It's Greg, a singer, my dear
friend Harold Reynolds CC
Sabathia is with us and, and
Ceci's here, he kick started an
awesome event we'll talk about
in a second, but we must begin
with last night's uh breaking
news.
Harold.
You were all over MLB network
from an airport.
I don't know how you're able to
do it.
Um But II, I, I was in shock
when I found out it's hard to
say shock with a 93 year old man
, but he was so strong all the
way to the end.
It did catch even his family off
guard, did not, it did.
I mean, I just spoke to Michael
probably two hours before he
heard about it.
And so obviously Michael would
have been in San Francisco at
that time had he thought, but
you know, the thing is 93 is
what you hit on and after you,
you know, you shed some tears,
you go, man, Then you go 93 man.
What a life, Willie Mays had an
extraordinary life that we all
should like.
Hope we live to do.
He was a superstar everywhere.
He walked in.
He was an ambassador.
This dude was a king.
I mean, you talk about being
welcomed everywhere you go.
That was the presence and talk
about presence.
CC I mean, you around him.
That man had a presence.
There was something about him.
Now he really did.
And I just remember like, you
know, the last time I saw him
was 2019 and Then I walk in and
he's in there and I want to go
take picture with him.
It's my last year plan.
And um, you know, I come in and
they told him that I was coming
in and he turned his hat to the
side and he goes, that's that
boy that wear his hat like that.
He just, he knew everybody, he,
you know, he knew you, he knew
every, everything about you.
And uh like, like, like said
though, he was a king, he was
real royalty, especially to us
and you know, to be able to be
here.
Um, you know, in this, this,
this week was a celebration for
him, but now it's a celebration
of him.
So it feels good to be here.
The timing of it when you found
out, I know you tweeted about
Willie's passing the fact that
we're arriving.
He, he put a statement out on
Monday saying you wish you could
have been here and now it feels
like he's here in spirit, right?
Like what was your initial
reaction as you're getting on a
plane to come to Birmingham,
Alabama where he was 17 years
old on this field.
Like, you can't make this stuff
up.
Yeah.
You know, it was, it was
actually really surreal because
I was here, I was actually here
at, I was sitting in Willie Mae
pavilion, like, you know what
I'm saying?
Like, so I'm here for the
celebration of Willie and, you
know, we're doing this thing for
him and to get that news, it was
, I mean, it was hard breaking.
But Then, and Then at the same
time, it's just like, oh, but
this is why we're here, you know
, so to see everybody here and
to see all this, this stuff
going on is because of him and
it, and it makes you feel good.
You know, the thing about making
Phil good such a great statement
because that's what Willie did.
He was a character man.
I mean, just talking with him
about life or talking about
baseball or whatever he would
let you know you were doing
something wrong but he was smile
about it, you know, he, he, he
would like, I know, I don't know
, you know, I don't know.
And you know, you're wrong, you
know, you showmanship he brought
to the game and no one ever
brought.
But at that time in the forties
and fifties to bring that level
of showmanship, you better back
it up and he didn't just back it
up.
Well, I think the one thing
Willie really, uh, ignited what
the Negro Leagues was about.
Jackie brought the color barrier
, no doubt, he brought speed and
he brought that different game,
but he had to act a certain way.
You know, he couldn't yell at an
umpire.
He couldn't get in a fight with
anybody and he couldn't play
with no flair.
Here comes Dolby, here comes all
the other guys and Willie comes
in and says, hey, man, I catch
basket.
That's how I catch the ball.
I'm running.
I don't need a coach that wave
me home.
I'm in the outfield telling guys
where to stand.
He brought that true essence.
I think of what the Negro
Leagues was about.
That he was the one guy that's
like this is what we were taught
, man, Hank aaron did his thing.
So I think that when I look at
Willie and I look at Hank and I
look at that group of guys and
particularly Willie, he brought
the flair that they grew up
learning and watching.
You know, can you imagine that's
what they grew up seeing and,
and knowing I asked Willie one
day about the basket catch, I
go.
Do you ever catch the ball up?
There?
He goes, why you catch the ball
up there?
You tracked the ball, the ball,
you know, you get that high
voice on it and that was the way
he did it.
But that was just flare.
You imagine today if someone was
in the outfield and they were
like this out of basket that's
not playing the game the right
way.
I don't know if CCT felt this
way but the power of a life
lived, it was the reaction I
noticed from everyone else.
I was around, no matter if it
was the casual sports fan.
We were just in Arizona
yesterday doing the MLB combine
and people were coming up to me
, they're like, wow, Willie Mays
is gone.
Like this was a, he transcended
, not just baseball, but sports.
He's an American icon.
He was an American icon and he's
a part of American history, not
, you know, not just black
history or, you know, the Negro