R.I.P., Willie McCovey (80)
- Thread starter BobPSU92
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R.I.P. Willie. As a 12 year-old kid I loved using your signature bat...skinny handle and big barrel.
My father was in Giants spring training with him. Said he was a really nice kid. McCovey played on a different team than him but my father did play in Muskogee with Orlando Cepeda.
Sad to hear of his passing.
Sad to hear of his passing.
A Giant in every sense of the word. Rest in peace.
I was him play. Willie was a great one. Cepeda moves from 1st to 3rd when WM came up. Cepeda and WM were Rookies of the Year in consecutive years, ‘
59 and 60 IIRC.The Giants were always loaded with hitters back then.
Were they ever. I also remember they had Jim Ray Hart and Bobby Bonds. Not bad hitters either. As a Pirates fan it seemed that McCovey terrorized them more than any of the others. I'll never forget Bob Prince saying when Willie came up with men on base with a sense of pending doom, "And here comes McCovey".
Fall of 1966, I attended a double header at Forbes Field when the Giants ended the Pirates World Series dreams. FYI, the Dodgers won the NL but lost to the Os in the series.
What a team they had, from Mays and McCovey, Cepeda, Davenport, Jesus Alou, and Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry on the hill.
Those Bucs weren't slouches either - Clemente, Mazeroski, Alley, Donn Clendenon, Bob Bailey, Matty Alou and a young Wiille Stargell - Vernon Law was still pitching along with Bob Veale and a relatively young Steve Blass.
Elroy Face was still the Baron of the Bullpen.
Frustrating Saturday, but still a pretty good season.
What a team they had, from Mays and McCovey, Cepeda, Davenport, Jesus Alou, and Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry on the hill.
Those Bucs weren't slouches either - Clemente, Mazeroski, Alley, Donn Clendenon, Bob Bailey, Matty Alou and a young Wiille Stargell - Vernon Law was still pitching along with Bob Veale and a relatively young Steve Blass.
Elroy Face was still the Baron of the Bullpen.
Frustrating Saturday, but still a pretty good season.
They also had all three Alous: Felipe (the best of the Alous), Matty (got his bat on everything) and Jesus.
I was at Connie Mack when Jim Ray Hart hit one over the Coke sign in left.
The Giants had another player named Willie who was pretty good too.
Mays was clearly the better player, but McCovey is probably the more beloved player, believe it or not. At least among Giants fans. It's close.
Finished 2nd in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 1964 to the Phillies Richie Allen.
If you ever have the opportunity to have a conversation with Allen, ask him to tell you the tale about his batting title chase in the minors with Jimmy Ray.
I caddied for Giants manager, Alvin Dark, in FL in the early 70s. No love lost between him and Mays. That was from Dark’s mouth.
Does anyone know if he made his major league debut against the Phillies in San Francisco?
My memory maybe playing tricks on me, but I think that’s correct. I believe I was listening on the radio with Byrum Saam calling the game.
Some interesting notes from his MLB debut.
McCovey went 4-4 which is interesting in itself but he had TWO TRIPLES in the game which is very surprising. The game featured six individuals who would ultimately be enshrined in Cooperstown. Three HOF’ers on each side.
Phillies - Ashburn, Roberts, and Sparky Anderson.
Giants - Mays, McCovey, and Cepeda.
I am not certain, but I know he went 4 for 4 (two triples and two singles) against Robin Roberts in that debut..
Looking back now, the 60's was a great era for MLB.Makes my all 1960's team at 1B in my collection
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN195907300.shtml
This is the boxscore from his first game from Baseball reference. Notice who the second baseman is for the Phils that day.
Hitters are a thing of the past. Today teams are loaded with swingers.
Same with golf, for the most part. With a few exceptions, they hit it as far as they can with the rough an afterthought. They consider the risk worth it and they’re probably right given today’s drivers and balls.
God, that must have been something to see. I remember Fat Jack Fisher once hitting a single to right field and nearly getting thrown out at first. I still remember that play; imagine seeing the play you described.
I remember Sparky being briefly with the Phils back then.
Wow, does that lineup bring back bad memories of awful teams, even though some of those players were pretty good.
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