First Baseman, San Francisco Giants
Age: 21
Bats – Left,
Throws – Left
Height: 6’4” Weight: 200
Prior to 1959:
A native of
Mobile, Alabama McCovey played baseball, softball, basketball, and football in
his youth. Quitting high school in 1954 to help with the family finances, he
moved to Los Angeles to stay with his brother. Contacted by the Giants, the
17-year-old McCovey attended a tryout camp in Florida. Tall and thin, he signed
for $175 per month and reported to Sandersville of the Class D Georgia State
League in 1955 where he batted .305 with 19 home runs and 113 RBIs. Advancing
to Danville of the Class B Carolina League in 1956, McCovey hit .310 with 29
home runs. His next stop was Dallas of the Class AA Texas League in 1957 where
he batted .281 with 21 doubles, 9 triples, 11 home runs and 65 RBIs. He spent
1958 with Phoenix of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League and hit .319 with 37
doubles, 10 triples, 14 home runs and 89 RBIs while dealing with an injured
knee. McCovey started the 1959 season with Phoenix and was batting .372 with 29
home runs and 92 RBIs after 95 games before being called up to the Giants in
late July where he shunted the previous NL Rookie of the Year, Orlando Cepeda,
to the outfield while he handled first base.
1959 Season Summary
Appeared in 52
games
1B – 51, PH – 2
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 219
At Bats – 192
Runs – 32
Hits – 68
Doubles – 9
Triples – 5
Home Runs – 13
RBI – 38
Bases on Balls
– 22
Int. BB – 1
Strikeouts – 35
Stolen Bases – 2
Caught Stealing
– 0
Average - .354 [Non-qualifying]
OBP - .429 [Non-qualifying]
Slugging Pct. -
.656 [Non-qualifying]
Total Bases – 126
GDP – 7
Hit By Pitches
– 4 [14, tied with four others]
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 1
Midseason
snapshot: No major league appearances during first half
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 4 AB) vs. Philadelphia 7/30
Longest hitting
streak – 22 games
Most HR, game –
2 (in 4 AB) vs. Milwaukee 8/5
HR at home – 8
HR on road – 5
Multi-HR games
– 1
Most RBIs, game
– 3 vs. Milwaukee 8/5, at Chi. Cubs 8/14, at Milwaukee 8/20
Pinch-hitting –
2 of 2 (1.000) with 1 RBI
Fielding
Chances – 458
Put Outs – 424
Assists – 29
Errors – 5
DP – 29
Pct. - .989
Awards & Honors:
NL Rookie of
the Year: BBWAA
22nd
in NL MVP voting, tied with Gene Conley, Phila. & Duke Snider, LAD (1
point, 0% share)
NL ROY Voting:
Willie McCovey,
SF: 24 of 24 votes, 100% share
---
Giants went 83-71
to finish third in the NL, 4 games behind the pennant-winning Los Angeles
Dodgers. Embroiled in a hot three-team pennant race with the Dodgers and
Milwaukee Braves, the Giants moved into first on July 4. Aided by McCovey’s
arrival at the end of the month, they cruised into September but, losing seven
of their last eight games, dropped into third at the end.
Aftermath of ‘59:
McCovey started
well in 1960 with 7 home runs in the first 15 games, but his hitting dropped
off significantly thereafter and he was batting .244 in July when he was
briefly sent down to Tacoma of the Pacific Coast League. Upon his return to the
Giants, he continued to have difficulty at bat as well as defensively at first
base and finished up at .238 with 13 home runs and 51 RBIs. Alternating at
first base with Orlando Cepeda in 1961, McCovey hit .271 with 18 home runs and
50 RBIs. Typically sitting against lefthanders in 1962, he put in some time in
the outfield and in a pennant-winning year for the Giants he batted .293 in 91
games with 20 home runs and 54 RBIs. He made the final out in the seven-game
World Series loss to the Yankees. In 1963, manager Alvin Dark chose to keep
McCovey’s bat in the lineup as much as possible, which meant playing out of
position in left field most of the time and playing Cepeda at first. The result
was McCovey’s first All-Star season in which he batted .280 and tied for the
league lead in home runs with 44 while also contributing 102 RBIs. The lanky player
known as “Stretch” had a lesser season in 1964, hitting .220 with 18 home runs
and 54 RBIs while dealing with an injury to his left foot. With Cepeda sidelined
by a knee injury in 1965, McCovey returned to first base and batted .276 with
39 home runs and 92 RBIs. Cepeda was dealt to St. Louis early during the 1966
season and, firmly set at first base, McCovey hit .295 with 36 home runs and 96
RBIs. Quiet and humble, he was hindered by knee problems in 1967 and batted
.276 with 31 home runs and 91 RBIs. In 1968 “Stretch” topped the NL with 36
home runs, 105 RBIs, and a .545 slugging percentage while also compiling a .293
average. He followed up with an MVP season in 1969 in which he again topped the
circuit with 45 home runs, 126 RBIs, and a .656 slugging percentage, to go
along with a .320 average. McCovey had another strong season in 1970, batting .289
with 39 home runs and 126 RBIs while topping the NL in slugging (.612), walks
drawn (137), and intentional walks drawn (40). He placed ninth in league MVP
voting. Playing with a severe knee injury in 1971, McCovey was limited to 105
games and hit .277 with 18 home runs and 70 RBIs. Suffering a broken arm in the
fourth game of 1972, he missed two months of action and had difficulty upon his
return, ending up with a .213 average, 14 home runs, and 35 RBIs in 81 games.
Hindered by arthritic knees, “Stretch” appeared in 130 games in 1973, 13 as a
pinch-hitter, and batted .266 with 29 home runs and 75 RBIs. With the Giants
shedding older, high-priced players, McCovey was traded to the San Diego Padres
in the offseason. Taking on a leadership role with the lowly Padres in 1974, he
hit .253 with 22 home runs and 63 RBIs, while struggling in the field. The
production was similar in 1975, with 23 home runs, 68 RBIs, and a .252 batting
average. At age 38 in 1976, the physical struggles were more challenging, and
McCovey lost his starting job at first base to young Mike Ivie. He was batting
.203 with 7 home runs and 36 RBIs when he was sold to the Oakland A’s at the
end of August. His performance was no stronger in the season’s final month. He returned
to the Giants as a free agent in 1977 and enjoyed a resurgence, hitting .280
with 28 home runs and 86 RBIs. McCovey spent two more seasons with the Giants,
with playing time steadily decreasing until his retirement in 1980 at age 42.
For his major league career, he batted .270 with 2211 hits that included 353
doubles, 46 triples, and 521 home runs. He scored 1229 runs and compiled 1555
RBIs, 1345 walks, a .374 on-base percentage, and a .515 slugging percentage.
With the Giants the totals were .274, with 1113 runs scored, 1974 hits, 308
doubles, 45 triples, 469 home runs, 1388 RBIs, 1168 walks drawn, a .377 OBP,
and a .524 slugging percentage. Appearing in eight postseason games, McCovey
hit .310 with three home runs and 7 RBIs. A six-time All-Star, the Giants
retired his #44 and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986. The
inlet beyond the right field fence at Oracle Park has been named McCovey Cove
in his honor and a statue of the slugger was placed at the entrance to the
cove. The Giants have presented the Willie Mac Award annually to the player who
best exemplifies McCovey’s leadership and inspirational value to the club. He died
in 2018 at the age of 80.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of
the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
(1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from
its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major
league.
