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76-424: McCovey is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Willie McCovey (1938–2018), American baseball player See also [ edit ] McCooey McCovey Cove , the name for a section of San Francisco Bay Wendi McLendon-Covey (born 1969), American actress, writer, producer, and comedian [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with

152-701: A .354 batting average and 13 home runs . He was named the National League 's (NL) Rookie of the Year . He won the NL Player of the Month Award in August, his first full month in the majors (.373, 8 HR, 22 RBI). He had a 22-game hitting streak, setting the mark for San Francisco Giants rookies, four short of the all-time team record. The 1960 season was disappointing for McCovey. Season-long struggles caused him to be demoted to

228-484: A .374 on-base percentage and a .515 slugging percentage . He also hit 18 grand slam home runs in his career, a National League record, and was a six-time All-Star . McCovey was a senior advisor with the Giants for 18 years. In this role, he visited the team during spring training and during the season, providing advice and other services. In September 2003, McCovey and a business partner opened McCovey's Restaurant,

304-648: A baseball-themed sports bar and restaurant located in Walnut Creek, California . The restaurant closed in February 2015. McCovey was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986 in his first year of eligibility — making him the 16th player so honored. He appeared on 346 of 425 ballots cast (81.4 percent). McCovey is best remembered for the ferocity of his line drive batting style. In his book Ball Four , pitcher Jim Bouton wrote about watching

380-688: A contract for $ 175.00 per month. His signing bonus was a mere $ 500. McCovey was 17 years old, 6'2", 165 pounds, and proceeded to hit .305 with 19 home runs, scoring 113 runs in 107 games. On his way to the Major Leagues , McCovey played for a San Francisco Giants ' farm club in Dallas, Texas that was part of the Class AA Texas League. He did not participate when his team played in Shreveport, Louisiana due to segregation in that city. He later played for

456-609: A hard line drive that was snared by the Yankees' second baseman Bobby Richardson , ending the series with a Yankees' win. The moment was immortalized in two Peanuts comic strips by Charles M. Schulz . The first ran on December 22, 1962, with Charlie Brown sitting silently alongside Linus for three panels before suddenly lamenting, "Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher?" The second, from January 28, 1963, featured Charlie Brown breaking an identical extended silence by crying, "Or why couldn't McCovey have hit

532-536: A one-team town with the New York Yankees until 1962, when former Giants minority owner Joan Whitney Payson founded the New York Mets and brought National League baseball back to the city (as part of MLB's first wave of expansion). Mets chairman M. Donald Grant had represented Payson on the Giants board, and as such had been the only board member to vote against the Giants' move to California. The "NY" script on

608-517: A real estate developer with ties to the Tammany Hall , the political machine of the Democratic Party that ran New York City. Freedman was one of the most detested owners in baseball history, getting into heated disputes with other owners, writers and his own players, most famously with star pitcher Amos Rusie , author of the first Giants no-hitter. When Freedman offered Rusie only $ 2,500 for 1896,

684-406: A recurring joke among the Giants "was that McCovey didn't need a glove to play the outfield, just a blindfold and a cigarette." Because McCovey had struggled against left-handed pitching, Dark played him only when a right-hander was starting and frequently pinch-hit for McCovey if a left-hander was brought in. Thus, McCovey played only 91 games, but he still hit 20 home runs. He helped the Giants to

760-619: A six-time All-Star , three-time home run champion, MVP , and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986 in his first year of eligibility, only the 16th man so honored, at the time. McCovey was known as a dead-pull line drive hitter, causing some teams to employ a shift against him. McCovey was called "the scariest hitter in baseball" by pitcher Bob Gibson , seconded by similarly feared slugger Reggie Jackson . McCovey hit 521 home runs, 231 of them in Candlestick Park ,

836-597: A tie with the Chicago Cubs due to a late-season home tie game with the Cubs resulting from the Fred Merkle baserunning "boner" . They lost the postseason replay of the tie game (ordered by NL president Harry Pulliam ) to the Cubs (after disgruntled Giants fans had set fire to the stands the morning of the game), who would go on to win their second (consecutive, and their last for the next 108 years) World Series. That post-season game

