Willie McCovey
Encyclopedia
Willie Lee McCovey nicknamed "Mac", "Big Mac", and "Stretch", is a former Major League Baseball
first baseman
. He played nineteen seasons for the San Francisco Giants
, and three more for the San Diego Padres
and Oakland Athletics
, between and . He batted and threw left-handed
and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in .
One of the most intimidating power hitters of his era, McCovey was called "the scariest hitter in baseball" by pitcher Bob Gibson
, an assessment with which Reggie Jackson
concurred. McCovey's powerful swing generated 521 home runs, 231 of which he hit in Candlestick Park, the most hit there by any player, and included a home run of Sept. 16, 1966 described as the longest ever hit in that stadium.
that was part of the Class AA Southern League. In that league, he did not participate when his team played in Shreveport, Louisiana
due to segregation in that city. He later played for the Pacific Coast League
Phoenix Giants
just prior to joining the San Francisco Giants.
Robin Roberts, hitting two triples and two singles, en route to a .354 batting average
that year, in which he won National League Rookie of the Year honors while playing in just 52 games. He had a 22-game hitting streak, setting the mark for San Francisco Giants rookies that still stands, just four short of the all-time team record.
Three years later, he helped the Giants to the 1962 World Series
against the New York Yankees
. Perhaps McCovey's best-known moment in baseball came in the bottom of the 9th of Game 7, with 2 outs and the Giants trailing 1–0. With Willie Mays
on second base and Matty Alou
on third, any base hit would likely have won the championship for the Giants. McCovey scorched a hard line drive
that was snared by the Yankees' second baseman
Bobby Richardson
, ending the series with a Yankees' win. That would turn out to be the closest McCovey would get to playing on a world championship team.
McCovey spent many years at the heart of the Giants' batting order along with fellow Hall-of-Famer Willie Mays
. His best year statistically was 1969 when he hit 45 home run
s, had 126 RBI
and batted
.320 to become the National League MVP.
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 – anticipating the gathering of boats in McCovey Cove
, a generation later, when Barry Bonds
would bat.
; without him, the Giants' fortunes declined. Near the end of the season, the Oakland Athletics
purchased his contract, but he would only play eleven games for them.
McCovey returned to the Giants in . 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 only by Andre Dawson
. One was a grand slam
and he became the first National Leaguer to hit seventeen. At age 39, he had 28 home runs and 86 RBI 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 at Montreal
's Olympic Stadium
, his 521st and last home run, off Scott Sanderson
of 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. He 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 run
s and 1,555 RBI
, 1,229 runs scored
, 2,211 hits
, 353 doubles
, 46 triples
, a .374 on base percentage
and a .515 slugging percentage.
McCovey was inducted into the Hall of Fame
in . It was his first year of eligibility and he appeared on 346 of 425 ballots cast (81.4 percent). In 1999
, he 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. Since , the Giants have awarded the Willie Mac Award
to honor his spirit and leadership. The inlet of San Francisco Bay
beyond the right field fence of AT&T Park
, historically known as China Basin
, has been redubbed McCovey Cove
in his honor. Across McCovey Cove from the park a statue of McCovey was erected and the land on which it stands named McCovey Point. 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 Afro Sports Hall of Fame [www.afrosportshall.com], February 7, 2009 in Oakland, California. The mission of the Afro Sports Hall of Fame is to broaden the public’s understanding of African American/Ethnic history and the role of diversity and cultural tolerance in the growth of professional sports.
McCovey is a senior advisor with the Giants.
In September 2003, McCovey and a business partner opened McCovey's Restaurant, a baseball-themed sports bar and restaurant, located in Walnut Creek
, California.
, the December 22, 1962 comic strip of Peanuts
depicts Charlie Brown
and Linus van Pelt
brooding silently for three panels, before Charlie Brown finally shouts, "Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher?" The next month, on January 28, 1963, Charlie Brown and Linus are again brooding for three panels before Charlie Brown exclaims, "Or why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball even two feet higher?"
In The Wonder Years
episode "Odd Man Out," best friends Kevin Arnold and Paul Pfeiffer get in a fight following a dispute over Willie McCovey's baseball card.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
first baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
. He played nineteen seasons for the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
, and three more for the San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
and Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
, between and . He batted and threw left-handed
Left-handed
Left-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. In ancient times it was seen as a sign of the devil, and was abhorred in many cultures...
and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in .
One of the most intimidating power hitters of his era, McCovey was called "the scariest hitter in baseball" by pitcher Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
, an assessment with which Reggie Jackson
Reggie Jackson
Reginald Martinez "Reggie" Jackson , nicknamed "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the postseason with the New York Yankees, is a former American Major League Baseball right fielder. During a 21-year baseball career, he played from 1967-1987 for four different teams. Jackson currently serves as...
concurred. McCovey's powerful swing generated 521 home runs, 231 of which he hit in Candlestick Park, the most hit there by any player, and included a home run of Sept. 16, 1966 described as the longest ever hit in that stadium.
