The day my son Matthew “had a catch” with Willie Mays

Sorting out my memories on the passing of the Say Hey Kid

Baseball fans can argue the awkwardness of the “wanna have a catch” phrasing from “Field of Dreams, the scene late in the movie between Kevin Costner and his dad, finally able to fulfil his dreams of playing baseball with his father, but no one can dismiss the sentiment behind it, nor take issue with the unique emotions it elicits from those who have ever dreamed or can recall similar times.

On Tuesday, when I first learned of the passing of the great Willie Mays, a tsunami of Say Hey memories flooded over me — The Catch at the Polo Grounds in 1954, the leaping collision with Bobby Bonds in right centre field at Candlestick Park in 1970, the hat flying off and the basket catches that were his signature, seeing him up close in his final year in a Mets uniform in the clubhouse at Jarry Park in 1973 and, later, the times he would visit Felipe Alou in his office when the Expos visited the Giants — but one memory stands out more than others and forever makes me smile.

It was the summer of 1991 and I had arranged for my father, Mel, and my son, Matthew, to drive together to Cooperstown for the inductions of Fergie Jenkins, Rod Carew and Gaylord Perry. The Giants were in Montreal facing the Expos at Olympic Stadium, so my public relations duties meant I was unable to join them. My friend, Bill Guilfoyle, the Hall-of-Fame P.R. executive  was able to secure my dad a reservation at the fabled Otesaga Resort Hotel where all the invited baseball legends of the past stayed that weekend.

My father had been a baseball fan even before he spent a year of work in Montreal in 1946 attending games at Delorimier Downs, being in awe of the great Jackie Robinson who was making his white baseball debut at Triple-A with the Royals. The next year, Jackie went on to the Dodgers in Brooklyn and my dad went on to Captain Morgan in Jamaica, but remained a huge fan of the game. Attending the ceremonies for Fergie and the rest in 1991, he was more starstruck then Matthew.

On the first day, Grandpa and grandson were walking along a second floor railing overlooking the lobby when Matt’s eight-year-old hands failed him. The old-style room key with the big metal number attached was flipped in the air and fumbled over the railing to the floor below. Looking over the edge to see where the key had landed, two generations of Griffin saw a man picking it up and that man was Willie Mays.

The Say Hey Kid looked up and yelled to 8-year-old Matthew, “Catch.” And then the greatest centre fielder, and best all-around player of all time, lobbed the key up over the second floor rail and it was caught cleanly by young Matthew. I’m sure if it had been a scene in a movie, it would have been recorded in slow motion.

I spoke to now-40-year-old Matt last night to make sure of the details of that weekend 33 years ago and my son described turning around to look at his grandfather, with the precious key clutched firmly in his small hand and recalls the look of pure joy, awe and child-like goofiness on his grandfather’s face that has never been eraced. My father passed away in Florida while I was with the Jays, who were playing their annual exhibition in Montreal some eight years ago. It was a coincidence of coming back toi his roots that struck me as comforting.

To me, that’s what baseball is all about. “Hey Willie, wanna have a catch!” RIP to the greatest player of all time.