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912-552: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles Willie McCovey Willie Lee McCovey (January 10, 1938 – October 31, 2018), nicknamed " Stretch " and " Willie Mac ", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1959 to 1980, most notably as a member of the San Francisco Giants for whom he played for 19 seasons. McCovey also played for

988-524: The 1889 World Series , the ancestor of the Subway Series, and both played in separate, neighboring cities (New York and Brooklyn were separate cities until 1898, when they became neighboring boroughs of the newly expanded New York City). When both franchises moved to California after the 1957 season, the rivalry was easily transplanted, as the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles have long been economic, political, and cultural rivals, representative of

1064-662: The 1954 World Series known as "the Catch" . The Giants had intense rivalries with their fellow New York teams the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers , facing the Yankees in six World Series and playing the league rival Dodgers multiple times per season. Games between any two of these three teams were known collectively as the Subway Series . The New York Giants of the National Football League were named after

1140-465: The Baltimore Orioles (1901–1902) of the fledgling American League and bring with him several of his teammates. McGraw went on to manage the Giants for three decades until 1932, one of the longest and most successful tenures in professional sports. Hiring "Mr. McGraw", as his players referred to him, was one of Freedman's last significant moves as owner of the Giants, since after that 1902 season he

1216-648: The Montreal Expos . This home run gave McCovey the distinction, along with Ted Williams (with whom he was tied in home runs), Rickey Henderson , and Omar Vizquel of homering in four different decades: the 1950s, '60s, '70s, and '80s. McCovey is one of only 29 players in baseball history to date to have appeared in Major League baseball games in four decades. In his 22-year career, McCovey batted .270, with 521 home runs and 1,555 RBIs, 1,229 runs scored , 2,211 hits , 353 doubles , 46 triples, 1,345 bases on balls ,

1292-751: The Negro American League Indianapolis Clowns , McCovey was invited to a New York Giants tryout camp in Melbourne, Florida , while he was living and working in Los Angeles . The invitation came from Giants scout and former Negro league owner Alex Pompez. In 1955 McCovey made his professional debut. The Sandersville Giants of the Georgia State League in Sandersville, Georgia had McCovey on their roster, with McCovey having signed

1368-708: The Pacific Coast League Phoenix Giants just prior to being called up by 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 with two singles and two triples . McCovey found major league pitchers simpler to hit than minor leaguers because the major leaguers had better control of their pitches. In 52 major league games, he had

1444-460: The San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics in the latter part of his MLB career. He was a fearsome left-handed power hitter. At the time of his retirement in 1980, McCovey ranked second only to Babe Ruth in career home runs among left-handed batters and seventh overall. As of 2022, he ranks 20th overall on baseball's all-time home run list, tied with Ted Williams and Frank Thomas . He was

1520-507: The World Series against the New York Yankees , the only World Series appearance of his career. He hit a home run against Ralph Terry in Game 2, which the Giants won 2–0. In the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7, with two outs and the Giants trailing 1–0, Mays was on second base and Matty Alou was on third base. Any base hit would likely have won the championship for the Giants. McCovey hit

1596-411: The surname McCovey . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=McCovey&oldid=1014108384 " Category : Surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description

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1672-641: The 1880s and 1890s, such as "Smiling" Mickey Welch , Roger Connor , Tim Keefe , Jim O'Rourke , and John Montgomery Ward , the player-lawyer who formed the renegade Players' League in 1890 to protest unfair player contracts. McGraw, a veteran of the infamous 1890s Baltimore Orioles , in his three decades managing the Giants, McGraw managed star players including Christy Mathewson , "Iron Man" Joe McGinnity , Jim Thorpe , Red Ames , Casey Stengel , Art Nehf , Edd Roush , Rogers Hornsby , Bill Terry and Mel Ott . The Giants under McGraw famously snubbed their first modern World Series chance in 1904 by refusing

1748-589: The 1904 AL pennant. The ensuing criticism resulted in Brush's taking the lead to formalize the rules and format of the World Series. The Giants won the 1905 World Series over Connie Mack 's Philadelphia Athletics , with Christy Mathewson nearly winning the series single-handedly with a still-standing record three complete-game shutouts and 27 consecutive scoreless innings in that one World Series. The Giants then had several frustrating years. In 1908, they finished in

