Willie McCovey | |||
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McCovey at the 2012 Giants World Series parade
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First baseman | |||
Born: Mobile, Alabama |
January 10, 1938 |||
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MLB debut | |||
July 30, 1959, for the San Francisco Giants | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
July 6, 1980, for the San Francisco Giants | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .270 | ||
Hits | 2,211 | ||
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 | |||
Inducted | 1986 | ||
Vote | 81.4% (first ballot) |
Willie Lee McCovey (born January 10, 1938), nicknamed "Mac", "Big Mac", and "Stretch", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played nineteen seasons for the San Francisco Giants, and three more for the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics, between 1959 and 1980. He batted and threw left-handed and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986.
One of the most intimidating power hitters of his era, McCovey was called "the scariest hitter in baseball" by pitcher Bob Gibson, an assessment with which Reggie Jackson concurred. McCovey's powerful swing generated 521 home runs, 231 of which he hit in Candlestick Park, the most hit there by any player, and included a home run of September 16, 1966 described as the longest ever hit in that stadium.
Prior to playing for the San Francisco Giants, McCovey played for a Giants' farm club in Dallas, Texas that was part of the Class AA Southern League. In that league, he did not participate when his team played in Shreveport, Louisiana due to segregation in that city. He later played for the Pacific Coast League Phoenix Giants just prior to joining the San Francisco Giants.
In his Major League debut on July 30, 1959, McCovey went four-for-four against Hall-of-Famer Robin Roberts of the Philadelphia Phillies, hitting two triples and two singles, en route to a .354 batting average that year, in which he won the NL Player of the Month award in August, his first full month in the majors (.373, 8 HR, 22 RBI). He then took National League Rookie of the Year honors while playing in just 52 games. He had a 22-game hitting streak, setting the mark for San Francisco Giants rookies that still stands, just four short of the all-time team record.