| Willie McCovey | ||
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| First baseman | ||
| Born: January 10, 1938 Mobile, Alabama |
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| Batted: Left | Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | ||
| July 30, 1959 for the San Francisco Giants |
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| Final game | ||
| July 6, 1980 for the San Francisco Giants |
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| Career statistics | ||
| Batting average | . First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a Baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of civil war. Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1419 - First Defenestration of Prague. 1502 - Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Chicago White Sox (4-2 Larry Sherry, MVP The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in, that currently play in the National League West Division. Events 1044 - The Battle of Ménfő takes place 1189 - Richard the Lionheart is crowned King of England Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Philadelphia Phillies over Kansas City Royals (4-2 Mike Schmidt, MVP The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in, that currently play in the National League West Division. Batting average is a Statistic in both Cricket and Baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively 270 | |
| Home runs | 521 | |
| Runs batted in | 1,555 | |
| Teams | ||
| Career highlights and awards | ||
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| Member of the National | ||
 Baseball Hall of Fame |
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| Elected | 1986 | |
| Vote | 81. The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in, that currently play in the National League West Division. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Chicago White Sox (4-2 Larry Sherry, MVP Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Oakland Athletics over New York Mets (4-3 Reggie Jackson, Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Los Angeles Dodgers (4-2 Reggie Jackson, Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Philadelphia Phillies over Kansas City Royals (4-2 Mike Schmidt, MVP The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego California since their founding in 1969 Champions Major League Baseball 1974 World Series: Oakland Athletics over Los Angeles Dodgers (4-1 Rollie Fingers Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds over New York Yankees (4-0 Johnny Bench, MVP The Oakland Athletics are a professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds over New York Yankees (4-0 Johnny Bench, MVP The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also popularly known as the "Midsummer Classic" is an annual Baseball game between players from the National League The Most Valuable Player Award (commonly known as the MVP award is an annual award given to one outstanding player in each league of Major League Baseball. In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to one player from each league as voted upon by the Baseball Writers Association of America The Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVP Award is given to the most outstanding player in each year's Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The Hutch Award is a Major League Baseball award given to an active player who best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire to win The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in, that currently play in the National League West Division. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Mets over Boston Red Sox (4-3 Ray Knight, MVP 4% (first ballot) | |
Willie Lee McCovey (born January 10, 1938 in Mobile, Alabama), nicknamed "Big Mac" and "Stretch", is a former slugger and first baseman in Major League Baseball who played 19 seasons for the San Francisco Giants, and three more for the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics, between 1959 and 1980. Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of civil war. Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Alabama (formally the State of Alabama;) is a State located in the southern region of the United States of America. First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a Baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in, that currently play in the National League West Division. The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego California since their founding in 1969 The Oakland Athletics are a professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Chicago White Sox (4-2 Larry Sherry, MVP Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Philadelphia Phillies over Kansas City Royals (4-2 Mike Schmidt, MVP He batted and threw left-handed.
Contents |
Professional career
San Francisco Giants (1959-73)
In his Major League debut on July 30, 1959, McCovey went four-for-four against Hall-of-Famer Robin Roberts en route to a . Events 1419 - First Defenestration of Prague. 1502 - Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Chicago White Sox (4-2 Larry Sherry, MVP Robin Evan Roberts (born September 30 1926) is an American former Major League Baseball Starting pitcher whose years with the Philadelphia 354 batting average that year, in which he won National League Rookie of the Year honors while playing in just 52 games. Batting average is a Statistic in both Cricket and Baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to one player from each league as voted upon by the Baseball Writers Association of America
Three years later, he helped the Giants to the 1962 World Series against the New York Yankees. The 1962 World Series matched the defending champion New York Yankees against the San Francisco Giants, who had won their first NL pennant since moving The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of The Bronx, in New York City, New York. Perhaps McCovey's best-known moment in baseball came in the bottom of the 9th of Game 7, with 2 outs and the Giants trailing 1-0. An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of Sports &ndash most notably Cricket and Baseball during With Willie Mays on second base and Matty Alou on third, any base hit would likely have won the championship for the Giants. Willie Howard Mays Jr (born May 6 1931 is a retired American Baseball player who played the majority of his career with the New York and San Francisco Giants Mateo Rojas "Matty" Alou (born December 22 1938 in Bajos de Haina, Dominican Republic) is a former Center fielder in McCovey scorched a hard line drive that was snared by the Yankees' second baseman Bobby Richardson, ending the series with a Yankees' win. "Fly ball" redirects here for the dog sport see Flyball. Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a Baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that Robert Clinton "Bobby" Richardson (born August 19 1935, in Sumter South Carolina) is a former Second baseman in Major League That would turn out to be the closest McCovey would get to playing on a world championship team.
McCovey spent many years at the heart of the Giants' batting order along with fellow Hall-of-Famer Willie Mays. Willie Howard Mays Jr (born May 6 1931 is a retired American Baseball player who played the majority of his career with the New York and San Francisco Giants His best year statistically was 1969 when he hit 45 home runs, had 126 RBI and batted . Batting average is a Statistic in both Cricket and Baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively 320 to become the National League MVP. The Most Valuable Player Award (commonly known as the MVP award is an annual award given to one outstanding player in each league of Major League Baseball.