1824-487: The 1940s, and any renovations would have been hindered by the fact that the Giants did not own the parcel of land on which it stood. The Polo Grounds had almost no parking, and the neighborhood around it had become less desirable. While seeking a new stadium to replace the crumbling Polo Grounds, the Giants began to contemplate a move from New York, initially considering Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota , which

1900-753: The 1954 NL batting championship (won by Willie Mays) Don Mueller , Hall of Fame knuckleball relief pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm , starting pitchers Larry Jansen , Sal Maglie , Jim Hearn , Marv Grissom , Dave Koslo , Don Liddle , Max Lanier , Rubén Gómez , Al Worthington , and Johnny Antonelli , catcher Wes Westrum , catchers Ray Katt and Sal Yvars , shortstop Alvin Dark , third baseman Hank Thompson , first baseman Whitey Lockman , second basemen Davey Williams and Eddie Stanky , outfielder-pitcher Clint Hartung and utility men Johnny Mize , Bill Rigney , Daryl Spencer , Bobby Hofman , Joey Amalfitano , Tookie Gilbert , and 1954 Series hero Dusty Rhodes , among others. In

1976-514: The 1976 season with 755 and 586 home runs respectively, McCovey began 1977 as the active home run leader with 465. That year, during a June 27 game against the Cincinnati Reds , he became the first player to hit two home runs in one inning twice in his career (the first was on April 12, 1973), a feat since accomplished by Andre Dawson , Jeff King , Alex Rodriguez , and Edwin Encarnación . One

2052-577: The A's, Red Sox and A's again (two seasons later, both the Giants and the A's, decimated by the short-lived rival third loop, the Federal League of 1914–1915, with the "jumping ship" signings of many of their stars, finished in last place). After losing the 1917 Series to the Chicago White Sox (the last World Series win for the White Sox until 2005), the Giants played in four straight World Series in

2128-625: The Giants played home games at various incarnations of the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan . Numerous inductees of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum played for the New York Giants, including Christy Mathewson (a member of the Hall of Fame's inaugural class), John McGraw , Mel Ott , Bill Terry , Willie Mays , Monte Irvin , Frankie Frisch , Ross Youngs and Travis Jackson . During

2204-472: The Giants to San Francisco in 1958; he did not play in most of 1952 and all of 1953 due to his service in the Korean War . Mathewson and McGraw are honored by the Giants, but played in an era before uniform numbers became standard in baseball. John McGraw (3B, 1902–06; manager, 1902–32) and Christy Mathewson (P, 1900–16), who were members of the New York Giants before the introduction of uniform numbers, have

2280-586: The Giants were originally known, entered the National League seven years after its 1876 formation, in 1883 , while their other club, the Metropolitans played in the rival American Association (1882–1891). Nearly half of the original Gothams players were members of the disbanded Troy Trojans in upstate New York , whose place in the National League the Gothams inherited. While the Metropolitans were initially

2356-535: The Giants' New York tenure. Of the New York Giants whose numbers have been retired, all have been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1944, Carl Hubbell (#11) became the first National Leaguer to have his number retired by his team. Bill Terry (#3), Mel Ott (#4), and Hubbell played or managed their entire careers for the New York Giants. Willie Mays (#24) began his career in New York, moving with

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2432-618: The Giants' caps and the orange trim on their uniforms, along with the blue background used by the Dodgers, would be adopted by the Mets, honoring their New York NL forebears with a blend of Giants orange and Dodgers blue. The historic and heated rivalry between the Giants and the Dodgers is more than a century old. It began when the Giants and Brooklyn Bridegrooms (later known as the Dodgers) faced each other in

2508-575: The Giants' stars jumped to the upstart newly organized rival loop, the Players' League , whose New York franchise was also named the Giants , in 1890. The new team even built a stadium next door to the NL Polo Grounds. With a decimated roster, the NL Giants finished a distant sixth. Attendance took a nosedive, and the financial strain affected Day's tobacco business as well. The Players' League dissolved after

2584-497: The Giants, not without controversy. Not only was such a midseason managerial switch unprecedented, but Durocher had been accused of gambling in 1947 and subsequently suspended for that whole season by Baseball Commissioner Albert "Happy" Chandler . Durocher's ensuing eight full seasons managing the Giants proved some of the most memorable for their fans, particularly because of the arrival of five-tool superstar Willie Mays , their two pennants in 1951 and 1954, their unexpected sweep of

