Giants Player Makes Perfect Tribute to Willie Mays With Over-The-Shoulder Catch

Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos found the perfect way to honor the late Willie Mays.

San Francisco Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos makes an over-the-shoulder catch during the seventh inning of the Giants' 5-4 win over the Chicago Cubs on Monday night at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Ca. / Screengrab Twitter @NBCSGiants

On a night devoted to honoring the late Willie Mays, one San Francisco Giants player found the perfect way to make an in-game tribute to the memory of Mays during the Giants' 5-4 win over the Chicago Cubs on Monday night at Oracle Park.

Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos, patrolling center field just as Mays did for the Giants for the better part of the 21 seasons he spent with the franchise, made an over-the-shoulder catch reminiscent of the iconic play made by Mays during the 1954 World Series.

In the top of the seventh inning with a runner on first, two outs and the count even at 1—1, Cubs catcher Tomás Nido lined a slider into deep right-center towards Ramos, who made a Mays-esque, over-the-shoulder catch to end the inning.

An over-the-shoulder basket catch in center field 🥹 pic.twitter.com/dJnvLsqA7s

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 25, 2024

"Willie Mays-style," said Giants color commentator Mike Krukow.

While Ramos's catch was admittedly, not one of the basket variety, it was a play that likely would have made Mays proud.

Ramos, for his part, pushed back on making any comparisons between his catch and Mays's.

Heliot Ramos on wearing the No. 24 tonight and trying to channel his inner Willie Mays with his over-the-shoulder catch 🙌

"It was a great catch. Every time I watch his highlights and everything I dream of making a catch like that." pic.twitter.com/3DnkqQt4kk

— KNBR (@KNBR) June 25, 2024

"Uh, I mean, it was a great catch," Ramos said. "For sure, every time I watch his highlights and everything, I dream of making a catch like that, but I don't think it was even close to what he did, for sure."

The inning prior to Ramos's catch, the Giants had shown a highlight of Mays's catch on the Oracle Park video board, something San Francisco manager Bob Melvin noted to reporters.

"That's exactly what I said to him when he came in the dugout. I said, 'Did that play in the inning before inspire you for that? Because it looked pretty similar,'" Melvin said. "He's been really inspired by Willie. Getting to play center field and do what he's doing and get to wear No. 24 tonight, I think it was kind of apropos he made a play like that."

Mays, regarded as arguably the greatest baseball player of all-time, passed away at the age of 93 last week, resulting in an outpouring of tributes from some of the game's greatest players—past and present. MLB also honored Mays during its MLB at Rickwood Field game, played between the Giants and St. Louis Cardinals at Rickwood Field, where Mays began his professional baseball career with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues.

But perhaps one of the best tributes to Mays came from the Giants, who, with every player donning Mays's No. 24, came back from two runs down to win Monday's game on a walk-off walk from Wilmer Flores.