McCovey, Willie (1938-2018), ranks among the greatest sluggers in baseball history. He hit 521 career home runs. McCovey led the National League in home runs in 1963, 1968, and 1969 while playing for the San Francisco Giants . He led the league in runs batted in for the 1968 and 1969 seasons. McCovey was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1959 and the league’s Most Valuable Player in 1969. He played first base for most of his 22-year major league career.
Willie Lee McCovey was born on Jan. 10, 1938, in Mobile , Alabama . He was signed by the Giants as a free agent in 1955 and played with the team from 1959 to 1973, when he was traded to the San Diego Padres . McCovey played for San Diego and then briefly for the Oakland Athletics before rejoining the Giants in 1977. McCovey retired in 1980 and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986. He died on Oct. 31, 2018.
