Willy Mays, the oldest living member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, turned 90 today. Since the first of last year, 10 Hall of Famers have died, including Hammerin' Hank, but Willy is still plugging along.

He was so cheerful and had such an even disposition, I don't think I've ever come across a baseball fan who didn't like the man ... even when it was his brilliance that knocked their team out of the pennant race. And his high level of play also was extraordinarily uniform over 22 seasons in The Bigs. He played two years with the Giants, left baseball to serve in the Korean War for two years, and in his first 10 seasons back with the Giants he averaged hitting .315, 39 home runs, 25 stolen bases, 109 RBIs and 118 runs scored per season. He was elected to every All Star team from 1954 to 1973 and won 12 Golden Gloves along the way. Legendary manager Leo "The Lip" Durocher said of him, "If somebody came up and hit .450, stole 100 bases and performed a miracle in the field every day, I’d still look you in the eye and say Willie was better."

He didn't just play for the Giants, he was a giant, in a day when the sport of baseball itself was larger than life. And that was back when there were no million dollar contracts, they just played their hearts out for the love of the game.