This is an opinion column.

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Know this after a heavenly humid night at Rickwood Field. It was Birmingham, Alabama, that put the soul back into baseball.

It was the Negro Leagues all these years later.

It was 99-year-old former Birmingham Black Barons ace Rev. Bill Greason throwing out the first pitch.

It was retired stars Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. escorting Michael Mays, the son of Willie Mays and the grandson of Cat Mays, onto the field to welcome the world to where Willie Mays, the “Say Hey Kid,” fell in love with the game.

It was guys like Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre watching in awe like he was a kid again, like he was just one of the 8,332 fans soaking in the atmosphere of the most magnetic thing Major League Baseball has done in a long time.

And hopefully one of the most impactful, too.

Major League Baseball came to town on Thursday to honor the Negro Leagues with a game at Rickwood Field between the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals won 6-5. The star of the night was the field itself and the history of the Negro Leagues. The teams wore throwback uniforms, the San Francisco Seals and St. Louis Stars, and Rickwood Field was bedecked, adorned and curated like a museum of baseball magic. There was beautiful energy on 2nd Avenue North once again and Rickwood sang out with pride on the national stage.

It was the first-ever official MLB game to be played in Alabama, and the oldest ballpark in the country reminded everyone that Birmingham’s place in this game can remain a part of its progress, too.

Baseball needs more Black players. It’s an ever-present theme of the game at its highest levels. That starts with bringing the game of baseball back to Black communities across America. Birmingham was once a hotbed of Black baseball talent, and it can be once again with a little help from Major League Baseball.

And those closest to him know in their hearts that Willie Mays did his part this week by leaving this world, in the words of his son, “like a king.”

Honoring Mays was always part of the plan for Major League Baseball with its game in Birmingham. MLB commissioned a five-story mural of Mays in downtown Birmingham leading up to the game. The afternoon before its official unveiling, 93-year-old Mays passed away in California.

I spoke with Michael Mays before the game. Willie Mays’ son is convinced that his father made the conscious decision to die on Tuesday, two days before MLB at Rickwood: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues.

“I know it for a fact,” Michael Mays said. “Who does that? This is exactly what he wanted. It’s just like him to do it, too. They’ll be talking about him for 50 years after this.”

Willie Mays couldn’t attend the game at Rickwood due to his health. Did he die to amplify the game’s impact? His son has no doubt.

One thing is certain. Mays’ death transformed Birmingham’s tribute to the Negro Leagues into a national spectacle. The greatest player in the history of the game put his hometown in the spotlight, and the city celebrated his life on a historic night for baseball. Before the game, I was dumbstruck by the number of Hall of Famers walking around Rickwood to celebrate the game and the life of Mays.

And every single one wanted to take an individual picture with Bonds, Mays’ godson. It was touching to witness so many big names of the game wrap their arms around Bonds and offer their support as he grieves for his godfather. It was a poignant moment inside a day filled with one after another.

I didn’t want the night to end. The Cardinals led 6-5 going into the eighth inning and I was actively rooting for the Giants to send the game into extra innings.

The ball was jumping off the bats in the early innings. Alabama’s own Brendan Donovan had a two-run homer in the first inning to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead. Donovan was born in Germany but raised in Enterprise, Alabama. In 2022, Donovan became the first player in National League history to win a Gold Glove as a utility player. For his game at Rickwood, he played left field and third base in addition to going 3-for-4 with three RBIs.

Talk about a homecoming.

“He took some big swings for us today,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “For him to come home, that’s special. It really is. You love seeing it. He came into the dugout and I said welcome home.”

Marmol said that he “got emotional” before the game, knowing that Willie Mays began his professional career at Rickwood Field. He wasn’t the only one.

“The impact he had on people he met but also the people he never met — that’s when you know you’re doing it right,” Marmol said.

Major League Baseball did everything right at Rickwood Field, and a thankful city of Birmingham will cherish this night for as long as they play the game.

BE HEARD

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Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the most controversial sports book ever written, “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”