Professional career
Prior to playing for the San Francisco Giants, McCovey played for a Giants' farm club in Dallas, TexasDallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
that was part of the Class AA Southern League. In that league, he did not participate when his team played in Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
due to segregation in that city. He later played for the Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
Phoenix Giants
Phoenix Firebirds
The Phoenix Firebirds, formerly the Phoenix Giants, were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Phoenix, Arizona, USA from 1958-1959, and 1966 until 1997....
just prior to joining the San Francisco Giants.
San Francisco Giants (1959–73)
In his Major League debut on July 30, 1959, McCovey went four-for-four against Hall-of-FamerNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
Robin Roberts, hitting two triples and two singles, en route to a .354 batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
that year, in which he won National League Rookie of the Year honors while playing in just 52 games. He had a 22-game hitting streak, setting the mark for San Francisco Giants rookies that still stands, just four short of the all-time team record.
Three years later, he helped the Giants to the 1962 World Series
1962 World Series
The 1962 World Series matched the defending American League and World Series champions New York Yankees against the National League champion San Francisco Giants, who had won their first NL pennant since 1954 and first since moving from New York in 1958, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in a...
against the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
. Perhaps McCovey's best-known moment in baseball came in the bottom of the 9th of Game 7, with 2 outs and the Giants trailing 1–0. With Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
on second base and Matty Alou
Matty Alou
Mateo Rojas "Matty" Alou was a Dominican outfielder who spent fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball with the San Francisco Giants , Pittsburgh Pirates , St. Louis Cardinals , Oakland Athletics , New York Yankees and San Diego Padres...
on third, any base hit would likely have won the championship for the Giants. McCovey scorched a hard line drive
Types of batted balls in baseball
In baseball, a batted ball is any ball that, after a pitch, is contacted by the batter's bat. One or more of several terms are used to describe a batted ball, depending on how it comes off the bat and where in the field it lands....
that was snared by the Yankees' second baseman
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
Bobby Richardson
Bobby Richardson
Robert Clinton "Bobby" Richardson is a former second baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees from through . Batting and throwing right-handed, he was a superb defensive infielder, as well as something of a clutch hitter, who played no small role in the Yankee baseball...
, ending the series with a Yankees' win. That would turn out to be the closest McCovey would get to playing on a world championship team.
McCovey spent many years at the heart of the Giants' batting order along with fellow Hall-of-Famer Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
. His best year statistically was 1969 when he hit 45 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s, had 126 RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
and batted
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.320 to become the National League MVP.
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 – anticipating the gathering of boats in McCovey Cove
McCovey Cove
McCovey Cove is the unofficial name of a section of San Francisco Bay beyond the right field wall of AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, coined after famed Giants first baseman Willie McCovey. The proper name for the cove is China Basin, which is the mouth of Mission Creek as it meets the...
, a generation later, when Barry Bonds
Barry Bonds
Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bonds played from 1986 to 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds...
would bat.
San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics (1974–76)
In , McCovey was traded to the San Diego PadresSan Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
; without him, the Giants' fortunes declined. Near the end of the season, the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
purchased his contract, but he would only play eleven games for them.
Return to San Francisco (1977–80)
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
, 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 only by Andre Dawson
Andre Dawson
Andre Nolan Dawson , nicknamed "The Hawk", is an American former center fielder and right fielder. During a 21-year baseball career, he played for four different teams, spending most of his career with the Montreal Expos and Chicago Cubs .An 8-time National League All-Star, he was named the...
. One was a grand slam
Grand slam (baseball)
In the sport of baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners , thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term originated in the card game of contract bridge, in which a grand slam involves...
and he became the first National Leaguer to hit seventeen. At age 39, he had 28 home runs and 86 RBI and was named the Comeback Player of the Year
MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award
The Major League Baseball Comeback Player of the Year Award is presented by Major League Baseball to the player who is judged to have "re-emerged on the baseball field during a given season." The award was developed in 2005, as part of a sponsorship agreement between MLB and Viagra...
.
On June 30, 1978, at Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium, McCovey hit his 500th home run, and two years later, on May 3 at Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
's Olympic Stadium
Olympic Stadium (Montreal)
The Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics...
, his 521st and last home run, off Scott Sanderson
Scott Sanderson
Scott Douglas Sanderson is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for seven teams from 1978 to 1996.-Baseball career:...
of the Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
. This home run gave McCovey the distinction, along with Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
(with whom he was tied in home runs), Rickey Henderson
Rickey Henderson
Rickey Henley Henderson is a former Major League Baseball left fielder who played for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four stints with his original team, the Oakland Athletics. Nicknamed The Man of Steal, he is widely regarded as the sport's greatest leadoff hitter and baserunner...
, and Omar Vizquel
Omar Vizquel
Omar Enrique Vizquel González , nicknamed "Little O", is a Venezuelan Major League Baseball shortstop and third baseman. Vizquel has played for the Seattle Mariners , the Cleveland Indians , the San Francisco Giants , the Texas Rangers and the Chicago White Sox...
of homering in four different decades. He 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
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.270, with 521 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s and 1,555 RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
, 1,229 runs scored
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
, 2,211 hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
, 353 doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
, 46 triples
Triple (baseball)
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
, a .374 on base percentage
On base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) (sometimes...
and a .515 slugging percentage.
