Rookie of the Year: Willie McCovey, 1959

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

22^nd 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

 

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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.

 

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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.