Baseball legend and one of the greatest players in history of the sport, Willie Mays, has died “peacefully” at the age of 93, Major League Baseball (MLB) team San Francisco Giants made the announcement in the early hours of Wednesday.

“It is with great sadness that we announce that San Francisco Giants Legend and Hall of Famer Willie Mays passed away peacefully this afternoon at the age of 93,” the team posted on X, formerly Twitter.

During his 22-year career in the MLB, playing for the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets, Mays won the 1954 World Series with the latter known as the New York Giants before the franchise was moved to San Francisco.

He was named All-Star 24 times, National League Most Valuable Player twice, National League Rookie of the Year in 1951. Mays won Gold Glove Awards 12 times and the National League batting champion award in 1954.

In 1979, Mays was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as both San Francisco Giants and New York Mets retired the number 24 that was worn by the centre fielder during his stint with the teams.

He played in the segregated Negro Leagues, featuring for Birmingham Black Barons and added 10 more hits to his career record despite have not played in the MLB for more than 50 years.

This was possible after the MLS made the decision to incorporate statistics from the Negro League, taking Mays’ career hits to 3,293.

“His incredible achievements and statistics do not begin to describe the awe that came with watching Willie Mays dominate the game in every way imaginable,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “We will never forget this true Giant on and off the field.”