Willie Mays Of the New York/SF Giants Was the"Say Hey Kid". Willie Finished his career with the New York Mets.
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"The Say Hey Kid" was a nickname for Major League Baseball hall-of-famer Willie Mays
The origin of the nick name "Say Hey Kid" isn't certain. One story is that Barney Kremenko, a writer, heard Mays blurt out "Say Who, say what, say where, say hey" and started calling him the "Say Hey Kid." Another story is that he got the nickname because when he first joined the majors he didn't know anyone's name. In an interview Willie revealed "You see a guy, you say 'Hey man, Say hey man." His nickname to fans is "Say Hey Kid." But to teammates and friends he's "Buck."
Willie Mays got his nickname, the "Say Hey Kid," because "Say Hey" was a phrase he often used to get attention from people whose names he did not know.
No. Willie Mays is not dead
It is not clear how Mays became known as the "Say Hey Kid". One story is that in 1951, Barney Kremenko, a writer for the New York Journal, having overheard Mays blurt "'Say who,' 'Say what,' 'Say where,' 'Say hey,'" proceeded to refer to Mays as the 'Say Hey Kid'.The other story is that Jimmy Cannon created the nickname because, when Mays arrived in the minors, he did not know everyone's name. "You see a guy, you say, 'Hey, man. Say hey, man,' " Mays said. "Ted [Williams] was the 'Splinter'. Joe [DiMaggio] was 'Joltin' Joe'. Stan [Musial] was 'The Man'. I guess I hit a few home runs, and they said there goes the 'Say Hey Kid.'"Years before he became the "Say Hey Kid," when he began his professional career with the Black Barons, Willie was called "Buck" by team mates and fans.
Willie Mays, who played for the San Fransisco Giants from 1951-1973, was a 24x All-Star and 2x MVP.