The Amazing Race Honoring the Great Willie Mays

Born and raised in the Bay Area, I’ve been a lifelong San Francisco Giants fan. So the news of the passing of the great Willie Mays definitely hits hard. Truly the greatest ever to play baseball.

I immediately remembered when the season 30 finale of The Amazing Race (still one of the best Final Legs of TAR ever) paid tribute to Willie Mays in this fun task:

RIP to the legend Willie Mays.
It was so awesome when The #AmazingRace paid tribute to him on the season 30 finale in San Francisco with this task involving teams needing to kayak in McCovey Cove to retrieve numbered baseballs corresponding to Mays' total HRs (660). pic.twitter.com/LGXf3estlF

— DryedMangoez (@dryedmangoez) June 19, 2024

Teams needed to first figure out where the statue of the “Say Hey Kid” was. The waiting clue directed teams to kayak into McCovey Cove to retrieve three baseballs representing the number of Willie Mays’ career home run total. They would then exchange the baseballs for the next clue.

It was funny how the teams didn’t just look at the plaque on the base of the Willie Mays statue to find the correct answer.

Nonetheless, this was the perfect task to stage at AT&T (now Oracle) Park in San Francisco. It was a creative task to have at a baseball park. But the way they were able to honor history and Willie Mays was just truly amazing.

A fun Amazing Race moment to remember. And just another great moment in the legacy of the great Willie Mays.