2660-470: The Hall of Fame played or managed for the Giants, but either played for the Giants and were inducted as a manager having never managed the Giants, or managed the Giants and were inducted as a player having never played for the Giants: The Giants have retired 11 numbers in the history of the franchise. 7 of these were members of the franchise while in New York, 2 of which had their numbers retired during

2736-568: The Indians' American League 111–43 regular season. The 1954 World Series title would be their last appearance in the World Series as the New York Giants , with the team moving to San Francisco to start the 1958 season. In addition to Bobby Thomson and Willie Mays , other memorable New York Giants of the 1950s include Hall of Fame manager Leo Durocher , coach Herman Franks , Hall of Fame outfielder Monte Irvin , outfielder and runner-up for

2812-448: The NL lead with 44 home runs. In the early years of Candlestick Park , the Giants home stadium, the area behind right field was open except for three small bleacher sections. When McCovey came to bat, typically those bleachers would empty as the fans positioned themselves on the flat ground, hoping to catch a McCovey home run ball. Injuries limited McCovey to 105 games in 1971, but he reached

2888-620: The Polo Grounds after the 1888 season, they moved further uptown to various fields which they also named the "Polo Grounds" located between 155th and 159th Streets in Harlem and Washington Heights , playing at the famous Washington Heights location at the foot of Coogan's Bluff until the end of the 1957 season, when they moved to San Francisco . The Giants were a powerhouse in the late 1880s, winning their first two National League Pennants and World Championships in 1888 and 1889 . But nearly all of

2964-492: The age of 80 at Stanford University Medical Center on October 31, 2018, after battling "ongoing health issues". He had been hospitalized for an infection late the previous week. His longtime friend and fellow Hall of Famer Joe Morgan was at his bedside. A public memorial service for McCovey was held at AT&T Park on November 8, 2018. New York Giants (baseball) During most of their 75 seasons in New York City ,

3040-410: The ball even two feet higher?" On the occasion of his Hall of Fame election 26 years later, McCovey was asked how he would like his career to be remembered. “As the guy who hit the ball over Bobby Richardson’s head in the seventh game,” replied McCovey. McCovey spent many years at the heart of the Giants' batting order, along with fellow Hall-of-Fame member Willie Mays . His best year statistically

3116-404: The bases. Grissom then struck out Dave Pope looking and got Jim Hegan to fly out to left fielder Monte Irvin to end the inning. Grissom got out of another jam in the ninth when 1953 AL MVP Al Rosen flew out to Irvin with two outs and two on. In the tenth, Grissom faced more trouble, but got Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Lemon to line out with runners on the corners and 2 outs, preserving

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3192-961: The broader Northern / Southern California divide. Dave Bancroft Jake Beckley Roger Bresnahan * Dan Brouthers Jesse Burkett Roger Connor * George Davis * Leo Durocher Buck Ewing * Frankie Frisch Burleigh Grimes Gabby Hartnett Rogers Hornsby Waite Hoyt Carl Hubbell * Monte Irvin Travis Jackson * Tim Keefe * Willie Keeler George Kelly * King Kelly Tony Lazzeri Freddie Lindstrom * Ernie Lombardi Rube Marquard * Christy Mathewson * Joe McGinnity * John McGraw * Joe Medwick Johnny Mize Hank O'Day Jim O'Rourke * Mel Ott * Edd Roush Amos Rusie * Ray Schalk Red Schoendienst Bill Terry * John Montgomery Ward * Mickey Welch * Hoyt Wilhelm Hack Wilson Ross Youngs * The following inducted members of

3268-516: The club was known as the Giants. However, more recent research has suggested that the New York World was already widely using the Giants nickname throughout the 1885 season, before the legendary game was played. The team won its first National League pennant in 1888 , as well as a victory over the St. Louis Browns in an early incarnation of the pre-modern-era World Series . They repeated as champions

3344-461: The club's tenure in New York, it won five of the franchise's eight World Series championships and 17 of its 23 National League pennants. Famous moments in the Giants' New York history include the 1922 World Series , in which the Giants swept the Yankees in four games, Bobby Thomson 's 1951 home run known as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" , and the defensive feat by Willie Mays during the first game of

