Happy Birthday to the late and great Hall of Famer Willie McCovey. In twenty-two seasons, the majority with the San Francisco Giants but also with the San Diego Padres and the Oakland Athletics, McCovey established himself as one of the many all-time greats who played First Base. McCovey is also one of 31 players to have played in four different decades.

Career Statistics/Accolades (1959-1980):

.270 BA 2,211 HITS 521 HR 1,555 RBI .374 OBP 1,229 RUNS

  • 6x All-Star
  • NL MVP (1969)
  • NL Rookie of the Year (1959)

As a Hitter

As a left-handed slugger, he was known for being a dead-pull and line-drive type of hitter whose teams frequently used the defensive shift on him. He led the league in Home Runs thrice, hitting 30 or more in a season seven times. McCovey also led in RBI twice while driving in 100 or more in a season four times. While McCovey only batted .300 or higher twice, he had an OBP of .400 or higher five times. McCovey also had a good eye at the plate, walking 100 or more times thrice and having six seasons in which he drew more Walks than Strikeouts.

As a Fielder

Throughout his career, McCovey worked at First Base and the corner outfield positions. However, First Base would be where McCovey would spend most of his career, where he recorded a respectable lifetime .987 Fielding Percentage throughout 16,717.2 Innings.

Best Years

Four of McCovey’s years stand out to me, and I don’t think there is any question that his 1969 MVP season was by far his best year. In 1969, he led in HRs, RBIs, and OBP. 

1963: .280 BA 158 HITS 44 HR 102 RBI .350 OBP 103 RUNS (152 Games)

1968: .293 BA 153 HITS 36 HR 105 RBI .378 OBP 81 RUNS (148 Games)

1969: .320 BA 157 HITS 45 HR 126 RBI .453 OBP 101 RUNS (149 Games)

1970: .289 BA 143 HITS 39 HR 126 RBI .444 OBP 98 RUNS (152 Games)

I would also like to point out that from the ages of 24-30, McCovey had the privilege of playing through the Dominant Starting Pitching Era; in 1969, the year after the strike zone size was reduced, he won the MVP. I would definitely say that McCovey would’ve put up even better numbers during those years had the strike zones never changed. Also, McCovey played most of his games at the old Candlestick Park, where he hit more home runs than any other player (231). Historically, that was a tough park for hitters, especially left-handed ones.

Legacy

I don’t really think there’s much to say other than that he’s a Hall of Famer, and deservingly so. I would argue that he may be underrated when you factor in that he played in the dominant Starting Pitching Era and played in a Pitcher-friendly ballpark for the majority of his career. When a player reaches a milestone like 500 Home Runs, the Hall of Fame should be automatic. In 1986, he became the 16th player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Also, in 1999, he was ranked #56 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Ballplayers. As one of the great players in the Giants rich history, his #44 is retired and in Oracle Park the right field fence is called the McCovey Cove.

References:

  1. Willie McCovey via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_McCovey#
  2. Willie McCovey Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mccovwi01.shtml