William Howard Mays, Jr., (born May 6, 1931 in Westfield, Alabama outside Birmingham) is a retired American baseball player and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Mays, nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility. During his playing days, Mays won two MVP awards and tied a record with twenty-four appearances in the All-Star Game. He ended his career with 660 career home runs, 4th all-time. Many consider him to be the greatest all-around player of all time.
Mays' first major league manager, Leo Durocher, described his abundance of talent, saying: "He could do the five things you have to do to be a superstar: hit, hit with power, run, throw, and field. And he had that other ingredient that turns a superstar into a super superstar. He lit up the room when he came in. He was a joy to be around."
Upon his Hall of Fame election, Mays was asked to name the best player that he had seen during his career. Mays replied, "I don't mean to be bashful, but I was."