Dave Flemming explains why Willie Mays the greatest player of all time

Wednesday is about celebrating the life of Willie Mays. It will not be the end of celebrating Mays. Thursday's Giants-Cardinals game will be held at Rickwood Field in Alabama, where Mays started his career playing for the Birmingham Black Barons. It will be full of emotion and tributes to Mays.

Giants broadcaster Dave Flemming faced the heavy burden of having to break the news during Tuesday night's game. He joined the Morning Roast to tell stories about Mays.

He was asked by Joe Shasky whether Mays was a hero to many of the other heroes of the game.

"I think so, and in a way that the numbers and sort of the career resume can't possibly capture," Flemming said. "Because he was just so much more than that. What Willie was for everybody was was the brilliance of his athleticism and ability to play the sport, but also just the pure joy of watching him play and I think that's what made him so captivating for so many people.

"There are a lot of great players and Willie, you can have a legitimate argument who's the greatest player of all time? I think I know the answer. I think it's Willie. But even if you wanted to say Hank Aaron or Babe Ruth or Barry Bonds or maybe a handful of others that are in that conversation. There's just something different with Willie, and Babe had some of that, just the pure captivation you felt when you watched him and obviously we never watched Babe Ruth. But you listen to people talk about what it was like to see that and that's what it was like with Willie Mays, and I think that's what separated him from other great athletes.

"It was the performance and the ability, but it was also just the style and the pure happiness that he brought. Who has ever walked the planet who made more people happy than Willie? Seriously. I mean, the Beatles, maybe? It's a real, real short list."

That last part tells a lot about Mays' legacy. He brought joy to countless people.

Listen to the full interview with Flemming above. He tells a great story about the time Mays signed a ball for his awestruck son.