3420-473: The disgruntled hurler sat out the entire season. Attendance fell off throughout the league without Rusie, prompting the other owners to chip in $ 50,000 to get him to return for 1897. Freedman even hired former owner Day as manager for part of the 1899 season. In 1902, after a series of disastrous moves that left the Giants 53 + 1 ⁄ 2 games behind the front-runner, Freedman signed John McGraw as player-manager, convincing him to jump in mid-season from

3496-653: The early 1920s, winning the first two over their Polo Grounds tenants, the Yankees , who had won the first two of their many pennants, led by their new young slugger Babe Ruth , then losing to the Yankees in 1923 after the original Yankee Stadium had opened that May. They also lost in 1924, when the Washington Senators won their only World Series while in D.C. From 1923 to 1927, the team held their spring training at Payne Park in Sarasota, Florida . McGraw handed over

3572-467: The first two innings of the 1934 All-Star Game (played at the Polo Grounds) by striking out five future AL Hall of Famers in a row: Babe Ruth , Lou Gehrig , Jimmie Foxx , Al Simmons and Joe Cronin . Ott succeeded Terry as manager in 1942, but the war years proved to be difficult for the Giants. Midway during the 1948 season Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher left as Dodgers skipper to manage

3648-432: The invitation to play the reigning world champion Boston Americans ( Red Sox ) because McGraw considered the newly established American League of 1901, as little more than a minor league and disliked its firebrand president, Ban Johnson . He also resented his Giants' new intra-city rival New York Highlanders , who almost won the pennant but lost to Boston on the last day, and stuck by his refusal to play whoever won

3724-482: The late 1950s and after the move to San Francisco two Hall of Fame first basemen, Orlando Cepeda and Willie McCovey , joined the team. The Giants' final three years in New York City were unmemorable. They stumbled to third place the year after their World Series win, and attendance fell off precipitously. Even before then, the Polo Grounds had become an albatross around the team. It had not been well maintained since

3800-472: The league-leading Dodgers in August, but under Durocher's guidance and with a 16-game winning streak, got hot and caught the Dodgers to tie for the lead on the next-to-last day of the season. In Game 1 of the 1954 World Series at the Polo Grounds against the Cleveland Indians , Willie Mays made "The Catch," a dramatic over-the-shoulder catch of a fly ball by Vic Wertz after sprinting with his back to

3876-586: The minor leagues at one point, and the San Francisco fans booed him relentlessly. In nearly twice as many games as the previous year (101 to 52), he still hit the same number of home runs (13), batting .238. McCovey was not the only first baseman on the Giants. First base was also the natural position of Orlando Cepeda , who had won the NL Rookie of the Year Award the year before McCovey and played about 60 games at

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3952-540: The more successful club, after they won the 1884 AA championship , Day and Mutrie began moving star players to the NL Gothams, whose fortunes improved while the Metropolitans' afterwards slumped. It is said that after one particularly satisfying victory over the Philadelphia Phillies , Mutrie (who was also the team's manager) stormed into the dressing room and exclaimed, "My big fellows! My giants!" From then on ( 1885 ),

4028-511: The most in that park by any player. A home run he hit on September 16, 1966, was described as the longest ever hit in that stadium. Willie Lee McCovey was born on January 10, 1938, in Mobile, Alabama , the seventh child of ten born to Frank McCovey, a railroad worker, and Esther. He began working part time at the age of 12 and dropped out of high school in order to work full time. Despite being passed on by scout Ed Scott, who signed Hank Aaron for

4104-412: The next year with a pennant and world championship victory over Brooklyn . The Giants' original home stadium, the Polo Grounds , also dates from this early era. It had been built in 1876 as a pitch for playing polo, and was located north of Central Park adjacent to Fifth and Sixth Avenues and 110th and 112th Streets, in Harlem in upper Manhattan . After their eviction from that first incarnation of

4180-661: The park, and the land on which it stands is named McCovey Point. On September 21, 1980, the Giants retired his uniform number 44, which he wore in honor of Hank Aaron , a fellow Mobile, Alabama native. McCovey was inducted to the Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame (formerly the Afro Sports Hall of Fame) in Oakland, California on February 7, 2009. The Willie McCovey field at Woodside Elementary School in Woodside, California