Legacy
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
in . It was his first year of eligibility and he appeared on 346 of 425 ballots cast (81.4 percent). In 1999
1999 Major League Baseball season
The previous record of most home runs hit in a season, set at 5,064 in 1998, was broken once again as the American League and National League combined to hit 5,528 home runs. Moreover, it was the first season in 61 years to feature a team that scored 1,000 runs in a season, as the Cleveland Indians...
, he ranked 56th on The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
All-Century Team. Since , the Giants have awarded the Willie Mac Award
Willie Mac Award
The Willie Mac Award is named in honor of Willie McCovey. It has been presented annually since 1980. It is awarded to the player on the San Francisco Giants who best exemplifies the spirit and leadership consistently shown by McCovey throughout his long career, voted upon by the players and...
to honor his spirit and leadership. The inlet of San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
beyond the right field fence of AT&T Park
AT&T Park
AT&T Park is a ballpark located in the South Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Located at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, at the corner of Third and King Streets, it has served as the home of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball since 2000....
, historically known as China Basin
Port of San Francisco
The Port of San Francisco lies on the western edge of the San Francisco Bay near the Golden Gate. It has been called one of the three great natural harbors in the world, but it took two long centuries for navigators from Spain and England to find the anchorage originally called Yerba Buena...
, has been redubbed McCovey Cove
McCovey Cove
McCovey Cove is the unofficial name of a section of San Francisco Bay beyond the right field wall of AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, coined after famed Giants first baseman Willie McCovey. The proper name for the cove is China Basin, which is the mouth of Mission Creek as it meets the...
in his honor. Across McCovey Cove from the park a statue of McCovey was erected and the land on which it stands named McCovey Point. 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 Afro Sports Hall of Fame [www.afrosportshall.com], February 7, 2009 in Oakland, California. The mission of the Afro Sports Hall of Fame is to broaden the public’s understanding of African American/Ethnic history and the role of diversity and cultural tolerance in the growth of professional sports.
McCovey is a senior advisor with the Giants.
Retirement
In 1996, McCovey was fined and given two years' probation for tax charges stemming from inadequate reporting of income earned from 1988 to 1990.In September 2003, McCovey and a business partner opened McCovey's Restaurant, a baseball-themed sports bar and restaurant, located in Walnut Creek
Walnut Creek, California
Walnut Creek is an incorporated city located east of the city of Oakland. It lies in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. While not as large as neighboring Concord, Walnut Creek serves as the business and entertainment hub for the neighboring cities within central Contra Costa...
, California.
Pop Culture References
Two months after McCovey's line drive that ended the 1962 World Series1962 World Series
The 1962 World Series matched the defending American League and World Series champions New York Yankees against the National League champion San Francisco Giants, who had won their first NL pennant since 1954 and first since moving from New York in 1958, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in a...
, the December 22, 1962 comic strip of Peanuts
Peanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
depicts Charlie Brown
Charlie Brown
Charles "Charlie" Brown is the protagonist in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz.Charlie Brown and his creator have a common connection in that they are both the sons of barbers, but whereas Schulz's work is described as the "most shining example of the American success story", Charlie...
and Linus van Pelt
Linus van Pelt
Linus van Pelt is a character in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. The best friend of Charlie Brown, Linus is also the younger brother of Lucy van Pelt and older brother of Rerun van Pelt. He first appeared on September 19, 1952; however, he was not mentioned by name until three days later....
brooding silently for three panels, before Charlie Brown finally shouts, "Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher?" The next month, on January 28, 1963, Charlie Brown and Linus are again brooding for three panels before Charlie Brown exclaims, "Or why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball even two feet higher?"
In The Wonder Years
The Wonder Years
The Wonder Years is an American television comedy-drama created by Carol Black and Neal Marlens. It ran for six seasons on ABC from 1988 through 1993. The pilot aired on January 31, 1988 after ABC's coverage of Super Bowl XXII....
episode "Odd Man Out," best friends Kevin Arnold and Paul Pfeiffer get in a fight following a dispute over Willie McCovey's baseball card.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball Home Run Records
- 500 home run club500 home run clubIn Major League Baseball , the 500 home run club is a term applied to the group of batters who have hit 500 or more regular-season home runs in their careers. On August 11, 1929, Babe Ruth became the first member of the club. Ruth ended his career with 714 home runs, a record which stood from 1935...
- Bay Area Sports Hall of FameBay Area Sports Hall of FameThe Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame honors sports figures who have made a significant impact in the San Francisco Bay Area. The organization is a section 501 non-profit, that was created by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce in 1979.-Inductees:...
- McCovey CoveMcCovey CoveMcCovey Cove is the unofficial name of a section of San Francisco Bay beyond the right field wall of AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, coined after famed Giants first baseman Willie McCovey. The proper name for the cove is China Basin, which is the mouth of Mission Creek as it meets the...
- List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters
- List of major league players with 2,000 hits
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
- List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
- List of Major League Baseball home run champions