Nancy Pelosi tweets happy birthday to Willie Mays – then posts a picture of wrong black player 

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Nancy Pelosi tweets a happy 90th birthday to Willie Mays – but posts a picture of fellow San Francisco Giants legend Willie McCovey

  • Baseball legend Willie Mays celebrated his 90th birthday on Thursday
  • Nancy Pelosi tweeted a message of celebration in honor of Mays 
  • She also included a picture, but the image featured former Giants star Willie McCovey, not Mays, as she had intended
  • McCovey played around the same era, but passed away back in 2018
  • The tweet was deleted and an identical one with a new picture was posted
  • Pelosi’s office placed the blame for the screw-up on a  staff member

By Holden Walter-warner For Dailymail.com

Published: | Updated:

Nancy Pelosi‘s attempt to ‘say hey’ to baseball legend Willie Mays on his birthday proved difficult after she posted a picture of the wrong athlete on Twitter.

Thursday marked the 90th birthday for Mays, considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all-time.

‘Happy 90th Birthday to an all-American icon, Willie Mays,’ the House Speaker tweeted on Thursday. ‘A trailblazing, record-breaking baseball player, civil rights leader, and champion for youth sports and well-being, Willie Mays is a civic legend and national treasure. #SayHey90’

The tweet showed Pelosi with a former San Francisco Giants player, as well as another woman, according to WTRF.

Nancy Pelosi mistakenly posted a picture of the wrong birthday baseball legend this week

Pelosi's original tweet with Willie McCovey and his wife

Pelosi's updated tweet with Willie Mays

Pelosi initially posted a picture with Willie McCovey (left) before fixing with Willie Mays (right)

The only issue is that the former Giants player was not Mays, but another fellow Hall of Famer, Willie McCovey.

KCBS Radio reports the picture appears to be from McCovey’s wedding to Estela in August 2018. 

McCovey and Mays overlapped for a number of years on the team, but McCovey passed away at the age of 80 back in October 2018, months after the wedding.

Someone on Pelosi’s tweet must’ve noticed the mistake, because the original tweet was deleted and replaced with a new tweet later, with the same exact text, but a new picture.

Mays (pictured) was a teammate of McCovey's for a number of years (pictured in 2018)

Mays (pictured) was a teammate of McCovey’s for a number of years (pictured in 2018)

Mays (left) and McCovey are legends, with both enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame. McCovey, meanwhile, passed away in October 2018 at the age of 80

Mays (left) and McCovey are legends, with both enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame. McCovey, meanwhile, passed away in October 2018 at the age of 80

It’s not clear how long the incorrect tweet was up before it was replaced, but Pelosi’s office was quick to blame a staff member for the screw-up.

‘A staffer inadvertently selected the wrong photo for the tweet,’ a statement to KCBS Radio read.

‘The photo we wanted to use was of the Speaker and Willie Mays at Willie McCovey’s August 2018 wedding. The quickly deleted photo was the wrong photo from the right wedding. We apologize for the error.’ 

Despite the apology and quick correction, some on Twitter were quickly to jump on Pelosi for the error.

‘Second time’s the charm,’ Brian Bruce tweeted.

‘I was half expecting a picture with Orlando Cepeda or something,’ Brad Williams responded, referencing another Giants player from the same era. 

Pelosi’s district does represent San Francisco, casting her mistake in a particularly egregious light.