Giants' Pablo Sandoval details meeting Willie Mays during MLB call-up

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Giants legend Willie Mays just celebrated his 89th birthday on Wednesday which was a chance for baseball fans, and Giants players, to share their favorite stories about him.

Third baseman Pablo Sandoval also shared a memory about the Hall of Fame outfielder that sent us back to Panda’s rookie season. While the two-time All-Star said there were many stories about Mays, there was one in particular that stood out to him when he got the call.

“I never thought that I was going to meet Willie Mays,” Sandoval said in an interview with NBC Sports Bay Area’s ‘Shelter on Base’ hosts earlier this week. “He’s so humble, we shake hands, talked to him about it … “

Mays grabbed Sandoval’s bat during the chat as the two talked about the game and hitting. They also talked about the differences from the Mays era (1950s-early 70s) compared to now and how things have changed in baseball. 

“There’s a lot of things that I could share with you guys, but the most important thing was when I got the call up to the big leagues,” Sandoval added.

There are many “tug at your heartstrings” type of stories the Say Hey Kid is involved with, but he can humble you. Just as he does with Pablo’s BFF Hunter Pence.

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Pence told a story of Mays giving him his own set of advice but admitted he was a bit of a trash talker as well.

Mays would ask Pence how many homers he hit in a year.

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“Not as many as you hit Willie.”

Mays continues to make an impact on the Giants decades after he retired from the game. 

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