San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics (1974-76)
In 1974, McCovey was traded to the San Diego Padres and without him the Giants' fortunes declined. Champions Major League Baseball 1974 World Series: Oakland Athletics over Los Angeles Dodgers (4-1 Rollie Fingers The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego California since their founding in 1969 Near the end of the 1976 season, the Oakland Athletics purchased his contract, but he would only play 11 games for them. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds over New York Yankees (4-0 Johnny Bench, MVP The Oakland Athletics are a professional baseball team based in Oakland, California.
Return to San Francisco (1977-80)
McCovey returned to the Giants in 1977. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Los Angeles Dodgers (4-2 Reggie Jackson, That year, during a June 27 game against the Cincinnati Reds, he became the first player to hit two home runs in one inning twice in his career (the first was on April 12, 1973). Events 1358 - Republic of Dubrovnik is founded 1709 - Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati Ohio, USA Events 467 - Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Oakland Athletics over New York Mets (4-3 Reggie Jackson, One was a grand slam and he became the first National Leaguer to hit seventeen. In the Sport of Baseball, a grand slam (or just slam for short is a Home run hit with all the bases occupied by baserunners, thereby At age 39, he had 28 home runs and 86 RBI and was named the Comeback Player of the Year.
On June 30, 1978, at Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium, McCovey hit his 500th home run, and two years later, on May 3 at San Francisco's Candlestick Park, his 521st and last home run, off Scott Sanderson of Montreal. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the Usurper Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Los Angeles Dodgers (4-2 Bucky Dent, MVP Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, sometimes shortened to "Fulton County Stadium" was a multi-use ( Baseball, football, Soccer, Rock concert Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city Candlestick Park (also commonly referred to as Candlestick or The Stick) is an outdoor sports and entertainment stadium located in San Francisco California Franchise history Creation of the franchise In 1960 Montreal lost its International League team the Montreal Royals (an affiliate of This home run gave McCovey the distinction, along with Ted Williams (with whom he was tied in home runs) of homering in 4 different decades.
In his 22-year career, McCovey batted . Batting average is a Statistic in both Cricket and Baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively 270, with 521 home runs and 1,555 RBI, 1,229 runs scored, 2,211 hits, 353 doubles, 46 triples, a . In Baseball, a run is scored when a player advances safely around first second and third base and returns safely to Home plate, touching In Baseball statistics, a hit (denoted by H) sometimes called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches In Baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching Second base without being called out by the Umpire In Baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching Third base after hitting the ball with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay (see 374 on base percentage and a . In Baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP (sometimes referred to as on-base average ', as the statistic is rarely presented as a true Percentage) 515 slugging percentage. In Baseball statistics, slugging percentage (abbreviated SLG) is a popular measure of the power of a hitter.
Legacy
McCovey was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986. AT&T Park is an open-air ballpark, home to the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. AT&T Park is an open-air ballpark, home to the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Mets over Boston Red Sox (4-3 Ray Knight, MVP It was his first year of eligibility and he appeared on 346 of 425 ballots cast (81. 4 percent). In 1999, he ranked 56th on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. The 1999 Major League Baseball season ended with the New York Yankees defeating the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the World Series. Sporting News (previously The Sporting News, and known colloquially as TSN) is an American -based Sports Since 1980, the Giants have awarded the Willie Mac Award to honor his spirit and leadership. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Philadelphia Phillies over Kansas City Royals (4-2 Mike Schmidt, MVP The Willie Mac Award is named in honor of Willie McCovey. It has been presented annually since 1980 The inlet of San Francisco Bay just beyond the right field fence of AT&T Park has been dubbed McCovey Cove in his honor. San Francisco Bay is a shallow productive Estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento AT&T Park is an open-air ballpark, home to the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. McCovey Cove is the unofficial name of a section of San Francisco Bay beyond the right field wall of AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, coined The Giants retired his uniform number 44, which he wore in honor of Hank Aaron, a fellow Mobile, Alabama native. Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron (born February 5 1934 in Mobile Alabama) nicknamed "Hammer" "Hammerin' Hank” or "Bad Henry” is a retired
Retirement
In 1996, McCovey was sentenced to a fine and two years' probation for tax charges stemming from inadequate reporting of income earned from 1988 to 1990. [1]
In September 2003, McCovey and a business partner opened McCovey's Restaurant, a baseball-themed sports bar and restaurant, located in Walnut Creek, California. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Walnut Creek is a Suburban community located 16 miles east of the city of Oakland California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean.
Pop Culture References
Two months after McCovery's line drive that ended the 1962 World Series, the December 22, 1962 comic strip of Peanuts depicts Charlie Brown and Linus van Pelt brooding silently for three panels, before Charlie Brown finally shouts "Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher?". Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday Comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M Charles "Charlie" Brown is the main character in the Comic Linus van Pelt is one of the characters in Charles M Schulz 's Comic strip Peanuts. The next month, on January 28, 1963, Charlie Brown and Linus are again brooding before Charlie Brown exclaims "Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball even two feet higher?"
See also
- List of Major League Baseball Home Run Records
- 500 home run club
- Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
- McCovey Cove
- MLB players who have hit 30 or more home runs before the All-Star break
- Top 500 home run hitters of all time
- List of major league players with 2,000 hits
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
- List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
- List of Major League Baseball home run champions
- Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game
References
External links
- baseballhalloffame.org – Hall of Fame biography page
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube
- 500 Home run Club
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