4256-410: The plate on a dead run to deepest center field. At the time the game was tied 2–2 in the eighth inning, with men on first and second and nobody out. Mays caught the ball 450 ft (140 m) from the plate, whirled and threw the ball to the infield, keeping the lead runner, Larry Doby , from scoring. Doby advanced to third on the play, and then new pitcher Marv Grissom walked Dale Mitchell to load

4332-804: The playoffs for the first time in nine years as the Giants won the NL West . He was afflicted by injuries again in 1972, as he broke his arm early in the year in a collision at first base. He was traded along with Bernie Williams from the Giants to the San Diego Padres for Mike Caldwell on October 25, 1973. Troubled with arthritic knees for two seasons, the 35‐year‐old McCovey was critical of manager Charlie Fox for diminishing his starting first baseman role in favor of Gary Thomasson . The Giants had been trading their higher-priced players and gave McCovey input into his destination. McCovey played in 128 games in 1974 and 122 games in 1975. He hit 22 home runs in 1974 and 23 in 1975. In 1976, McCovey struggled, and lost

4408-405: The position in 1959 when McCovey was in the minor leagues. However, new manager Alvin Dark declared McCovey his first baseman for 1961, putting Cepeda in right field to begin the year. Dark also assigned Willie Mays as McCovey's roommate. In 1962, Dark decided to put Cepeda at first base full-time and move McCovey to the outfield. James S. Hirsch , who wrote a biography of Mays, reported that

4484-500: The powerful (111–43) Cleveland Indians in the 1954 World Series and arguably the two most famous plays in Giants history. The "Shot Heard 'Round the World," or Bobby Thomson 's come-from-behind ninth-inning walk-off home run that won the National League pennant for the Giants over their bitter rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers , in the deciding game of a three-game playoff series ended one of baseball's most memorable pennant races. The Giants had been 13 + 1 ⁄ 2 games behind

4560-446: The right field fence of Oracle Park , historically known as China Basin, has been re-dubbed McCovey Cove in his honor. Since the opening of the ballpark at the start of the 2000 season, the Cove has been famous for "splash hits", home runs that are occasionally hit into the water by Giants players and retrieved by fans in boats or kayaks. A statue of McCovey was erected across the Cove from

4636-448: The same time the Dodgers' owner Walter O'Malley was courting the city of Los Angeles. O'Malley had been told that the Dodgers would not be allowed to move to Los Angeles unless a second team moved to California as well. He pushed Stoneham toward moving, and so in the summer of 1957 both the Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers announced their moves to California, ending the three-team golden age of baseball in New York City. New York would remain

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4712-400: The single season, and Day sold a minority interest in his NL Giants to the defunct PL Giants' principal backer, Edward Talcott . As a condition of the sale, Day had to fire Mutrie as manager. Although the Giants rebounded to third place in 1891, Day was forced to sell a controlling interest to Talcott at the end of the '91 season. Four years later, Talcott sold the Giants to Andrew Freedman ,

4788-414: The slugger blast the ball in batting practice, while making "little whimpering animal sounds" in response to each of McCovey's raw power drives. Reds manager Sparky Anderson also had a healthy respect for the damage McCovey could do, saying "I walked Willie McCovey so many times, he could have walked to the moon on all those walks." Announcer Jack Buck thought a McCovey line-drive home run to centerfield

4864-401: The starting first base job to Mike Ivie . He batted .203 with seven home runs in 71 games. Near the end of the season, the Oakland Athletics purchased his contract from the Padres. He played in eleven games for them. McCovey returned to the Giants in 1977 without a guaranteed contract, but he earned a position on the team. With Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson having retired at the end of

4940-492: The team to Bill Terry midway through the 1932 season. Terry served as manager for nine-and-a-half years, serving as player-manager until 1936. Under Terry, the Giants won three pennants, defeating the Senators in the 1933 World Series but swept by the Yankees in consecutive fall classics, 1936 and 1937 . Aside from Terry himself, the other stars of the era were slugger Mel Ott and southpaw hurler Carl Hubbell . Known as "King Carl" and "The Meal Ticket", Hubbell gained fame in

