“Willie Mays had a magnetism that nobody had," Theodore said. "You could just feel it. He'd get up to hit and you kind of fed off the crowd. He was such a positive person; I was so happy to get to know him.”
George Theodore / N. Diunte |
On June 11, 1973, together in outfield during a game against Mays' former team, the San Francisco Giants, a 400-foot smash was hit to left-center and both outfielders pursued it. Theodore described the events of the play as it unfolded.
Willie Mays / N. Diunte |
“One game on national TV, I was in left field and he was in center," he said. "The ball was hit into left-center and I think I'll go get it because Willie couldn't throw too much at the time. He beats me there with his beautiful instincts [which were evident] even then, and he gets to the ball. He then tosses it to me for me to throw it, but I didn't know it was coming, so it dropped. I quickly picked up it and I threw it in. They gave me an error. I think they changed it subsequently, but that was the biggest honor I could have, taking that error from Willie Mays.”
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