BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Willie Mays gave a message to his longtime friend Dusty Baker just a day before he died.
Mays, who died Tuesday afternoon at 93 years old, knew that he wouldn't be able to make the trip to Birmingham, Alabama, for a week of festivities honoring the contributions that he and other Negro Leaguers have made to baseball. But he wanted Baker to share a message to the city he long called home.
"Birmingham, I wish I could be with you all today," said Mays' good friend and adviser Jeff Bleich, reading the statement at a ceremony Wednesday honoring Mays' life and career.