5016-537: The team; to distinguish the two clubs, the football team was legally incorporated as the New York Football Giants , which remains its corporate name to this day. The New York Giants had an overall win–loss record of 6,067–4,898–157 (.553) during their 54 years in New York. Nineteen former New York Giants players were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame . The Giants began as the second baseball club founded by millionaire tobacconist John B. Day and veteran amateur baseball player Jim Mutrie . The Gothams , as

5092-418: The tie game. In the bottom of the tenth, Willie Mays drew a 1 out walk and stole second base, thus prompting Lemon to intentionally walk Hank Thompson . And with runners on first and second with one out, pinch hitter Dusty Rhodes hit a walk off home run that just squeaked over the right field wall at an estimated 260 feet (79 m). The underdog Giants went on to sweep the series in four straight, despite

5168-429: Was 1969, when he hit 45 home runs, had 126 RBI and batted .320 to become the National League MVP . He was also named the Most Valuable Player of the 1969 All-Star Game after hitting two home runs to lead the National League team to a 9–3 victory over the American League. He won NL Player of the Month awards in July 1963 (.310, 13 HR, 27 RBI) and August 1969 (.315, 8 HR, 22 RBI). In 1963 he and Hank Aaron tied for

5244-400: Was a grand slam and he became the first National Leaguer to hit seventeen. At age 39, he had 28 home runs and 86 RBIs and was named the Comeback Player of the Year . On June 30, 1978, at Atlanta 's Fulton County Stadium , McCovey hit his 500th home run, and two years later, on May 3, 1980, at Montreal 's Olympic Stadium , McCovey hit his 521st and last home run, off Scott Sanderson of

5320-443: Was forced to sell his interest in the club to John T. Brush . McGraw went on to manage the Giants to nine National League pennants (in 1904, 1905, and every year from 1911 to 1913) and three World Series championships (in 1905, 1921, and 1922), with a tenth pennant and fourth world championship as Giants owner in 1933 under his handpicked player-manager successor, Bill Terry . The Giants already had their share of stars beginning in

5396-434: Was further darkened by a story that someone on the Giants had attempted to bribe umpire Bill Klem . This could have been a disastrous scandal for baseball, but because Klem was honest and the Giants lost the duel between Christy Mathewson and Mordecai "Three-Fingered" Brown 4–2, it faded over time. The Giants experienced a mixture of success and hard luck in the early 1910s, losing three straight World Series in 1911–1913 to

5472-423: Was given two years of probation and fined $ 5,000. He received a pardon from President Barack Obama on January 17, 2017. In his later years, McCovey dealt with several health issues, including atrial fibrillation and an infection in 2015 that nearly killed him. After his career ended he endured several knee surgeries, which left him in a wheelchair and he was hospitalized several times. McCovey died at

5548-722: Was home to their top farm team, the Minneapolis Millers . Under the rules of the time, the Giants' ownership of the Millers gave them priority rights to a major league team in the area (the Senators wound up there as the Minnesota Twins in 1961). At this time, the Giants were approached by San Francisco mayor George Christopher . Despite objections from shareholders such as Joan Whitney Payson , majority owner Horace Stoneham entered into negotiations with San Francisco officials around

5624-623: Was ranked 56th on the Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team . In 2020, The Athletic ranked McCovey at number 76 on its "Baseball 100" list, complied by sportswriter Joe Posnanski . Since 1980, the Giants have awarded the Willie Mac Award to honor his spirit and leadership. The inlet of San Francisco Bay beyond

5700-452: Was rededicated to him in 2013. McCovey's first marriage, to Karen McCovey, produced a daughter. On August 1, 2018, he married longtime girlfriend Estela Bejar at AT&T Park. He had a quiet personality. In 1996, McCovey and fellow baseball Hall of Famer Duke Snider pled guilty to federal tax fraud charges that they had failed to report about $ 70,000 in income from sports card shows and memorabilia sales from 1988 to 1990. McCovey

5776-538: Was the hardest ball he had ever seen anyone hit. McCovey's bat was so lethal in his prime he was intentionally walked an all-time record 45 times in 1969, shattering the previous record by a dozen. This remained the major league mark for 33 years until broken by fellow Giant Barry Bonds . The following year McCovey was intentionally walked 40 times. Once, speaking to the pitcher before a McCovey at-bat, Mets inimitable manager Casey Stengel joked, "Where do you want to pitch him, upper deck or lower deck?" In 1999, McCovey

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