Giants-Cardinals Series Preview

Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty ImagesThe exhibition game setup to honor Willie Mays and the history of the Negro Leagues will still be exactly that but with a completely different tone. The passing of the greatest baseball player of all-time will rightly reframe the first game of this three-game series as equal parts eulogy and joyful celebration, not just of one man’s accomplishments, but a symbol of the game.

I’ll talk about Willie Mays in a moment because I need to dispense with the actual games first. Thursday’s game will be at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama — birthplace of Willie Mays and the site of his professional debut — and then the next two games of the series…