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When I was a kid living in Southern California, my team was the Dodgers and the main rival was the San Francisco Giants. It was a bitter rivalry for players and fans alike. Generally, we sort of hated the Giants, except......Willie Mays.
I saw many games in person at Dodger Stadium and many more on KTTV (Channel 11) since the network was kind enough to televise all of the Dodger-Giant games.
For probably 11 straight years (1958 through 1968) I watched almost every Dodger-Giant game played. As a kid, it didn't get much better than that. The one thing I remember is that no matter how much I could despise the Giant players (they were the enemy for goodness sakes), Willie was different. I remember applauding him each time he did something magical, which was almost every game. As a pitcher, he could ruin you with a swing. As a base runner, he could gun you down with apparent ease. As a hitter, you just knew not to hit it to center field.
As I grew older, I learned to appreciate great plays and great performance, even if its from the opposing team. Willie Mays taught me how to do that.
Thanks Willie for all the great memories and for teaching me that true greatness is special, even if it's on the other team. RIP Willie.
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