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WILLIE "STRETCH" MCCOVEY 
Willie Lee McCovey was born in Mobile on January 10, 1938. He showed a talent for baseball at an early age. During childhood, his friends would make him play right handed because of the number of balls they would lose from all the left-handed home runs that he hit.
His professional career began when he was signed by the New York Giants on March 12, 1955, at the age of just 17. He made his Major League debut on July 30, 1959, after hitting 29 home runs in just three months in the Pacific League. On his debut, he went 4 for 4, including two triples against future Hall of Fame pitcher, Robin Roberts. He went on to hit .354 in his first season and win Rookie of the Year honors. He played almost his entire career for the Giants, playing for the San Diego Padres from 1974 to 1976, and then playing for the Oakland A's at the end of the 1976 season before returning to the Giants in 1977. He led the Major Leagues in home runs three times, RBIs twice, and he appeared in six All-Star Games. In the late 60s, he was considered by many to be the best offensive player in baseball, striking fear into the hearts of many pitchers who faced him. His most productive year was 1969 when he hit 45 homers and 126 RBIs, winning two legs of the Triple Crown, he also won the MVP. On April 27 of that year, he achieved the amazing feat of hitting three home runs in each game of a double header. Willie McCovey retired from baseball in 1980. During his 22 year career, he played more than 2,500 games, hitting 521 home runs and 353 doubles in the process. His home run total was a record for left-handed National League batsmen until it was bettered by Barry Bonds. He was enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986, and he now resides in California. In 2000, when the San Francisco Giants built SBC Park (formerly Pac Bell Park), they named the cove over the right field wall, the "McCovey Cove". Links To Other Willie McCovey Internet Resources: Baseball-Reference.com - Willie McCovey Statistics National Baseball Hall Of Fame - Willie McCovey theBASEBALLpage.com - Willie McCovey InsideBayArea.com - Willie McCovey BaseballLibrary.com - Willie McCovey SIGN UP TO OUR EMAIL NEWSLETTER If you would like us to keep you updated with changes and improvements to thatsalabama.com, please enter your email address here: If you would like to support thatsalabama.com with a donation via paypal, please click on this button: |
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