There have been players who were the best players of their era, and there have been players who were great representatives of the game of baseball.
Willie Mays did both, and he did them at the highest level.
Mays, who died Tuesday at the age of 93, embodied everything that you want, not only in a superstar but also in a person. And the swagger, flair and grace he showed over four decades in baseball endeared him to the people of New York, San Francisco and the rest of the nation.