San Francisco Giants To Open Oracle Park To Honor Mays, Watch Rickwood Game

The San Francisco Giants are opening up their home ballpark so fans in San Francisco can watch the Giants face the St. Louis Cardinals in Birmingham.

2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game -- Willie Mays takes a seat to go around the field in a 1958 Cadillac Eldorado on July 8, 2007. / Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY NETWORK

With the passing of San Francisco Giants legend Willie Mays, the team is opening up Oracle Park so fans can pay tribute to Mays and watch the Rickwood Field game in Birmingham, Ala.

Thursday’s contest between the Giants and St. Louis Cardinals is to be played at the legendary field that served as the home of the Negro Leagues’ Birmingham Black Barons.

Mays was to attend the game and take part in the festivities surrounding it, as the game was designed in part to celebrate the history of the Negro Leagues and to recognize Juneteenth.

He was born in Westfield, Ala., in 1931 and played for the Black Barons in 1948 when he was 17 years old.

Earlier this week, he said he would not be able to attend for health reasons. The Giants announced Mays’ passing on Tuesday at the age of 93.

The gates at Oracle Park will open at noon pacific time. First pitch for the game is at 4:15 p.m. and the event will conclude at approximately 8 p.m.

Fans can watch the game on the stadium’s video board. Images of Mays will be displayed on the video board before and after the game. A ‘24’ sculpture will be in center field and there will be condolence books for fans to sign located on the field’s warning track.

Rickwood Field doesn’t have a full-time tenant anymore.

Major League Baseball has poured millions to upgrade the playing surface, move the outfield walls to MLB specifications, renovate dugouts, build a modern batter’s eye in center field, renovate the scoreboard and make accessibility upgrades.

After his time with the Black Barons, Mays eventually signed a contract with the New York Giants and made his MLB debut in 1951. He played in the Majors until 1973, with the exception of an 18-month break to serve in the U.S. Army 1952-53.

Mays is on the short list of players considered to be the best in baseball history. His most iconic moment was his basket catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series against Cleveland, a series the Giants swept and provided Mays his only World Series ring.

He is on Major League Baseball’s All-Century Team, selected in 1999, and on MLB’s All-Time Team. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, the San Francisco Giants Wall of Fame and his No. 24 is retired by both the Giants and the New York Mets, where he played his final two seasons.

He is one of the few players in baseball that finished his career with a batting average better than .300 (.302), more than 3,000 hits (3,293) and more than 500 home runs (660).

Mays was a 24-time All-Star, a two-time National League MVP, a 12-time Gold Glove winner, the 1954 NL batting champion, the 1951 NL Rookie of the Year and led the NL in home runs and stolen bases four times each.