Cardinals next generation is everything Wille Mays stood for and more

The Negro Leagues produced many of baseball's greatest legends from the 1920s to the 1950s, when racial segregation prevented African American athletes from participating in Major League Baseball. Before Willie Mays became a Hall of Fame outfielder for the San Francisco Giants, he was a trailblazer for the Birmingham Barons, a Negro Leagues team that played at Rickwood Field.

Last month, Major League Baseball recognized the Negro Leagues statistics into MLB's official records.

This past Thursday, the St. Louis Cardinals hosted the San Francisco Giants at the historic Rickwood Field to honor the legacy of the Negro Leagues and the late Mays. The teams wore uniforms of two former Negro League Baseball teams: the St. Louis Stars and the San Francisco Sea Lions.

For Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn, it was a game he will never forget.

Playing at Rickwood Field was particularly special for Masyn Winn

As John Denton of MLB.com points out, Winn's earliest baseball memories trace back to playing for his stepfather, Earl Luckett, on a team named the Negro Leagues Legends. As a ten-year-old, Winn became familiar with the names of some of his heroes from the team's jerseys, which carried the names of Mays, Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and Hank Aaron.

Luckett would teach his team the history of the game by having them write research reports on the players that were represented on their jerseys. Those experiences shaped Winn's love and knowledge of the game. When the 22-year-old took the field on Thursday, he was well aware of the historic significance of Rickwood Field, which is America's oldest ballpark at 114 years old. The first integrated game at Rickwood Field took place on April 1, 1954.

“In a lot of ways, being here and playing here feels like a full-circle moment for me,” Winn said after the game, h/t MLB.com.

Winn was one of two African American players for the Cardinals, and he played a significant role in their 6-5 victory. Winn scored two runs, including the first run of the day. He added a double in the third inning, recording an exit velocity of 102.7 mph and triggering an audible reaction from the crowd.

"I haven’t really been nervous for a game, but I was trying to calm myself down," Winn said, h/t MLB.com "Getting to shortstop, I was taking deep breaths because it was an emotional night. I tried to keep my emotions down, but I saw my stepfather at the end, and he was shedding tears and he almost made me cry. I wanted to embrace every bit of emotion because it was a great night.”

Winn's appreciation and respect for the game's old legends helped cultivate his love for the game. Now, the budding Cardinals star will look to build a legacy of his own.

Winn has been spectacular in his first season as a starter. His .293 batting average is the best among all active players on the Cardinals' roster, per FanGraphs.