Top 10 moments in McCovey’s HOF career
A model of this story initially ran in January 2022.
There are a handful of sluggers in Major League historical past whose tape-measure blasts would have been good for as we speak’s Statcast monitoring expertise. Babe Ruth, Bo Jackson, Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds all come to thoughts.
But one hitter you may not consider straight away — however ought to — is Hall of Famer Willie McCovey. Giants legend Willie Mays, who performed alongside McCovey for elements of 14 seasons in San Francisco, used to say McCovey “could hit a ball farther than anyone I ever played with.” Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson each known as McCovey the “scariest” hitter in baseball, whereas supervisor Sparky Anderson estimated McCovey may hit 80 homers in a season if groups pitched to him extra as an alternative of round him.
McCovey’s prodigious energy was typically swallowed up by the winds at Candlestick Park, or overshadowed by the overwhelming gravitas of Mays, however those that watched and performed with “Stretch” throughout his heyday knew all about how proficient McCovey actually was.
As a tribute to the late Bay Area legend on his birthday, this is a have a look at the highest 10 moments from McCovey’s celebrated profession.
1. A sensational entrance
Long earlier than prospect rankings and publications may put together the general public, McCovey arrived within the Majors as an absolute drive. On July 30, 1959, the lanky 21-year-old from Mobile, Ala., went 4-for-4 towards Phillies ace Robin Roberts (a future Hall of Famer) with a pair of triples and two RBIs. McCovey rapidly proved he was greater than a flash within the pan, ending ’59 with a .354 common, 13 homers and 38 RBIs over 52 video games to unanimously seize the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Those 52 video games are nonetheless the smallest resume for any rookie place participant who’s claimed the distinction.
2. The summer time of ’69
McCovey started reaching the height of his powers in 1968 as he paced the NL with 36 homers and 105 RBIs. He was even higher in ’69, crushing 45 round-trippers and driving in 126 whereas topping the Majors with a .656 slugging proportion and a 1.108 OPS. McCovey’s numbers have been sufficient to edge Mets ace Tom Seaver for the NL MVP Award, however that wasn’t the one MVP honor Stretch obtained that yr. In one of many biggest All-Star Game performances, McCovey smacked a two-run homer off Blue Moon Odom and adopted up with a solo shot off Denny McLain the following inning, making him a simple alternative for the Midsummer Classic’s greatest participant.
3. No. 500
The 500-homer membership was rather more unique in McCovey’s day, and he joined it on June 30, 1978 — amid his second stint with the Giants — with a blast off Braves lefty James Easterly. McCovey was simply the twelfth participant to achieve 500 dingers on the time, and in ’80 he hit his 521st and last profession homer to tie the good Ted Williams on the all-time record. McCovey, Williams, Rickey Henderson and Omar Vizquel are the one gamers to hit no less than one homer in 4 completely different a long time.
4. Lightning strikes twice — once more
There’s a cause McCovey led the NL in intentional walks 4 occasions, and maybe Anderson’s Reds ought to have issued one within the sixth inning of their matchup towards the Giants on June 27, 1977, at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium. McCovey knocked a solo homer off Reds starter Jack Billingham, after which he got here up later within the inning towards Joe Hoerner and knocked one other dinger — this time a grand slam.
That made McCovey the primary participant in MLB historical past to homer twice in an inning on two separate events. Stretch additionally went deep twice within the fourth inning towards the Astros on April 12, 1973.
5. The hardest out
The Giants got here simply wanting a World Series title in 1962, however McCovey’s series-ending out towards the Yankees in Game 7 ranks among the many most well-known outs in baseball historical past. San Francisco trailed the mighty pinstripes, 1-0, with two out within the backside of the ninth and a pair of runners on. It was the final word do-or-die second, and McCovey appeared like he may need the championship hit when he scorched a line drive off Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry.
Unfortunately for McCovey, the ball went proper to second baseman Bobby Richardson, who gloved the scorcher for the ultimate out. The Giants got here as near successful as any World Series loser in historical past, however whereas McCovey was finally out, his liner turned one of the vital well-known reminders of his All-World energy on the plate.
6. No. 44
The Giants are one in every of baseball’s oldest franchises, tracing their origins to New York in 1883. Through all that point, the franchise has retired simply 11 numbers (not together with Christy Mathewson and John McGraw, whose accomplishments predated uniform numbers), together with McCovey’s No. 44. McCovey wore 44 in honor of fellow Mobile native Hank Aaron, and on Sept. 21, 1980, San Francisco made positive no participant would put on that quantity for the Giants once more.
7. Cooperstown sure
In McCovey’s day, 500 homers meant practically automated election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame — and the six-time All-Star was greater than deserving. The Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) made McCovey a first-ballot Hall of Famer by choosing him on 81 p.c of their ballots in 1986. McCovey was the BBWAA’s solely choice that yr, and he was enshrined alongside Veterans Committee choices Bobby Doerr and Ernie Lombardi that summer time in Cooperstown.
8. Splash!
Oracle Park ranks as one of many Majors’ most beloved ballparks, and its right-field border constitutes one of many recreation’s most well-known areas. McCovey was identified for utilizing his left-handed pull swing to park baseballs into the seats, and so when San Francisco’s ballpark opened in 2000, it was solely proper that homers that reached the junction of Mission Creek and the San Francisco Bay previous the right-field seats could be named in Stretch’s honor.
Numerous “splash hits” have reached McCovey Cove since Oracle Park opened, and the Cove supplied a picturesque goal for contributors within the 2007 Home Run Derby.
9. Plenty left within the tank
When the Giants traded a 35-year-old McCovey within the winter of 1973, Bay Area followers figured that they had seen the final of their beloved slugger in a San Francisco uniform. Stretch posted a pair of 20-homer seasons for the Padres in ’74-75, however he logged simply 82 mixed video games for San Diego and Oakland in ’76. The Giants’ fortunes plummeted with out McCovey, however within the winter of ’76, they re-signed their former star from the free-agent market.
At 40 years outdated, McCovey rewarded San Francisco with a classic yr by hitting .280 with 28 homers and 86 RBIs to assert The Sporting News’ NL Comeback Player of the Year Award. He performed elements of two extra seasons by the Bay earlier than retiring halfway by the 1980 marketing campaign.
10. First of three crowns
McCovey shook off the frustration of 1962 to knock a career-high 44 residence runs — the quantity on the again of his uniform — and declare his first of three profession NL homer crowns in ’63. Those 44 homers marked the fifth-most by any Giants participant on the time, and second solely to Johnny Mize’s 51 in ’47 amongst Giants lefties.
