The death of Willie Mays, the "Say Hey Kid," stunned the baseball world on Tuesday night.
And arguably no one felt the weight of the 93-year-old's loss more than fellow San Francisco Giants legend and godson Barry Bonds.
"I am beyond devastated and overcome with emotion," Bonds said via Instagram after news broke of Mays' passing.
Mays' relationship with Barry stemmed from being teammates with his father, Bobby Bonds, while both played for the Giants.
"I have no words to describe what you mean to me — you helped shape me to be who I am today," Barry continued.
Mays was the oldest living Hall of Famer at the time of his passing when the Giants, along with his family first announced the news.
He finished with 660 home runs, sixth all-time, despite missing most of the 1952 and '53 seasons due to military service. Otherwise, he may have finished even closer to godson Barry who leads MLB with 762 career homers.
"Thank you for being my godfather and always being there. Give my dad a hug for me," said Barry.
Mays spent time alongside Barry during his time in the majors, acting as a mentor, confidant and coach. When the latter was drafted sixth overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, he wore No. 24 in honour of his godfather.
After joining the Giants in 1992, Mays reportedly was willing to unretire his number for Barry to suit up in. The number ultimately remained immortalized by the franchise and he took his father Bobby's No. 25 instead.
"Rest in peace Willie, I love you forever. Say Hey," Barry concluded.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.