five-tool stars, the "Say Hey Kid" had it all: contact hitting, hitting for power, speed, fielding and arm strength.
Mays finished his decorated 23-year career with 660 total home runs, 3,293 hits and 1,909 runs batted in – all with a career .301 batting average and an OPS of .940. In addition to being named an All-Star 24 times, Mays was named MVP twice, won 12 Gold Gloves, named All-Star MVP twice, won Rookie of the Year and helped the New York Giants win the 1954 World Series.