Tim McGraw is a county superstar, but he is also the son of the late Tug McGraw, a baseball legend who played for the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies. Tim shows his pride for the latter by attending games of his dad’s former teams at playoff time and much more.

When news that baseball great Willie Mays had passed away at age 93, Tim quickly took to Instagram and posted a tribute to Mays. He posted a radio interview where Tug talked about playing with Mays.
Tim McGraw pitches World Series tribute to late dad, Mets pitcher Tug McGraw

Tim captioned the post, “We lost a true legend today, Home run Willie Mays…he will be forever remembered as one of the greats of the game and my Pop @thetugmcgraw got to play on the @Mets and in the World Series with him, so cool!”

He added, “Check out this pic and interview I ran across. Big love to all of Willie’s family and friends.”

Many fans reacted to his post, including one who wrote, “So sorry for your loss, Tim. Both are true heroes… sending love from Ontario, Canada.” Another fan commented, “Willie Mays was a great player in his time. God bless his family and friends.” One more fan said, “Greatest baseball player who ever lived.”

The country star has been touring and playing shows for nearly 30 years and has mastered his craft. Tim knows which songs on his hit list he can’t avoid playing every night.

He recently told us, “Probably ‘Live Like You Were Dying.’ I don’t think I could get away with leaving that one out more than any of them. I think that song is just such an impactful song. We don’t treat that song as a ballad; we treat that song as a production.”

That song brings tears to fans every night. Tim said, “You see people cry every time we perform that song, and sometimes it gets to us. I feel like I am just a megaphone for that song. It’s one of those songs that belongs to everybody in the room.”

As for getting ready for each tour, McGraw says, “We just wanted to step on the gas from the beginning and hit go. The hardest thing when you’re putting a tour together is getting the set list right because you play an hour and a half, and you’ve got to play maybe 20 songs if you’re lucky.”